Flower and Moon Book - Kagetsu Soushi

This is an essay by Matsudaira Sadanobu. Matsudaira Sadanobu, who assisted the 11th Tokugawa Shogun Ienari in carrying out the Kansei reforms, wrote this book between 1796 (Kansei 8) and 1803 (Kyowa 3) after he retired from his position as a senior councilor. The title of the book comes from the chapters "About Flowers" and "About the Moon" at the beginning of Volume 1. It consists of 156 pieces of elegant writing, in which the author writes about his thoughts on all sorts of things, including social situations, the bright and dark sides of life, and natural scenery. The chapters in which he observes and comments on natural phenomena and landscapes clearly show the author's personality as a lover of elegance, while the chapters that describe various secular phenomena, although not obvious, reveal the author's feelings as a ruler, making it an interesting essay by a literary prime minister. The published version has handwritten notes by the author, but the publication year is unknown.

[Goya Jinbo]

"Kagetsu Soushi" (Yuhodo Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

松平定信(さだのぶ)の随筆。徳川11代将軍家斉(いえなり)を補佐して寛政(かんせい)の改革政治を断行した松平定信が、老中を致仕したのち、1796年（寛政8）から1803年（享和3）の間に執筆した。書名は、巻1の巻頭に「花のこと」「月のこと」の章があるのに基づく。社会の諸事相、人生の明暗、自然の風物など、あらゆる事象に対する感想を流麗な雅文でつづったもので、全156編よりなる。自然界の現象や景物を観察して感想を述べた章には、風雅を愛した著者の人柄がよく表れているとともに、世俗のさまざまな事象を描いた章には、あらわではないが、為政者の立場にある著者の心情がうかがわれ、文人宰相の随筆として興味深い。刊本は著者の自筆板下によるが、刊年は未詳である。

［神保五彌］

『『花月草紙』（有朋堂文庫）』

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