Early Modern Japanese Literature
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS
Translations from the Asian Classics
EDITORIAL BOARD
Wm. Theodore de Bary, Chairman
Paul Anderer
Irene Bloom
Donald Keene
George A. Saliba
Haruo Shirane
David D. W. Wang
Burton Watson
Early Modern Japanese Literature
AN ANTHOLOGY, 1600–1900
Edited with Introductions and Commentary by Haruo Shirane
TRANSLATORS
James Brandon, Michael Brownstein, Patrick Caddeau, Caryl Ann Callahan, Steven Carter, Anthony Chambers, Cheryl Crowley,
Chris Drake, Peter Flueckiger, Charles Fox, C. Andrew Gerstle, Thomas Harper, Robert Huey, Donald Keene, Richard Lane,
Lawrence Marceau, Andrew Markus, Herschel Miller, Maryellen Toman Mori, Jamie Newhard, Mark Oshima, Edward Putzar,
Peipei Qiu, Satoru Saito, Tomoko Sakomura, G. W. Sargent, Thomas Satchell, Paul Schalow, Haruo Shirane, Jack Stoneman,
Makoto Ueda, Burton Watson
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
NEW YORK
Columbia University Press wishes to express its appreciation
for assistance given by the Japan Foundation toward the cost of publishing this book.
Columbia University Press wishes to express its appreciation for assistance given by the Pushkin Fund toward the cost of
publishing this book.
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2002 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
E-ISBN 978-0-231-50743-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Early modern Japanese literature : an anthology, 1600–1900 / [edited with introduction by Haruo Shirane].
p. cm.—(Translations from the Asian classics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-231-10990-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
I. Shirane, Haruo, 1951–II. Series.
PL782.E1 E23 2002
895.6’08003—dc21
2001053725
A Columbia University Press E-book.
CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at [email protected].
CONTENTS
Preface
Historical Periods, Measurements, and Other Matters
1. Early Modern Japan
The Shōgunate and the Domains
The Social Hierarchy
The Economy and the Three Cities
The Licensed Quarters
The Courtesans and Female Entertainers
Literacy, Scholarship, and Printing
Women, Readership, and Literature
Warrior and Urban Commoner Attitudes
Popular and Elite Literatures
Periodization
2. Kana Booklets and the Emergence of a Print Culture
Parodies
The Dog Pillow Book (Inu makura)
Fake Tales (Nise monogatari)
Edict Against Christianity
Humorous Stories
Today’s Tales of Yesterday (Kinō wa kyō no monogatari)
Dangerous Things in the World
The Woman Who Cut Off Her Nose
Asai Ryōi
Tales of the Floating World (Ukiyo monogatari)
Preface
Regarding Advice Against Wenching
Hand Puppets (Otogi bōko)
The Peony Lantern
Military Stories
O-An’s Stories (Oan monogatari)
3. Ihara Saikaku and the Books of the Floating World
Ihara Saikaku
Life of a Sensuous Man (Kōshoku ichidai otoko)
Putting Out the Light, Love Begins
Afterward “Honored” Is Added to Their Names
Aids to Lovemaking: Sailing to the Island of Women
Saikaku’s Tales from Various Provinces (Saikaku shokokubanashi)
The Umbrella Oracle
Five Sensuous Women (Kōshoku gonin onna)
The Calendar Maker’s Wife
Life of a Sensuous Woman (Kōshoku ichidai onna)
An Old Woman’s Hermitage
Mistress of a Domain Lord
A Monk’s Wife in a Worldly Temple
A Teacher of Calligraphy and Manners
A Stylish Woman Who Brought Disaster
Ink Painting in a Sensual Robe
Luxurious Dream of a Man
Streetwalker with a False Voice
Five Hundred Disciples of the Buddha—I’d Known Them All
Great Mirror of Male Love (Nanshoku ōkagami)
Though Bearing an Umbrella
Tales of Samurai Duty (Bukegiri monogatari)
In Death They Share the Same Wave Pillow
Japan’s Eternal Storehouse (Nippon eitaigura)
In the Past, on Credit, Now Cash Down
The Foremost Lodger in the Land
A Feather in Daikoku’s Cap
All the Goodness Gone from Tea
Worldly Mental Calculations (Seken munezan’yō)
In Our Impermanent World, Even Doorposts Are Borrowed
His Dream Form Is Gold Coins
Holy Man Heitarō
Ejima Kiseki and the Hachimonjiya
Characters of Old Men in the Floating World (Ukiyo oyaji katagi)
