This illustration from "Santa Kurō" by Shindō Nobuyoshi, published in 1900, is said to be the first book illustration in Japan of Santa Claus. You can read the full book (in Japanese) here: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1168287

Here is an English summary of the story. https://www.nippon.com/en/nipponblog/m00134/

#さんたくろう #SantaKuro #進藤信義 #ShindoNobuyoshi #SantaClaus #JapaneseChristmas #NationalDietLibrary #国立国会図書館 #ChristmasBooks