Kusazoshi - Kusazoshi

Japanese: 草双紙 - くさぞうし

A genre of novels from the Edo period. A general term for illustrated novels written in kana, unique to Edo, which began to be published around the end of the Kanbun era (late 17th century) as picture books for young children, followed by the akahon, kurohon, aohon, kibyōshi, and gokan, and continued to be published until the 1870s (1877-1886). One of the most popular novels of the Edo period, "kusa" is a derogatory term meaning something similar but not the same, something not serious. Most are nakahon (4-6 format, about 18 cm long and 13 cm wide), with one book of 5 sheets (10 pages) and one to three books, but there are many gokan that are as large as 100 books. The names Akahon, Aohon, Kibyō, etc. refer to the color of their covers, and the name Gokan came from the fact that these works became longer and were bound together in several volumes. However, since each had its own unique content, today these names also refer to the distinctive literary qualities of the works.

[Toshihiko Uda]

Red Book, Black Book, Blue Book

Akahon is one of the earliest kusazoshi, a picture book for young children that appeared around 1662 (Kanbun 2). It consists of simple pictures and simple notes, a crimson cover with a picture label, and there were two sizes, 46-size and a small one called akakohon, but as publishing became commercialized, it was standardized to 46-size, and this size became the prototype not only for kusazoshi but also for the size of modern novels. The content was well-known fairy tales and ghost stories from the previous era, and the narratives were very simple, but as they gradually began to use material from kabuki and joruri, they became more complex and evolved into reading material for adults, especially young people. Around the beginning of the Enkyo era (1744-1747), the cover changed to black due to the price of dyes, and the Kurohon was born, while the Aohon with a light green cover was born around the same time, both of which contained historical tales, legends, and tales of divine powers based on plays. In the early days, many of the works were unknown for either the author or the artist, but gradually artists such as Okumura Masanobu, Torii Kiyomitsu, and Tomikawa Fusanobu, who were representative of the early days of ukiyo-e, became active as authors, and eventually professional artists such as Joa appeared, and the world of kusazoshi changed dramatically, with comical and free-spirited descriptions that reflected real-world situations and human feelings, creating the foundation for the next generation of Kibyoshi.

[Toshihiko Uda]

Yellow cover, combined volume

In 1775 (An'ei 4), Koikawa Harumachi published "Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume" (The Dream of Prosperity of Gold and Silver), a work of his own illustration, and the world of kusazoshi reached a major turning point. This work is a pictorial explanation and caricature of the world of sharebon (comedian stories), which were popular as adult reading material in Edo at the time, and is noted for its precise depiction of reality and its intelligent, humorous, and free-spirited perspective and writing style. Around this time, the color of the covers also changed from light green, which fades easily, to a cheaper, more durable yellow, and this was the birth of the yellow cover style. From then on, against the backdrop of the liberal Tanuma era, Kibyōshi reached its height of prosperity from the end of the An'ei era to the Tenmei era (1780s), with a core of samurai authors such as Harumachi and Hoseidō Kisanji, townspeople authors such as Santo Kyoden and Shiba Zenko, and the foremost ukiyo-e artists of the time such as Kitao Shigemasa, Torii Kiyonaga, and Kitagawa Utamaro, and produced a unique literary form that made full use of light-hearted satire and fantastical parodies (caricatures) and whose significance lies in the expression rather than the content.

However, with the downfall of Tanuma Okitsugu and the Kansei Reforms (1787-1793) by the conservative Matsudaira Sadanobu, even this light satire was criticized, leading to the withdrawal of samurai authors altogether and the forced change of style. Strongly didactic works incorporating Shingaku and stories of revenge became popular, and the plots gradually became more complex and longer, leading to a shift to omnibus volumes with different bindings around 1807 (Bunka 4). Towards the end of the period, there were writers such as Kyokutei Bakin, Shikitei Sanba, and Jippensha Ikku who would later pioneer new genres in the world of novels, and artists such as Utagawa Toyokuni and Kunisada were particularly active. The characteristics of these collections are their complex and grotesque plots and their close ties to theater, with illustrations that depict the actors' likenesses, and with Kyoden, Ryutei Tanehiko and other representative authors, they began as short stories, but gradually grew in length, leading to lengthy works such as "Shiranui Monogatari," which consists of 90 stories and four volumes each. The gory and grotesque nature of these works is often due to the subject matter, but it is also worth noting that they were a reflection of the demands of the times and the intellectual, humorous and free-spirited spirit of the Tenmei period.

[Toshihiko Uda]

"Ishida Motoki's 'Various Types of Kusazoshi' (1928, Nansō Shoin)" ▽ "'Study of Kusazoshi and Yomihon' (included in 'Mizutani Futō Collected Works 2', 1973, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "'Kusazoshi' (included in 'Iwasaki Bunko Rare Book Series', 1974, Dosho Kankokai)"

[Reference item] | Yellow cover | Gokan

"Professor Kanehana's Dream of Elegance"
Written and illustrated by Koikawa Harumachi, published in 1775 (An'ei 4), held at the National Diet Library .