A Money-Loving, Loan-Sharking Old Man
4. Early Haikai Poetry and Poetics
Matsunaga Teitoku and the Teimon School
Kitamura Kigin
The Mountain Well (Yama no i)
Fireflies
Nishiyama Sōin and Danrin Haikai
Okanishi Ichū
Haikai Primer (Haikai mōgyū)
5. The Poetry and Prose of Matsuo Bashō
Bashō and the Art of Haikai
Hokku
Composing Haiku
Combining
Intermediaries
Single-Object Poetry
Greetings
Overtones
The Art of Linked Verse
Reverberation Link
Status Link
Withering Gusts (Kogarashi)
Plum Blossom Scent (Ume ga ka)
The Poetics of Haiku
Awakening to the High, Returning to the Low
Following the Creative
Object and Self as One
Unchanging and Ever-Changing
Haibun
The Hut of the Phantom Dwelling (Genjūan no ki)
Narrow Road to the Deep North (Oku no hosomichi)
6. Chikamatsu Monzaemon and the Puppet Theater
Early Jōruri and Kabuki
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (Sonezaki shinjū)
The Drum of the Waves of Horikawa (Horikawa nami no tsutsumi)
The Battles of Coxinga (Kokusenya kassen)
The Heike and the Island of Women (Heike nyogo no shima)
The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinjū ten no Amijima)
Hozumi Ikan
Souvenirs of Naniwa (Naniwa miyage)
7. Confucian Studies and Literary Perspectives
Song Confucianism
Nakae Tōju
Dialogue with the Elder (Okina mondō)
On the Virtue of Filial Piety
Confucian Views of Literature
Yamazaki Ansai
Japanese Lesser Learning (Yamato shōgaku)
Ando Tameakira
Seven Essays on Murasaki Shikibu (Shika shichiron)
The Intentions of the Author
Chinese Studies and Literary Perspectives
Itō Jinsai
The Meaning of Words in the Analects and the Mencius (Gomō jigi)
Postscript to The Collected Works of Bo Juyi (Hakushimonjū)
Questions from Children (Dōjimon)
Itō Tōgai
Essentials for Reading the Book of Songs (Dokushi yōryō)
Ogyū Sorai
Master Sorai’s Teachings (Sorai sensei tōmonsho)
On the Study of Poetry and Prose
8. Confucianism in Action: An Autobiography of a Bakufu Official
The Kyōhō Era (1716–1736)
Arai Hakuseki
Record of Breaking and Burning Brushwood (Oritaku shiba no ki)
Early Education
Confucian Precedent and Justice for a Woman
9. Chinese Poetry and the Literatus Ideal
Hattori Nankaku
“Traveling Down the Sumida River at Night” (Yoru Bokusui o kudaru)
Jottings of Master Nankaku Under the Lamplight (Nankaku sensei tōka no sho)
“Responding to the Lord of Goose Lake” (Gako-kō ni kotau)
Gion Nankai
“The Fisherman” (Gyofu)
Encountering the Origins of Poetry (Shigaku hōgen)
On Elegance and Vulgarity
10. The Golden Age of Puppet Theater
Takeda Izumo, Namiki Sōsuke, and Miyoshi Shōraku
Chūshingura: The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers (Kanadehon Chūshingura)
Act 6, Kanpei’s Suicide
Namiki Sōsuke
Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani (Ichinotani futaba gunki)
Act 3, Kumagai’s Battle Camp
Suga Sensuke
Gappō at the Crossroads (Sesshū Gappō ga tsuji)
Act 2, Climactic Scene
11. Dangibon and the Birth of Edo Popular Literature
Jōkanbō Kōa
Modern-Style Lousy Sermons (Imayō heta dangi)
The Spirit of Kudō Suketsune Criticizes the Theater
Hiraga Gennai
Rootless Weeds (Nenashigusa)
In Hell
Ryōgoku Bridge
The Lover Reveals His True Form
The Modern Life of Shidōken (Fūryū Shidōken den)
Asanoshin Meets the Sage
Land of the Giants
Land of the Chest Holes
Island of Women
“A Theory of Farting” (Hōhi-ron)
12. Comic and Satiric Poetry
Senryū
Karai Senryū
Kyōka
Yomono Akara
Akera Kankō
Hezutsu Tōsaku
Yadoya no Meshimori
Ki no Sadamaru
Kyōshi
Dōmyaku Sensei, Master Artery
13. Literati Meditations
Yosa Buson
Hokku
Buson’s Poetics
Preface to Shoha’s Haiku Collection (Shundei kushū)
Japanese-Chinese Poetry
“Mourning the Old Sage Hokuju” (Hokuju rōsen o itamu)
“Spring Breeze on the Kema Embankment” (Shunpū batei kyoku)
Haibun
New Flower Gathering (Shinhanatsumi)
The Badger
Takebe Ayatari
Tales from This Time and That (Oriorigusa)
Walking the Neighborhoods of Negishi in Search of a Woman
14. Early Yomihon: History, Romance, and the Supernatural
Ueda Akinari
Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Ugetsu monogatari)
The Chrysanthemum Vow
