Ohnoya Sohachi - Ohnoya Sohachi

Japanese: 大野屋惣八 - おおのや・そうはち

This rental bookstore operated in Nagashimacho 5-chome, Nagoya, for seven generations from 1767 (Meiwa 4) to 1899 (Meiji 32). The family names were Kogetsudo and Shubunsha, and the Eguchi family. Sohachi was the nickname for each generation. It was abbreviated as Daiso. Since the first generation, the store had a policy of not selling the books it purchased, and at the time of closing down, it had accumulated a vast and diverse collection of over 21,000 books. It also had in-house authors such as Shomedengaku who produced new manuscripts and published books on the side. Many writers traveling along the Tokaido road, including Takizawa Bakin and Jippensha Ikku, visited the store, and with extremely low admission fees, it was widely used by everyone from Owari samurai to ordinary citizens, and it also played the role of a library today. It is said that Mizutani Futo and Tsubouchi Shoyo also benefited from it when they were young. The books in the Daiso collection are of great value as documents, as most of them are first editions or near-first editions, and together with the catalogue, they are valuable materials that convey the state of reading in the early modern period. <References> Naotaro Ando, "Research on the rental book store Daiso," Haruhiko Asakura, "Rental Book Store Daiso" (Kotsu Mamehon 32), Mitsuhiko Shibata (ed.), "Daiso Book Catalog and Research"

(Yasunagi Mie)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

明和4(1767)年から明治32(1899)年まで7代にわたり,名古屋長島町5丁目で営業した貸本屋。家号は胡月堂,聚文舎。江口氏。惣八は代々の通称。略称を大惣という。初代以来,購入した書籍は売却しないという方針で,廃業時には二万一千余部に上ったという膨大かつ多種多様な蔵書を蓄える一方,椒芽田楽らお抱え作者を擁して新作写本を作り,かたわら出版も行った。滝沢馬琴,十返舎一九をはじめ,東海道往来の文人墨客も多く訪れたが,極めて廉価の見料で,尾張藩士から一般市民まで幅広く利用され,現在の図書館の役割も果たした。水谷不倒,坪内逍遥も青年時にはその恩恵に浴したという。大惣旧蔵書は,ほとんどが初版かそれに近い善本であるため資料的価値が高く,またその蔵書目録とともに,近世の読書のありようを伝える貴重な資料となっている。<参考文献>安藤直太朗『貸本屋大惣の研究』,朝倉治彦『貸本屋大惣』(古通豆本32),柴田光彦編『大惣蔵書目録と研究』

(安永美恵)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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