Other possible titles according to additional note in v. 1 and title on bookseller's invoice : English self taught / Self-taught of the language or Gogaku hitori annai, but no definite confirmation of this, as text of title is in Japanese. Title used in this record's 245 field was found in OCLC under the author's name and matched best with the volumes in hand.

Francis Brinkley (30 December 1841 – 12 October 1912) was an Anglo-Irish newspaper owner, editor and scholar who resided in Meiji period Japan for over 40 years, where he was the author of numerous books on Japanese culture, art and architecture and an English-Japanese Dictionary. He was also known as Frank Brinkley or as Captain Francis Brinkley and was the great uncle of Cyril Connolly. He was educated at the Royal School Dungannon adn Trinity College, Dublin, where he received the highest records in mathematics and classics. After graduating he chose a military career and was subsequently accepted at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, becoming an artillery officer. He travelled to Hong Kong and on the way stopped in Nagasaki where he witnessed a duel between two samurai warriors. Once the victor had slain his opponent he immediately knelt down with hands clasped in prayer. It is said that Brinkley was so impressed by the conduct of the Japanese warrior that this enticed him to live in Japan permanently. He married a Japanese lady. In 1881 until his death he owned and edited the Japan Mail newspaper (later merged with the Japan Times), receiving financial support from the Japanese government and consequently maintaining a pro-Japanese stance. The newspaper was perhaps the most influential and widely read English language newspaper in the far East.

Physical description: 3 volumes (352 ; 271 ; 349 + XXIX index) ; 18 cm.