The Reed-Choked House
A Serpent’s Lust
15. Eighteenth-Century Waka and Nativist Study
Debate on the Eight Points of Japanese Poetry
Kada no Arimaro
Eight Points of Japanese Poetry (Kokka hachiron)
On Poetry as Amusement
Tayasu Munetake
My Views on the Eight Points of Japanese Poetry (Kokka hachiron yogen)
Kamo no Mabuchi
Another Reply to Tayasu Munetake (Futatabi kingo no kimi ni kotaematsuru no sho)
Kamo no Mabuchi
Thoughts on Poetry (Ka’i kō)
Motoori Norinaga
“A Small Boat Punting Through the Reeds” (Ashiwake obune)
My Personal View of Poetry (Isonokami no sasamegoto)
The Essence of The Tale of Genji (Shibun yōryō)
The Tale of Genji, a Small Jeweled Comb (Genji monogatari tama no ogushi)
The Intentions of the Monogatari
The Spirit of the Gods (Naobi no mitama)
First Steps in the Mountains (Uiyamabumi)
16. Sharebon: Books of Wit and Fashion
The Playboy Dialect (Yūshi hōgen)
Preface
Live for Pleasure Alone!
Santō Kyōden
Forty-Eight Techniques for Success with Courtesans (Keiseikai shijū hatte)
The Tender-Loving Technique
The True-Feeling Technique
17. Kibyōshi: Satiric and Didactic Picture Books
Koikawa Harumachi
Mr Glitter ‘n’ Gold’s Dream of Splendor (Kinkin sensei eiga no yume)
Santō Kyōden
Grilled and Basted Edo-Born Playboy (Edo umare uwaki no kabayaki)
Fast-Dyeing Mind Study (Shingaku hayasomegusa)
18. Kokkeibon: Comic Fiction for Commoners
Jippensha Ikku
Travels on the Eastern Seaboard (Tōkaidōchū hizakurige)
Journey’s Start
Changed into a Fox
The False Ikku
Shikitei Sanba
Floating-World Bathhouse (Ukiyoburo)
The Larger Meaning
Women’s Bath
19. Ninjōbon: Sentimental Fiction
Tamenaga Shunsui
Spring-Color Plum Calendar (Shunshoku umegoyomi)
Book 1
Book 2
20. Gōkan: Extended Picture Books
Ryūtei Tanehiko
A Country Genji by a Commoner Murasaki (Nise Murasaki inaka Genji)
Book 4 (concluding part)
Book 5
21. Ghosts and Nineteenth-Century Kabuki
Tsuruya Nanboku
Ghost Stories at Yotsuya (Yotsuya kaidan)
Act 2, Tamiya Iemon’s House
Act 3, Deadman’s Ditch
22. Late Yomihon: History and the Supernatural Revisited
Kyokutei Bakin
The Eight Dog Chronicles (Nansō Satomi hakkenden)
Fusehime at Toyama Cave
Fusehime’s Decision
Shino in Ōtsuka Village
Hamaji and Shino
23. Nativizing Poetry and Prose in Chinese
Yamamoto Hokuzan
Thoughts on Composing Poetry (Sakushi shikō)
On Spirit and Freshness
The Conclusion
Kan Chazan
Kanshi
Rai Sanyō
The Unofficial History of Japan (Nihon gaishi)
Kusunoki
Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen
Kanshi
Ryōkan
Kanshi
24. The Miscellany
Matsudaira Sadanobu
Blossoms and the Moon (Kagetsu sōshi)
On Blossoms
Leaving It to Heaven
Study
On Skies Clearing and Rain Falling
Rain
Comments Made by Bystanders
On the Ainu
Fox Stupidity
Bugs in a Hawk
25. Early-Nineteenth-Century Haiku
Kobayashi Issa
Journal of My Father’s Last Days (Chichi no shūen nikki)
Fourth Month, Twenty-third Day
Fourth Month, Twenty-ninth Day
Fifth Month, Second Day
Fifth Month, Sixth Day
Fifth Month, Thirteenth Day
Fifth Month, Twentieth Day
Hokku
My Spring (Ora ga haru)
Orphan
Giving the Breast
A World of Dew
Come What May
26. Waka in the Late Edo Period
Ozawa Roan
Waka
The Ancient Middle Road Through Furu (Furu no nakamichi)
Dust and Dirt
Reed Sprouts
Responses to Questions
Ryōkan
Waka
Kagawa Kageki
Waka
Objections to New Learning (Niimanabi iken)
Tachibana Akemi
Waka
Ōkuma Kotomichi
Waka
Words to Myself (Hitorigochi)
27. Rakugo
Sanyūtei Enchō
Peony Lantern Ghost Story (Kaidan botan dōrō)
Volume 5, part 12
English-Language Bibliography
Index
PREFACE
This anthology, one of two planned volumes of Japanese literature from the ancient period
through the nineteenth century, brings to the reader carefully chosen examples of literature
from the Edo period (1600–1867). Except for such late-seventeenth-century writers as
Saikaku, Bashō, and Chikamatsu, the three centuries of early modern Japanese literature
have often been neglected by Western readers, and most of the texts here have been
translated for the first time. It is my hope that this volume will stimulate interest in one of the
most exciting periods in world literature.
