The book in Japan has ha a long history, beginning in the late eighth century A.D. The majority of books were hand-copied until the Edo period (1603-1867), when woodblock printing became comparatively affordable and widespread. Movable-type printing had been used from the late sixteenth century, but for various aesthetic and practical reasons woodblock printing and hand-copied remained dominant until much later. Japanese equivalents for 'book' include 本 (hon) and 書籍 (shoseki). The former term only indicates bound books, and does not include scrolls. The latter is used for printed matter only. The most general term is 書物 (shomotsu), which means all written or printed matter that has been collected into a single unit, regardless of construction.