Kaishō mondō 海上問答

Archive Unit
  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 59 Or.75.ff.22
  • Dates of Creation
      1670
  • Language of Material
      Japanese
  • Physical Description
      1 volume Condition: Fair to good. No worm damage, but water stains in places and damage to ff. 10-12 of maki 下 due to brittle paper. Soiled lower corners. Impression: A fairly early impression from little-worn blocks. Illustrations: Single-page (one double-page) sumizuri woodcuts, illustrating episodes from the work, on ff. 3b-4a, 6a, 8a, 10a, 12a, 14a and 18a of maki 上; ff. 2a, 3a, 5a, 7a, 9a, 11a and 12a of maki 中, and ff. 2a, 3a, 5a, 7a, 9a, 11a and 13a of maki 下. Artist unknown. Seals of ownership: Two square red seals on first page of all 3 kan: (1) Sosekien in 素石園印, and (2) Talkō sanbō no in 苔香山房之印.

Scope and Content

Variant title: Kaishō monogatari 海上物語. Author/compiler: Echū 惠中, Zen monk, pupil of Suzuki Shōsan 鈴木正三, 1628-1704. Also known as Sōan 草庵. Imprint: N.p., Kanbun 10, 1670. Kanki on last folio recto (15a) of maki 下 reads: 寛文十年 ／ 正月初春吉日. Description: 3 kan, formerly in 3 satsu, now rebound in 1 vol. western style. (上) ff. 19; (中) ff. 13; (下) ff. 15. 27.2 x 18.8 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 22.4 x 17.3 cm. (average). Single-line borders all round. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text with printed furigana. 14 lines to page, 24-27 characters to line. A 2-folio mokuroku at head of maki 上. Original dark blue cover of satsu 上 only, embossed with a faint geometric design. Original title slip with printed gedai: E-iri 繪入 (tsunogaki 角書) kaishō monogatari jō 海上物語 上. Title taken from naidai. Hashiragaki: Kai 海 jō 上 (chū 中, ge 下) + folio no. In a western style half-cloth binding with marbled paper. Edition: First and only edition with this title. Reprint, from new blocks, of the earlier edition published in Kanbun 6 (1666) with the title Kaishō monogatari 海上物語. Contents: A kana-zōshi tale. A popular exposition of Buddhist doctrine addressed by a monk to fellow-passengers on a sea voyage from Nagasaki to Satsuma. Influenced in subject matter by Gion monogatari 祇園物語 and Kiyomizu monogatari 清水物語 (q. v.).

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from S. M. Franck, 16 April 1901.

Other Finding Aids

Kenneth Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese books in the British Library printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, 1993).C.Japanese works 和書 5.Literature - fiction 国文-小説 f.Kana-zōshi 仮名草子

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 1, p. 551; EBJ, p. 30; Nihon bungaku shoshi 日本文学書誌K, vol. 5, (上) p. 23.