This book pays particular attention to gesaku (playful writing), the popular literature of the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, which includes dangibon, kyōka, senryū,
kibyūshi, sharebon, yomihon, kokkeibon, gōkan, and ninjōbon. Also integral to early modern
culture were the poetry and prose written in Chinese or classical Japanese by those in the
literati (bunjin), Chinese studies (kangaku), and nativist studies (kokugaku) movements that
came to the fore in the eighteenth century and are well represented here. The anthology’s
focus on these “high” genres, especially poetics and literary treatises, reveals their close
connection to the popular literature and culture.
Nine selections from jōruri (puppet theater) and kabuki by major playwrights are an
important part of this book as well. Today in Japan, jōruri and kabuki plays are rarely viewed
in their entirety. Instead, favorite scenes or acts are performed, often as a medley. This book
takes the same approach, thereby allowing the reader to sample a wide variety of plays. The
jōruri and kabuki selections also were chosen to demonstrate their close connection to the
fiction of this period.
Early modern Japanese fiction was accompanied by pictures that existed in a dialogic
relationship to the printed text. In this anthology, I have tried to create the same relationship
and provide commentary on the images. The drama selections likewise include both
photographs from modern performances and Edo-period ukiyo-e and print illustrations.
Much of Japanese literature, particularly the poetry, is highly allusive and elliptical.
Consequently, considerable effort has been made not just to translate important and
interesting texts but also to offer critical introductions to the various genres, sociocultural
phenomena, and authors. Almost all the poetry is accompanied by commentary in the
footnotes. Except where indicated, I have written all the introductions and commentaries, and
I bear full responsibility for the accuracy and quality of the translations.
This anthology owes its existence to Jennifer Crewe, editorial director at Columbia University
Press, who many years ago urged me to take on this project. Because of various other
commitments, however, I did not begin working on it seriously until 1997. Since then, I have
accumulated many debts.
My greatest debt is to Chris Drake, with whom I had long discussions about the texts, who
took on a lion’s share of the translations, and, indeed, without whom this anthology would not
exist. A number of scholars in Japan gave generously of their time, particularly Horikiri Minoru,
Hori Nobuo, Ibi Takashi, Kawamoto Kōji, Kurozumi Makoto, Momokawa Takahiro, Nagashima
Hiroaki, Ogata Tsutomu, Ōoka Makoto, Shirakura Kazuyoshi, Suzuki Jun, and Torii Akio. My
gratitude goes as well to Lewis Cook, Andrew Gerstle, Howard Hibbett, Donald Keene,
Lawrence Kominz, Lawrence Marceau, Mark Oshima, Thomas Rimer, Edward Seidensticker,
Tomi Suzuki, and the anonymous readers who provided invaluable feedback.
