Sagahon - Sagabon

Books published in the latter half of the Keicho era (1596-1615) by Honami Koetsu and his disciples in Saga, Kyoto, mainly using wood type. They are called Sagabon after the place of publication, but those that Koetsu himself wrote the draft for are called "Koetsubon." Sagabon are known as the most beautiful books in the history of Japanese publishing, with gorgeous artistic designs on the paper and binding, but the series of books printed with elegant wood type mixed with hiragana are mostly important classics in Japan, including "The Tales of Ise," "The Little Mirror of Genji," and "The Kanze School Song Book," which had previously only been passed down in manuscript form. The editing work, undertaken by classical scholar Nakanoin Michikatsu and others, is extremely precise, making the text extremely valuable academically.

[Kazumasa Kaneko]

"Sagahon Kou (Study of the Saga Book)" (1916) by Ishiro Wada ; "Study of the Sagahon (Illustrated Book)" by Kazuma Kawase (1932, Isseido Shoten) ; "Illustrated Kouetsu Yohon (Commentary)" edited by Akira Omote and Ihei Ejima (1970, Yushudo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

慶長(けいちょう)年間（1596～1615）後半期、本阿弥光悦(ほんあみこうえつ)およびその門流が、京都の嵯峨で、主として木活字を用いて出版した書物。出版地にちなみ嵯峨本と称するが、とくに光悦自ら版下を書いたものを「光悦本」という。嵯峨本は料紙・装丁などに豪華な美術的意匠を施した、わが国出版史上もっとも美しい書物として知られるが、流麗な平仮名交じりの木活字で印刷された一連の書物は、それまで写本でのみ伝えられてきた『伊勢(いせ)物語』『源氏小鏡(こかがみ)』『観世流謡本(かんぜりゅううたいぼん)』などで、ほとんどがわが国における重要な古典である。校訂作業も古典学者中院通勝(なかのいんみちかつ)らがあたったのですこぶる精密で、テキストとしての学術的価値はきわめて高い。

［金子和正］

『和田維四郎著・刊『嵯峨本考』（1916）』▽『川瀬一馬著『嵯峨本図考』（1932・一誠堂書店）』▽『表章・江島伊兵衛編『図説光悦謡本　解説篇』（1970・有秀堂）』

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