The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ)* will hold Japan's largest antiquarian book exhibition, "International Rare Book Fair 2026 – Japanese Antiquarian Books, World Antiquarian Books," at the Tokyo Transportation Center Exhibition Hall for three days from March 13th (Fri) to 15th (Sun), 2026. Admission is free.
This book fair, organized by ABAJ and held for the 19th time since its founding in 1964, will see participation from leading second-hand bookstores in Hokkaido, Kanto, Kansai, and Kyushu, as well as leading overseas bookstores from New York, Europe, Australia, and other countries.
This is the one and only worldwide antique book exhibition and sale in Japan, gathering together over 5,000 old books and documents from a wide range of fields, including classical books, modern literature, Western books, art books, and letters.
Highlights of the exhibit include the handwritten draft of Shiba Ryotaro's historical masterpiece "Tobu ga Gotoku," valued at 27.5 million yen (a valuable document written in pen on his own personal notepad with 400 characters per line, including notes written on the envelope for submission to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. The 1,560 pages in total vividly convey the author's thoughts and writing process), as well as other valuable handwritten materials that are noteworthy from the perspectives of both ukiyo-e research and Edo picture book research, such as the original unrevised draft of the picture book "Ryobi Saihitsu," said to have been written by Katsushika Hokusai and his disciples, valued at 22 million yen, and the intermediate draft of "The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumplings" by Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), which has been the subject of a popular NHK morning drama series, valued at 2.53 million yen.
Other valuable materials from Japan and around the world will also be on display and for sale, including a red seal letter from Oda Nobunaga, one of Japan's most famous Sengoku warlords, and the first edition of "The Essence of Japanese Martyrdom" by Cardin, a source of Christian and religious history.
This book fair brings together valuable materials from a variety of fields, including literature, art, history, and religion, and combines academic value with the appeal of collecting.It is an exhibition and sale that is worth seeing not only for professional antiquarian book lovers, but also for a wide range of visitors with an interest in books and culture.
This event has been gaining more and more attention with each passing year, and the last time it was held (in 2024), more than 1,000 visitors attended, generating a lot of buzz, including a purchase of a foreign book priced at 150 million yen, the highest price at the time.
The next event, to be held in 2026, is expected to be even more successful, backed by growing interest in one-of-a-kind items such as handwritten documents by literary figures and original art drawings. A talk show featuring three other renowned appraisers, including Nakajima Seinosuke, a famous appraiser who appears on a certain TV program, is also scheduled to be held on the final day.
The three-day spring weekend in Yurakucho, Tokyo, will be a special opportunity to experience the history of Japanese knowledge and beauty, as well as the world's antiquarian book culture, and will be attracting a lot of attention.
Please refer to the separate "Excerpts from the Catalog" for details of the main exhibits.
"ABAJ International Book Fair 2026"
○Name: ABAJ International Rare Book Fair 2026 – Old Books from Japan and the World –
(English name: Tokyo International Antiquarian Book Fair 2026)
○Organizer: Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ)*
○Date and time: March 13th (Friday/Holiday) 12:00-19:00
14th (Sat) 10:00-18:00
15th (Sun) 10:00-16:00
○ Venue: Cattleya Salon A & B, 12th floor, Tokyo Transportation Center Exhibition Hall (2-10-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
○ Number of items on display: Over 5,000 items on display and for sale (from a total of 37 bookstores / 25 domestic bookstores, 12 overseas bookstores)
Official page: https://abaj.gr.jp/special/2026/index.php
*All exhibited books can be viewed in a PDF catalog. General inquiries: ABAJ International Rare Book Fair Secretariat (TEL: 03-6367-6055)
*About the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ) The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Japan (ABAJ) was founded in November 1964 by 10 leading antiquarian book dealers in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. This was a time when the Japanese economy began making great strides toward joining the ranks of developed nations, and the import and export of antiquarian books by university researchers, museums, and book lovers began to rapidly increase. In response to international demand for the promotion of antiquarian book distribution, ABAJ joined the International Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), a global organization of approximately 2,000 dealers in 20 countries, the following year. Since then, as a member of ILAB, we have participated in international conferences and international antiquarian book fairs around the world, and have actively contributed to facilitating the global antiquarian book trade and revising trading rules in cooperation with antiquarian book dealers from various countries. Furthermore, as a non-profit organization, ABAJ promotes cultural exchange between East and West through antiquarian books, deepens mutual understanding and international goodwill, and engages in a variety of activities aimed at expanding the circle of friendship around the world.
[Japan Antiquarian Booksellers Association] Press Release
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