Many thanks go to my graduate students—particularly Anne Commons, Cheryl Crowley,
Torquil Duthie, Peter Flueckiger, Christina Laffin, Herschel Miller, Jamie Newhard, Satoru
Saitō, Tomoko Sakomura, Michael Scanlon, and Akiko Takeuchi, all of whom assisted with the
manuscript at various stages. I-Hsien Wu checked the pinyin, and Wei Shang helped with the
Chinese references. Special thanks go to Tomoko Sakomura, who did extensive research on
and wrote the legends for the ukiyo-e prints and for the kana-zōshi, jōruri, late ukiyo-zōshi,
literati, kibyōshi, gōkan, late yomihon, and late kabuki illustrations. Melissa McCormick and
Barbara Ford assisted with the illustrations. I am grateful to Sakaguchi Akiko, who helped
obtain for me the illustrations from the National Theatre in Tokyo. Barbara Adachi, who
recently donated her jōruri collection to C. V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University,
allowed me to use her superb photographs, and Amy Heinrich, the director of the library,
provided much assistance with the photographs and other matters. Mihoko Miki, the
Japanese studies librarian at the C. V. Starr Library, obtained important materials for this
book. Yuiko Yampolsky helped me in many ways. Winifred Olsen was an invaluable editor and
consultant for the first draft. Margaret B. Yamashita was a superb copy editor. Irene Pavitt at
Columbia University Press provided invaluable advice.
My thanks to all the translators for their contributions and patience with what turned out to
be an enormously complex and time-consuming project and for the seemingly endless
revisions.
Most of all, my thanks to Shinchōsha for providing generous support to make these two
volumes possible. Funding was also provided by Itoh Foundation (Tokyo) and the Daidō Life
Foundation (Osaka).
HISTORICAL PERIODS, MEASUREMENTS, AND OTHER
MATTERS
MAJOR HISTORICAL PERIODS
Nara
Heian
Kamakura
North and South Courts
Muromachi
Warring States
Early Modern / Tokugawa
Meiji
710–784
794–1185
1185–1333
1336–1392
1392–1573
1477–1573
1600–1867
1868–1912
MAJOR ERA NAMES IN THE
EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Kanbun
Genroku
Kyōhō
Hmōreki
An’ei-Tenmei
Tenmei
Kansei
Bunka-Bunsei (Ka-Sei)
Tenpō
Bakumatsu
1661–1673
1688–1704
1716–1736
1751–1764
1772–1789
1781–1789
1789–1801
1804–1829
1830–184
41853–1867
DISTANCE
ri
chō
jō
shaku
sun
36 chō: approximately 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers
36 jō: approximately 120 yards or 110 meters
10 shaku: approximately 3.28 yards or 3 meters
10 sun: approximately 1 foot or 30 centimeters
0.1 shaku: approximately 1.2 inches or 3 centimeters
WEIGHTS
kan or
kanme
kin or kinme
ryō
1 , 0 0 0 monme or 6.25 kinme: approximately 8.3 pounds or 3.76
kilograms
160 monme or 16 ryō: approximately 1.3 pounds or 600 grams
10 monme: approximately 1.3 ounces or 37.6 grams
monme
0.1 ryō or 0.001 kanme: approximately 0.13 ounce or 3.76 grams
CAPACITY
koku
to
shō
gō
10 to: approximately 47.5 gallons or 180 liters
10 shō: approximately 4.75 gallons or 18 liters
10 gō: approximately 3.8 pints or 1.8 liters
0.1 shō: approximately 0.38 pint or 180 milliliters
AREA
chō
tan
se
tsubo
10 tan: approximately 2.5 acres or 1 hectare
10 se: approximately 0.25 acre or 0.1 hectare
30 tsubo: approximately 119 square yards or 99.3 square meters
100 shaku: approximately 3.95 square yards or 3.31 square meters
COINS
ōban,
bankin
koban
ichibukin
chōgin
zeni
largest “gold” coin (not pure gold), used only on special occasions, weighed
44 monme (5.8 ounces, 165.4 grams)
second largest “gold” coin, largest in everyday use, weighed 4.8 monme (63
ounces, 18 grams), equivalent to 1 ryō
smallest gold coin, equivalent to one-quarter ryō
largest silver coin, weighed about 43 monme (5.7 ounces, 161.64 grams)
small copper coin, weighed 1 monme (0.13 ounce, 3.76 grams), smallest
monetary unit
DATES AND SEASONS
The First through the Third Month of the lunar calendar (roughly the equivalent of February
through April): spring
The Fourth through the Sixth Month (roughly May through July): summer
The Seventh through the Ninth Month (roughly August through October): autumn
The Tenth through the Twelfth Month (roughly November through January): winter
Conversion from the lunar to the solar calendar is complex. For example, the eighteenth day,
Twelfth Month, in the third year of the Jōkyōera, was January 31, 1687.
TERMS AND TITLES
Whenever possible, a Japanese term or title is translated in its first appearance. Japanese
literary terms are listed and defined in the index.
