"Pleiades" - The Butler

...He was a landlord in Motofunamachi, Nihonbashi, and lived in Hamamachi. He is said to have studied painting under Torii Kiyonaga, but his comic works include many excellent ones, such as the joke book "Unubore Kagami" (The Self-Conceived Mirror) published in 1789 (Kansei 1), "Koshikego" (Lattice Comedy) published the following year, and "Giyoku no Choyo" (A Letter of Jewel) and "Kiyakusyuichi no Torii" (A Tablet of a Guest's Flowers) published in the Kansei era (1789-1801) after the Kansei Reforms. His reading books include "Iroha Suikoden" (1794), "Chiyo no Hime Shichihenge Monogatari" (The Tale of the Seven Transformations of Chiyohime) (1808), and "Onyoimoseyama" (1810). He also wrote humorous books and collections. In 1807 (Bunka 4), he was apparently driven out of his job as a landlord by his relatives and moved to Senso-ji Temple, and in his later years he fell into poverty and moved to Kawasaki, where he worked as a calligraphy teacher.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "The Letter of Intimidation" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…日本橋本船町の家主で浜町に住した。絵を鳥居清長に学んだというが，戯作は1789年(寛政1)刊の洒落本《自惚鏡（うぬぼれかがみ）》を処女作として翌90年刊《格子戯語（こうしけご）》，寛政改革後の寛政年間(1789‐1801)に刊行した《玉の牒（ぎよくのちよう）》《客衆一華表（きやくしゆいちのとりい）》などの洒落本に佳作が多く，読本に《いろは酔故伝》(1794)，《千代曩媛七変化物語（ちよのひめしちへんげものがたり）》(1808)，《阥阦妹背山（おんよういもせやま）》(1810)などがあり，ほかに滑稽本，合巻の作もある。1807年(文化4)に，家主の職を親族らから追われたらしく，浅草寺内に移り，晩年は落魄して川崎に移り，手習師匠を業としたという。…

※「《玉の牒》」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報