Abstract
Stray Notes on Kioto and Its Environs (1874, 1876, 1878) (hereafter referred to as SNs) are less well known than the oldest guidebook on Kyoto in English, K. Yamamoto's Celebrated Places in Kiyoto (1873). However, it became evident that the SNs were the original of W. E. L. Keeling Tourists' Guide (1880) (hereafter referred to as TG). Firstly, the background of the SNs was researched. Secondly, the SNs investigated uncertainties about the TG. As a result, the SNs revealed that the changes in travel due to the development of transportation to Kyoto, the influence of old Western travelogues, the description of the grand festivals in Kyoto, and most importantly, the beginning of Western tourism of the Hozu River boat ride. The SNs are one of the most important historical documents describing the 1870s in Kyoto.