ROMANIZATION
The romanization of Japanese words is based on the Hepburn system, and the romanization
of Chinese words follows the pinyin system.
NAMES
Names are given in the Japanese order, surname first, followed by personal or artistic name.
After the first occurrence, artists and poets are referred to solely by their artistic name or
pen name. Thus, Matsuo Bashō is referred to by his haikai name (haigō), Bashō, and not
Matsuo, his family name.
ABBREVIATIONS OF MODERN SERIAL EDITIONS
KHT
Koten haibungaku taikei (Tokyo: Shūeisha, 1970-)
MNZ
NKBT
NKBZ
NKT
NST
RZ
Motoori Norinaga zenshū, 21 volumes (Tokyo: Chikuma shobō, 1968–1977)
Nihon koten bungaku taikei, 102 volumes (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1957–1968)
Nihon koten bungaku zenshū, 60 volumes (Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1970–1976)
Nihon kagaku taikei, 10 volumes (Tokyo: Kazam shobō, 1956-1963)
Nihon shisō taikei, 81 volumes (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1970-1995)
Ryōkan zenshū, 2 volumes, edited by Toyoharu Tōgō(Tokyo: Tōkyō Sōgensha,
1959)
Shin Nihon koten bungaku taikei (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1989-)
Shinpen Nihon koten bungaku zenshū (Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1994-)
Shinchō Nihon koten shūsei, 79 volumes (Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1976–1989)
SNKBT
SNKBZ
SNKS
Citations are followed by an abbreviation of the series title, the volume number, and the page.
For example, NKBZ 51: 525 refers to page 525 of volume 51 of the Nihon koten bungaku
zenshū.
Provinces in the Early Modern Period
Chapter 1
EARLY MODERN JAPAN
One of the most dramatic transformations in Japanese history was the transition from the
medieval period (thirteenth to sixteenth century) to the early modern era (1600–1867), when
literary and cultural paradigms gave birth to a whole new body of vernacular literature. During
the seventeenth century, urban commoners (chōnin) emerged as an economically and
culturally powerful class; mass education spread, especially through the domain (han) schools
for samurai and the private schools (terakoya) for commoners; and printing was introduced—
all of which led to the widespread production and consumption of popular literature, which
became a commodity for huge markets. As a result, traditional Japanese and Chinese literary
texts were widely read for the first time.1
Until the seventeenth century, literary texts had been shared through limited quantities of
handwritten manuscripts, almost all of which belonged to a small group of aristocrats, priests,
and high-ranking samurai. In the medieval period, traveling minstrels (biwa hōshi) had recited
military epics such as The Tale of the Heike to a populace that could neither read nor write.
Even most samurai were illiterate, as were farmers and craftsmen. But in the seventeenth
century, with the creation of a new socioeconomic structure, the government promotion of
education, and the spread of print capitalism, this situation changed drastically. By
midcentury, almost all samurai—now the bureaucratic elite—were able to read, as were the
middle to upper levels of the farmer, artisan, and merchant classes.
The seventeenth century brought not only a dramatic rise in the standard of living for almost
all levels of society but also a dramatic change in the nature of cultural production and
consumption. In the medieval period, although provincial military lords were able to learn
about the Heian classics from such traveling renga (classical linked verse) masters as Sōgi
(1421–1502), the acquisition of these classical texts was limited to a relatively small circle of
poet-priests and aristocrats, who were deeply rooted in the traditional culture of Kyoto. A
monopoly—epitomized by the Kokin denju, the secret transmission of the Kokinshū (Anthology
of Old and New Japanese Poems, ca. 905)—was established over a significant part of socalled refined culture, which was often passed on through carefully controlled lineages in oneto-one transmissions to the elected few. In the seventeenth century, by contrast, anyone who
could afford to pay for lessons could hire a “town teacher” (machi shishō) in any one of the
many arts or fields of learning. The transmission of learning was no longer dependent, as it
had been in the medieval period, on the authority or patronage of large institutions such as
Buddhist temples or powerful military lords. Such cultural activities as writing haikai poetry,
singing nō (utai), and performing the tea ceremony (chanoyu) became not only available to
commoners but highly commercialized.
