Yamato monogatari 大和物語

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or.59.b.33
  • Dates of Creation
    • [1615-1624]
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 2 volumes Condition: Good, apart from some water-staining in maki 上 and slight worm damage, skilfully repaired. Impression: Type somewhat worn. Seals of ownership: None.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [c. Genna period, 1615-24] . No colophon. Description: 2 kan, 2 satsu, bound in 1 vol. (western style). (上) ff. 52; (下) ff. 1-33, 35-43 (fol. 34 missing). 27.5 x 19.6 cm. Fukurotoji. Movable type. Printing frame 21.5 x 17.6 cm. No borders. No printed hanshin. Volume numbers (上, 下) and folio numbers are printed, unusually, on the inner (spine) edge of each leaf, except for maki 上, fol. 1, where they appear on the fore-edge. Text begins on fol. 1b. Hiragana-majiri text without furigana. 12 lines to page, 21 characters to line. Original dark blue front cover of maki 上 only, embossed with lozenge design, within modern western style binding in half-leather. Title slip missing. Title from okudai. Gedai handwritten in red, late Edo period: 大和物語 活字版 上下全. Edition: Belongs to one of the undated 12-line movable type editions issued in Genna period. These 12-line Genna editions all postdate the three 11-line movable type editions published in Keichō / early-Genna period, and precede the first dated movable type edition of Kan'ei 16, 1639. Contents: An uta monogatari 歌物語 (collection of tales and anecdotes centred on waka poems), completed c. mid-10th century. The compiler was probably a Heian courtier familiar with life at court and with old legends.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Ernest M. Satow, 22 Sept. 1884.

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 a. Early monogatari 古物語

Bibliography

Nihon bungaku daijiten 日本文学大辞典, vol. 7, p. 239; Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 6, p. 88; Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 509-11, 886, pl. 342-5.