Baba Bunko - Baba Bunko

A lecturer in the mid-Edo period. His origins are unknown. According to "Tadasei Airoku" edited by Sekine Tadamasa, Nakai Samaji was from Iyo (Ehime Prefecture), and after he once became a monk he returned to secular life and changed his name to Bun'emon, and then to Baba Bunko. He initially made a living by reading I Ching, but this cannot be corroborated by Bunko's own writings. The truth is that he was a low-ranking shogunate official who became a ronin and lecturer, and studied haiku under Hakutoen Sozui, and had his two children serve at Kan'ei-ji Temple. He frequented samurai houses and criticized household politics, while also lecturing at places like Unemegahara in Edo, where he was known for his sharp tongue and pioneered the genre of sewamono. On September 16, 1758 (8th year of the Horeki era), he lectured on the peasant uprisings in Gujo, Mino Province, and distributed a pamphlet called "Shizuku no Hiragana Mori," for which he was arrested and executed at Kozukahara on December 25. He wrote over a dozen books, including "Toseibuya Zokudan," "Kinsei Edo Chomonshu," and "Tosei Shoka Hyakunin Isshu," all of which showed his deep reverence for the eighth shogun, Yoshimune.

[Nobuhiro Shinji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の講釈師。伝未詳。関根只誠(しせい)編の『只誠埃録(あいろく)』によると、伊予（愛媛県）の人、中井左馬次(さまじ)、一度出家ののち還俗(げんぞく)して文右衛門(ぶんえもん)、さらに馬場文耕と改め、当初易で生計をたてたというが、文耕自身の書き残したものからは裏づけえない。下級の幕臣であったが浪人して講釈師となり、俳諧(はいかい)は白兎園宗瑞(はくとえんそうずい)門、2人の子供を寛永寺(かんえいじ)に奉公させていたというのが実像であろうか。武家に出入りし家政を批判する一方、江戸・采女ヶ原(うねめがはら)などで講じ、毒舌家で、世話物の分野を開拓した。1758年（宝暦8）9月16日、美濃(みの)郡上(ぐじょう)の百姓一揆(いっき)を講じたうえ、小冊子『平仮名森の雫(しずく)』をも頒布したため逮捕され、12月25日小塚原(こづかっぱら)で獄門。『当世武野俗談(とうせいぶやぞくだん)』『近世江都著聞集』『当世諸家百人一首』など十数部の著述があるが、8代将軍吉宗(よしむね)への尊崇の念が甚だしい。

［延広真治］

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