Tamenaga Shunsui

A human interest novel writer from the late Edo period. His real name was Sasaki (Sasaki) Sadataka. He was commonly known as Echizenya Chojiro. He was also known as the 2nd Shinro-tei Shujin, Sanro, the 2nd Nansen Shosomahito, the Kyokuntei Shujin, and Kinryu Sanjin, and as a lecturer he went by the names Tamenaga Shosuke and Tamenaga Kinryu. He was apparently from a merchant's family in Edo, but the details of his early life are unknown.

Towards the end of the Bunka era (1804-18), he ran the bookshop Seirindō and, hoping to become a comic novelist, he became a pupil of Shinro-tei, Ryutei Tanehiko and Shikitei Sanba, one after the other, and published his first work, Akegarasu no Chi no Masayume, in 1819 (Bunsei 2). (Some sources say it was published in Bunsei 4. That was the same year he took the name Nansen Shōchō Manjin II.) From then on, he published one human interest story after another while managing the bookshop, solidifying his position as a comic novelist, but all of the works from this period were collaborations with friends and pupils, and many of them were drafts by young literary people who wanted to become comic novelists, which the bookshop used. In 1896 he took the name Tamenaga Shunsui, but in March of the same year he lost his Seirindō school in a fire, and many of his disciples left him. After much effort to establish himself as an independent comic writer, he published his first two stories, Shunshoku Umegoyomi, in 1897 (Tenpo 3), (completed all four stories the following year). Considered a masterpiece of human interest stories, it was enthusiastically received by readers, and Shunsui became known as the "originator of Edo human interest stories," quickly placing him at the forefront of the literary world.

After that, in response to requests from publishing companies, Shunsui published many works, including "Shunshoku Tatsumi no Sono" and the sequel to "Shunshoku Umeji Hombi," as well as "Harutsuge Dori." However, because ninjyobon were novels aimed at young men and women, especially women and girls, he pursued lust under the pretense of depicting human feelings, and again collaborated with new students. However, this collaborative format gave birth to Shunsui's unique subjective realism, which builds up scenes, the so-called "Tamenaga school," and made his ninjyobon a unique novel of manners and customs. During the Tenpo Reforms, he was sentenced to 50 days in handcuffs because his works were deemed harmful to public morals, but his depictions of manners and customs in his works had a great influence on the literature of the Kenyusha publishing company in the Meiji period. He also wrote a reading book and a collection of volumes, but this is not enough. He died on December 22, 1841. His grave is in Myozenji Temple (Kita-Karasuyama, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo).

[Goya Jinbo]

"On human interest books" and "Study of Tamenaga Shunsui" (included in "Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi's Collected Works 4", Chuokoron-Shinsha, 1972) "Tamenaga Shunsui Essay" and "Tamenaga Shunsui's Method" (included in "Nakamura Yukihiko's Collected Works 6", Chuokoron-Shinsha, 1982)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の人情本作家。本名鷦鷯(ささき)（佐々木）貞高(さだたか)。通称越前屋長次郎(えちぜんやちょうじろう)。2代目振鷺亭主人(しんろていしゅじん)、三鷺(さんろ)、2世南仙笑楚満人(なんせんしょうそまひと)、狂訓亭(きょうくんてい)主人、金竜(きんりゅう)山人などとも号し、講釈師として為永正輔(しょうすけ)、為永金竜という。江戸の町家の出身らしいが、前半生の経歴は不明。

　文化(ぶんか)（1804～18）末年ごろから書肆(しょし)青林堂を経営し、かたわら戯作者(げさくしゃ)を望んで振鷺亭、柳亭種彦(りゅうていたねひこ)、式亭三馬(しきていさんば)に次々と入門し、1819年（文政2）処女作『明烏後正夢(あけがらすのちのまさゆめ)』を出版した（文政4年の説あり。この年2世南仙笑楚満人を号す）。以後、書肆経営上次々と人情本を発表して戯作者の位置を固めるが、この時期の作品はすべて友人・門人たちとの合作であり、多くは戯作者志望の文学青年らの草稿を、書肆の立場で利用したものが多い。29年為永春水を名のるが、同年3月火災で青林堂を失い、門人らが多く離反、独立した戯作者としてたつために、苦心のすえ、32年（天保3）『春色梅児誉美(しゅんしょくうめごよみ)』初・2編を発表した（翌年全4編完結）。人情本の代表作とされるもので、読者の熱狂的歓迎を受け、春水は「江戸人情本の元祖」を誇称し、一躍文壇の第一線にたった。

　以後、春水は書肆の要請にこたえて、『春色辰巳園(しゅんしょくたつみのその)』以下の『春色梅児誉美』の続編をはじめ、『春告鳥(はるつげどり)』など多数の作品を発表するが、人情本が青年男女、とりわけて婦女子を読者とする小説であったために、人情を描くと称してひたすら愛欲を追求し、ふたたび新しい門人たちとの合作という形をとった。ただ、合作という形をとったことが、場面を積み重ねてゆく春水人情本独特の主情的リアリズム、いわゆる「為永流」の作風を生み、彼の人情本を独特の風俗小説たらしめている。天保(てんぽう)の改革に際し、その作品が風俗に害があるとの理由で手鎖50日の刑を受けるが、彼の作品の風俗描写は明治の硯友社(けんゆうしゃ)の文学に大きい影響を与えている。読本(よみほん)・合巻の作もあるが、これはいうに足りない。天保14年12月22日没。墓は妙善寺（東京都世田谷(せたがや)区北烏山(からすやま)）にある。

［神保五彌］

『「人情本について」「為永春水研究」（『山口剛著作集 4』所収・1972・中央公論社）』▽『「為永春水小論」「為永春水の手法」（『中村幸彦著述集 6』所収・1982・中央公論社）』

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