The Tale of Raitaro the Evil - The Tale of Raitaro the Evil

This is a yellow-covered book written by Shikitei Sanba. It has five volumes each. There is also a version with a gokan style, with each volume divided into one. It was illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni I. It was published in 1806 (Bunka 3). The inscription reads "Asakusa Kannon/Riyaku no Adauchi (revenge for profit)." The villain Raitaro kidnapped Otsuru, the daughter of Yorozuya Bun'emon, a merchant in Chofu, Musashi Province, and killed Bun'emon, who refused to marry her. As a result, Otsuru, who was married to Dainojo, a high-ranking lord in Katsushika, committed suicide. Raitaro and his friends continued to commit evil deeds, but one day he defeated a thunder beast and took the name Ikazuchitaro. The story goes that O-Tsuru's younger brother Kamejiro, Dainojo and others were guided by a spiritual dream of the Asakusa Kannon Bodhisattva and defeated Raitaro, who was hiding in Oiso, Sagami. This work is noteworthy in the history of literature because Sanba, who had upheld the tradition of kibyōshi, which was based on light-heartedness and wit, turned to the fashionable katakiuchimono (stories of revenge), and because this work played a major role in reforming bookbinding by converting kibyōshi into gokan (combined volumes) books.

[Goya Jinbo]

"The Literature of Shikitei Sanba" by Yasuo Honda (1973, Kasama Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

式亭三馬(しきていさんば)作の黄表紙(きびょうし)。前後編各5冊。合巻(ごうかん)仕立てで前後編各1冊にしたものもある。初世歌川豊国(とよくに)画。1806年（文化3）刊。「浅草観音／利益仇討(りやくのあだうち)」と角書(つのがき)。悪漢来太郎(らいたろう)は武蔵(むさし)国調布の商家万屋文右衛門(よろずやぶんえもん)の娘お鶴(つる)を手籠(てご)めにし、結婚を承知しない文右衛門を殺した。そのため、葛飾(かつしか)の高(こう)の大之丞(だいのじょう)に嫁していたお鶴は自殺する。来太郎は仲間と悪事を続けていたが、あるとき雷獣を退治して雷太郎(いかずちたろう)と名のる。お鶴の弟亀次郎、大之丞らは、浅草観音の霊夢に導かれ、相模(さがみ)大磯(おおいそ)に潜んでいた雷太郎を討った、という内容である。軽妙、洒落(しゃれ)を生命とする黄表紙の伝統を守っていた三馬が、流行の敵討物(かたきうちもの)に転じたという点と、この作品が黄表紙の合巻化という、製本上の改革に大きい役割を果たしたという点で、文学史上注目されている。

［神保五彌］

『本田康雄著『式亭三馬の文芸』（1973・笠間書院）』

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