Eiseijunijika
Meiji period, dated 1876 / Book, ink on paper
A book on health and hygiene written by Suzuki's father Ryōjun (1822-76) for his children. Each verse is composed of twelve syllables (twelve hiragana characters) in order to facilitate chanting for the children, and is therefore titled Jūnijika (Twelve-Character Poems). It begins, "Kokumotsushoku wa nenso to te waga shintai o ondan ni shi (wheats and grains heat up my body as phlogiston [lit. 'heating element'].)" The content of the book was based on Kōan Ogata's (1810-63) second son Ijun Ogata's (1843-1909) book Eisei shinron (A New Treatise on Hygiene). The Suzuki children are said to have recited these poems every morning. Daisetz kept this book, along with the book below, Shūshin jūnijika, in a paulownia-wood box.
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