> Mokuhachi-Fu, 1843. This is mentioned by Kuroda in an article in the Venus
> 21(4): 365.

> any guess about the antiquarian price

This one is available from a few second-hand bookstores in Japan,
but you may not believe the prices asked. I would never be able to
pay.

The picture files of this importnat literature can be viewed on the
internet site of the Library of Japanese Diet, if I rememebr
correctly.  I do not have its URL at hand.

> Besides: is there a site where you can translate Japanese/Chinese
> characters?

Search engine sites, such as Excite, provide translation service from
English to Japanese, and vice versa, but you can only have some very
interesting results that would need further translation within the same
language!

Masashi Yamaguchi
Faculty of Science
Univ. of the Ryukyus
Nishihara, Okinawa
903-0213 JAPAN