THE SHŌGUNATE AND THE DOMAINS
The Tokugawa shōgunate (1603–1867), the third and last of three warrior governments (the
first two being the Kamakura and Muromachi shōgunates), was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu
three years after he vanquished his rivals at the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The first of
fifteen successive Tokugawa shōguns, Ieyasu took the title of seii-tai shōgun (barbariansubduing generalissimo), and his military government was referred to as the bakufu, generally
translated as “shōgunate.” To control foreign trade and diplomacy, the sh ōgunate restricted
many of the foreign contacts, under the seclusion (sakoku) edicts of 1633 to 1639, and to
preserve social order at home, it attempted to establish a four-class system (shi-nō-kō-shō) in
which samurai, farmer, artisan, and merchant were viewed as existing in a strict hierarchy.
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, Japan’s population had reached nearly 30
million. Of this number, roughly 10 percent were samurai, who were organized along feudal
hierarchical lines, with ties of vassalage linking every man to his lord and ultimately to the
shōgun, who ostensibly stood at the top. Immediately under the shōgun were two groups of
vassals: the daimyō, or domain (han) lords, and the shogun’s direct vassals. The total number
of daimyō, to whom the shōgun entrusted most of the work of provincial administration, was
around 260. At the top were the collateral houses (shinpan), or cadet houses of the
Tokugawa, which eventually numbered 23, followed by the “house” ( fudai) daimyō, who had
been Tokugawa vassals before the battle of Sekigahara and who numbered 145 by the end of
the eighteenth century. The remainder were “outside” (tozama) daimyō, who had gained
eminence before the rise of the Tokugawa. Many of these daimy ōruled their domains like
private princes. To help maintain control over them, in the 1630s and 1640s the shōgunate
institutionalized the alternate attendance (sankin kōtai) system, which required daimyōto
reside in Edo in alternate years in attendance on the shōgun. To perform this obligation, a
daimyōhad to maintain in Edo a residential estate (yashiki)—which consumed about 70 to 80
percent of his income—where his wife and children were permanently detained by the
shōgunate as political hostages. The typical daimyōtraveled to the capital every other year
with a large retinue, using the main highways, which were under shōgunal control, and
expending a considerable amount of money. For example, Kaga Domain (now Ishikawa
Prefecture), on the Japan Sea side, belonging to the Maeda family, with an income of
1,030,000 koku, required a retinue of 2,500 when the daimyōtraveled to Edo.
The Tokugawa house itself formed the largest power bloc. The direct Tokugawa vassals
were the hatamoto, the enfeoffed bannermen and the higher-ranking direct vassals; and the
gokenin, the stipended housemen and the lower-ranking direct vassals. The hatamoto, about
five thousand in number, occupying a position analogous to an officer corps in a standing
army, drew annual stipends of at least one hundred koku and usually were descendants of
warriors who had helped the Tokugawa before the battle of Sekigahara. Their civil positions
ranged from grand chamberlain (sobayōnin), directly under the senior councillor (rōjū), to
financial clerks. The gokenin, who numbered about twenty thousand in 1800, received annual
stipends that were usually less than one hundred koku. Under the gokenin and the provincial
daimyōcame the bulk of the samurai class.
With a few exceptions, such as Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (r. 1680–1709), Tokugawa
Yoshimune (r. 1716–1745), and Tokugawa Ienari (r. 1787–1837), who wielded nearly absolute
power, the shōgun was usually overshadowed by others in the shōgunal administrative
system, particularly the senior councillors, most often house daimyō who met in formal council
and conducted national affairs, foreign relations, and control of the daimyō. From time to time,
powerful senior councillors such as Tanuma Okitsugu (1719–1788), Matsudaira Sadanobu
(1758–1829), and Mizuno Tadakuni (1794–1851) were able to dominate the council and
control shōgunal policy.
Politically and financially, the Tokugawa sh ōgunate was at its peak in the seventeenth
century. Thereafter, many of its daimy ō controls lost their efficacy, and its revenues began to
decline. Periodic attempts were made to restore both authority and solvency, first with the
Kyōhō Reforms (1716–1736), carried out by the eighth shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshimune; then
with the Kansei Reforms (1787–1793), executed by the senior councillor Matsudaira
Sadanobu; and finally with the Tenpō Reforms (1830–1844), administered by the senior
councillor Mizuno Tadakuni. Although the Ky ōhō Reforms temporarily restabilized the finances
of the Tokugawa shōgunate, none of these measures had lasting success. They generally did,
however, have a greater impact, in terms of censorship and other limitations, on cultural and
literary production. Accordingly, the high points of early modern literature—the Genroku era
(1688–1704), the Hōreki-Tenmei era (1751–1789), and the Bunka-Bunsei era (1804–1829)—
tended to come precisely between these major reforms.
THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY
In order to strengthen their power and authority, the bakufu and the provincial domains
created a rigid, hierarchical class society made up of samurai, farmers, artisans, and
merchants, in descending order. (Nobility were treated separately, and Buddhist and Shinto
priests were given a position equal to that of the samurai.) Below the four classes were
outcasts called eta and hinin (nonpersons). By the end of the early modern period, about 75
percent of the population were farmers; 10 percent, samurai; about 7 to 8 percent, urban
commoners; 2 percent, priests; and 4 percent, a miscellaneous mix. To reinforce this social
hierarchy, extremely harsh rules were instituted. Only samurai were given surnames; they
also had the right to cut down a farmer or chōnin for an insult. Every aspect of clothing and
living was regulated to bring each individual within the class system.
Among the samurai, a strict hierarchy was established as well, beginning at the top with the
shōgun, daimyō, hatamoto, and gokenin and working down to the servants of middle-rank
samurai families, each pledging absolute fidelity to his immediate superior. Similar hierarchies
based on fidelity also existed in commoner society: between the main family (honke) and the
branch family (bunke) in regard to kinship structure, between the master and the apprentice in
artisan society, and between the employee and the employer in the merchant world. Strict
laws governing residence and clothing were applied also to the eta, who were confined to
farming and jobs related to dead animals (such as leather making) or criminals, and the hinin,
who cleaned up waste and performed other demeaning tasks.
The fundamental social unit in the early modern period was the ie (house), which was
centered on the family and governed by the house head (kachō), with preferential treatment
given to the eldest son, who usually inherited the property and became the next head of the
house. The ie included nonblood relations such as employees and servants, and it was
possible, and not uncommon, for an adopted heir with no blood tie to become the kachō. The
younger sons, who did not inherit any property, frequently left the house to be adopted by a
family that lacked sons. The house was the principal unit within each class category (samurai,
farmer, artisan, and merchant), with each house pursuing a hereditary “house occupation”
(kagyō). The members of the house considered themselves as both individuals and part of the
larger social unit of the house, with a sense of obligation toward other members of the house
similar to that between child and parent or retainer and lord.
The income for a samurai house—which came from a stipend—was fixed according to
hereditary criteria, leaving rōnin (masterless samurai) and second or third sons in a precarious
financial situation. One result was that they often took up scholarship, literature, religion, or
the arts, in which they could establish a house of their own. Many of the leading writers and
scholars of the early modern period—such as Gion Nankai, Hiraga Gennai, and Koikawa
Harumachi—were samurai who had either lost or become disillusioned with their inherited
positions or were of extremely low status, with insufficient means for survival, and
consequently sought alternative professions in scholarship and the arts.
The social position of women was low. In a samurai family, a woman had no right to inherit
the family name, property, or position. In the medieval period, when the samurai lived on the
land as property owners and producers, samurai wives had an important position sustaining
the household and family. But under the Tokugawa bakufu system, the samurai were no
longer tied to the land, and so they gathered in the castle towns and became bureaucrats.
The shōgun and the domain lords took over direct control of the farmers, who became the
producers. In the seventeenth century, the samurai became similar to aristocrats in that they
had male and female servants who took care of them. One consequence was that the role of
the wife was reduced to that of a protected lady, with any power she might have had going
entirely to her husband, who was master of the house. As the position of women declined and
that of men rose, it became normal for the samurai, as head of the house, to have a mistress
or to spend considerable time in the pleasure quarters.
The literature of the early modern period is often thought to be the literature of and by urban
commoners (chōnin). Although some writers—such as Ihara Saikaku, Santō Kyoden, and
Shikitei Sanba—were from artisan or merchant families, an overwhelming number came from
samurai families. Asai Ryōi, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Gion Nankai, Hattori Nankaku, Hiraga
Gennai, Koikawa Harumachi, Jippensha Ikku, and Takizawa Bakin—to mention only the most
prominent names—were from warrior families, usually ones in severe decline. Even those not
normally associated with samurai, such as Matsuo Bashō, were descendants of warriors. The
literature of the early modern period is thus as much by the samurai as by the chōnin. A few
writers had a peasant background, perhaps the best known being Issa, a haikai poet. Buson
was the son of a well-to-do farmer.
THE ECONOMY AND THE THREE CITIES
At the end of the sixteenth century, foundries for minting gold and silver coins were built,
leading to a unified gold- and silver-based currency. In 1636, the bakufu opened a foundry for
minting zeni, or bronze coins, which provided the basis of a common currency. The bakufu
and the daimyō, who were in need of cash, established large warehouses (kurayashiki) in