Ryoi Asai

A writer of kana zoshi in the early Edo period. He was also known as Asai Shoun Ryōi and Honshōji Shōgibō Ryōi. He was born around 1610 as the son of the head priest of Honshōji, a branch temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, located in Mishimae, Settsu Province (Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture). Following his father's exile, he is believed to have spent his youth and adulthood wandering about, studying Buddhism, Confucianism, and Japanese studies. He began writing and publishing kana zoshi around 1659 (Manji 2), and published a succession of works, including Kanninki (1659), Tokaidō Meishōki (1659), Kashoki Hyōban (1660), and Edo Meishōki (1662), securing his position as the leading author of kana zoshi. He also published masterpieces such as "Musashiabumi" (1661), a reportage on the Great Fire of Edo in the Meireki era, "Ukiyo Monogatari" (around 1665), which attempted to criticize reality through humor, and "Otogibouko" (1666), a collection of strange Japanese tales adapted from the Chinese supernatural novel "Sentō Shinwa" (New Tales of the Jianlanguage). These masterpieces have had a great influence on later generations. However, his period of devoting himself to kana zoshi ended in the 1660s, and from the 1670s onwards he energetically wrote a large number of Buddhist books, including "Sanbukyō Kusui" (1668-1674), as well as a wide range of enlightening and commentary books, while at the same time continuing to be active as an advocate of Buddhism, until his death on January 1, 1682, at around the age of 80.

[Roshi Taniwaki May 19, 2017]

"Hojo Hideo, 'Revised and Expanded Asai Ryoi' (1972, Kasama Shoin)" ▽ "Hojo Hideo, 'Newly Revised Asai Ryoi' (1974, Kasama Shoin)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸前期の仮名草子作者。浅井松雲了意、本性寺昭儀坊了意などとも称する。慶長(けいちょう)末年（1610ころ）、摂津国三島江（大阪府高槻(たかつき)市）にあった浄土真宗の末寺本照寺の住職の子として生まれる。父の追放に伴い、浪々のうちに青壮年期を過ごしつつ、仏学、儒学、和学などの修業を積んだと推定される。1659年（万治2）ごろから仮名草子を執筆刊行し始め、『堪忍記』（1659）、『東海道名所記』（1659）、『可笑記評判』（1660）、『江戸名所記』（1662）などを続々と刊行し、仮名草子の第一人者の位置を確保する。さらに、明暦の江戸大火のルポルタージュである『むさしあぶみ』（1661）、現実批判を笑いのなかで行おうとする『浮世物語』（1665ころ）、中国の怪異小説『剪燈新話(せんとうしんわ)』を翻案し日本の奇談を集めた『御伽婢子(おとぎぼうこ)』（1666）などの秀作を発表し、後世へ多くの影響を与えている。しかし、仮名草子に力を注いだ時期は1660年代で終わり、1670年代以後は、『三部経鼓吹(くすい)』（1668～1674）をはじめとする大量の仏書や多方面にわたる啓蒙(けいもう)・解説書などを精力的に書き、同時に仏教の唱導者としても活躍を続け、元禄(げんろく)4年1月1日、80歳前後で没した。

［谷脇理史　2017年5月19日］

『北条秀雄著『改訂増補　浅井了意』（1972・笠間書院）』▽『北条秀雄著『新修浅井了意』（1974・笠間書院）』

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