"Professor Kanehana's Dream of Elegance"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

江戸時代の小説の一ジャンル。江戸特有の挿絵入り仮名書き小説で、寛文(かんぶん)末年（17世紀後半）ごろに刊行され始めた幼童向けの絵本である赤本を初めとして、黒本、青本、黄表紙、合巻(ごうかん)という順序で展開し、明治10年代（1877～1886）まで出版され続けた絵双紙の総称。江戸時代のもっとも通俗的な小説の一つで、「草」は似て非なるもの、本格的でないものというほどの意を表す卑称である。判型の多くは中本型（四六判。縦約18センチメートル、横13センチメートル）で、1冊5丁（10ページ）よりなり、1～3冊からなるが、合巻には100冊に及ぶ大部なものも数多い。赤本、青本、黄表紙などの呼び名は表紙の色によるもので、合巻はそれらが長編化し、数冊が合綴(がってつ)されるようになったがための呼び名であったが、またそれらはそれぞれに独自の内容的特徴をもっていたので、今日ではそれらの文芸のもつ特質をもその名でよんでいる。

［宇田敏彦］

赤本・黒本・青本

赤本は最初期の草双紙で、1662年（寛文2）ごろ発生した幼童向けの絵本である。素朴な絵と簡単な書き入れとからなり、表紙は丹色(にいろ)で絵題簽(えだいせん)を張り、判型は四六判と赤小本とよばれる小型のものがあったが、出版の商業化とともに四六判に統一され、以後この判型が草双紙のみならず、近代の小説本の大きさの原型となった。よく知られた前代からのおとぎ話や怪異譚(たん)を内容とし、叙述はきわめて簡潔なものであったが、しだいに歌舞伎(かぶき)や浄瑠璃(じょうるり)の素材を題材とするようになって複雑化するとともに、大人の、とくに青少年向けの読み物へと脱皮していった。延享(えんきょう)（1744～1747）初年ごろ、染料の値段の関係から表紙が黒色にかわって黒本が、また同じころ萌黄色(もえぎいろ)表紙の青本が誕生し、ともに演劇の演目に取材した史伝、伝説、神仏の霊験譚などを内容とした。初期は作者、画工とも不明の作が多いが、しだいに浮世絵創生期の代表的画家の奥村政信(まさのぶ)、鳥居清満(きよみつ)、富川房信(とみかわふさのぶ)らが作者を兼ねて活躍し、やがて専業の作者丈阿(じょうあ)などが出て草双紙の世界も大きくさま変わりして、滑稽洒脱(こっけいしゃだつ)な叙述で現実世界の世態人情をも写すようになり、次代の黄表紙を生み出す母体を醸成することとなった。

［宇田敏彦］

黄表紙・合巻

1775年（安永4）恋川春町(こいかわはるまち)が『金々先生栄花夢(きんきんせんせいえいがのゆめ)』を自画作で発表し、草双紙の世界は大転換期を迎える。この作は、そのころの江戸で成人の読み物としてもてはやされていた洒落本(しゃれぼん)の世界の絵解き、戯画化ともいうべきもので、精緻(せいち)な現実描写、知的で滑稽洒脱な視点と筆致が注目される。ちょうどこのころ、表紙も退色しやすい萌黄色から、値段も安く色もあせない黄色に変わって定着し、ここに黄表紙の誕生となった。以後黄表紙は、自由主義的な田沼時代を背景に、春町、朋誠堂喜三二(ほうせいどうきさんじ)らの武家作者や山東(さんとう)京伝、芝全交らの町人作者、北尾重政(しげまさ)、鳥居清長、喜多川歌麿(きたがわうたまろ)ら当代第一級の浮世絵師を中核とし、安永(あんえい)末年から天明(てんめい)年間（1780年代）にかけて、狂歌壇を中心とする天明文壇の隆盛とともに全盛期を招来し、軽妙な風刺性、奇想天外なパロディー（戯画化）を駆使した、内容よりもその表現に意義を認めざるをえない独特の文学形態を生み出した。

　しかし田沼意次(おきつぐ)の失脚、保守派の松平定信(さだのぶ)による寛政(かんせい)の改革（1787～1793）により、その軽い風刺性すらもとがめられ、武家作者の総退場や、作風の転換を迫られる結果となった。心学を取り入れた教訓性の強いものや敵討物(かたきうちもの)の流行がそれで、しだいに筋(すじ)も複雑化し、長編化して、1807年（文化4）ごろには装丁を変えた合巻へと移行していった。末期には、のちに小説の世界に新ジャンルを開拓する曲亭馬琴(きょくていばきん)、式亭三馬(しきていさんば)、十返舎一九(じっぺんしゃいっく)らがあり、画工には歌川豊国(とよくに)・国貞(くにさだ)らの活躍が著しい。合巻の特徴は、複雑でグロテスクな筋立てと、挿絵が役者の似顔で描かれる点など演劇との結び付きが密接なところにあり、京伝、柳亭種彦(りゅうていたねひこ)らを代表作者として、初期には短編物であったが、しだいに長編化して『白縫譚(しらぬいものがたり)』のように90編・各4冊という長大な作も出るに至った。血みどろなグロテスクさはその題材による点が多いが、時代の要求および天明期の知的で滑稽洒脱な戯作(げさく)精神の裏返しであったところにも注目したい。

［宇田敏彦］

『石田元季著『草双紙のいろいろ』（1928・南宋書院）』▽『『草双紙と読本の研究』（『水谷不倒著作集2』所収・1973・中央公論社）』▽『『草双紙』（『岩崎文庫貴重本叢刊』所収・1974・同書刊行会）』

[参照項目] | 黄表紙 | 合巻

『金々先生栄花夢』
恋川春町著・画　1775年（安永4）刊国立国会図書館所蔵">

『金々先生栄花夢』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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