Minoharigusa 蓑張草

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 59 Or.75.g.14
  • Dates of Creation
      1691
  • Language of Material
      Japanese
  • Physical Description
      1 volume Condition: Good, apart from some soiled pages and ink stains at lower corners of ff. 12-25. Book re-backed by urauchi throughout. Impression: Sharp and clear, without obvious signs of block wear. Illustrations: Sumizuri sketches of actors, with accompanying text, on each folio of main text (ff. 1b-23a). Some have been crudely coloured by hand. Seals of ownership: Square red seal, Nanpo bunko 南畝文庫, on first page, and smaller red seal, Shokusan in 蜀山印, printed inkoku on inner back cover. Both are seals used by Ōta Nanpo. Manuscript notes: Shikigo in black ink by Shokusanjin (=Ōta Nanpo 大田南畝) dated Bunsei 4 (1821) on final endpaper (back mikaeshi) reads: 蓑張草一巻 / 文政四年辛巳季秋 檜山 / 所惠蜀山人年 / 七十有三書.

Scope and Content

Alternative reading of title: Minobarigusa. Author/compiler: Sōgyū 瘦牛, also known as Hakindō 破琴堂. Imprint: N. p. [Kyōto] , Tōkaken, n.d. (preface and batsu dated Genroku 4, 1691). Date at end of batsu reads (in part) : ・・・ 元禄四歳・・・ . Hanmoto on fol. 25b reads: 書林 藤華軒. Description: 1 kan 1 satsu. ff. [1] (contents - 題録), 1-2 (kanbun preface), 3-4 (Japanese preface), 5-6 (乱曲ランギヨク八首), 1-23 (main text - 本文), 24-25 (batsu). 220 x 154 mm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 184 x 140 mm. (average). Single-line borders all round. No fishtail design on hanshin. Kanbun text with okurigana and kaeriten, and hiragana-majiri in preface and batsu. Variable no. of lines to page and characters to line. Original vermilion covers, now oxidised to a silvery colour in places. Renewed title slip with manuscript gedai: 蓑張草. Title taken from hashiragaki and gedai. Hashiragaki: 蓑張草 + folio no. Contents: A critique of actors (yakusha hyōbanki 役者評判記) portraying 44 young onnagata 女方 and wakashū 若衆, with appropriate kyōshi 狂詩 poems in kanbun. Probably intended as a guide for homosexually-inclined clients. One of the most accomplished hyōbanki of its kind, with interest centred on the illustrations. Artist not named.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from William Anderson, 21 March 1894.

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 8. Literature - poetry 国文-詩歌 e. Kabuki 歌舞伎

Bibliography

Kisho fukuseikai sōsho 稀書複製会叢書, series 5 (facsimile reproduction of text).