Honchō jokan 本朝女鑑

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.c.55
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1661
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 12 volumes Condition: Fair. Many maki damaged by worming (unrepaired), especially at spine. Impression: Atozuri from worn blocks. Illustrations: Numerous sumizuri woodcuts, 6-8 to each maki, illustrating incidents from the stories in this collection. Seals of ownership: None.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Attributed (doubtfully) to Asai Ryōi 淺井了意, d, 1691. Imprint: [Kyōto], Nishimura Matazaemon, Kanbun 1, 1661. Kanki on fol. 33b of maki 12 reads: 寛文元年辛丑九月吉旦 ／ 寺町 ... 西村又左衛門板刊. Description: 12 kan, 12 satsu. (Maki 1) ff. 30; (2) ff. 19; (3) ff. 23; (4) ff. 21; (5) ff. 26; (6) ff. 26; (7) ff. 30; (8) ff. 29; (9) ff. 25; (10) ff. 1-9, 20-29; (11) ff. 33; (12) ff. 33.25.7 x 17.5 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 21-21.5 x 15.5 cm. Single-line borders round illustrations, none round text. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed furigana and punctuation. 11 lines to page, c. 22 characters to line. Original mid-blue covers, with embossed rhomboid and paulownia leaf design. Original printed title slips remain on all maki except 1 and 7, with gedai: 本朝女鑑一 (等) + title of chapter contained in the maki. Naidai and gedai identical. Hashiragaki: Jokan 女鑑 + maki no. + folio no. In a temporary cardboard chitsu case. Edition: First edition but, judging by the quality of impression, printed later than 1661, the date of publication. Contents: A Confucian ethical work consisting of collected stories, classed as kana-zōshi, about the lives of virtuous women. In its 6 sections it is modelled on the Chinese Lienüchuan 列女傳, whilst contrasting with it somewhat. 35 of the stories overlap with those in Kurosawa Hirotada's Honchō retsujoden 本朝列女傳 in subject matter.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired by purchase, 11 May 1959.

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. 5, p. 485; Kanrodō bunko kikōbon kōran 甘露堂文庫稀覯本攷覽, fol. 14.