Bunshō no sōshi ぶんしやうのさうし

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.g.18
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1664
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Very good, except for soiled corners of first few folios. Impression: Atozuri, from moderately worn blocks. Illustrations: A total of 12 single-page sumizuri woodcuts in conventional style, distributed as follows: (maki 上) on ff. 2b, 7b, 12b, 16a, 19b, 24a; (maki 下) on ff. 4a, 8b, 13b, 18a, 24b, 28b. The illustrations differ in number and subject matter from those of the undated editions described in Ryerson Catalogue, p. 51. Seals of ownership: Small square red seal, printed inkoku, Jun 準, on first page of both maki.

Scope and Content

Variant title: Bunshō-zōshi 文正草子. Variant title: Bunshō monogatari 文正物語. Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: [Kyōto] , Nagao Heibē, Kanbun 4, 1664. Kanki on fol. 30b of maki 下 reads: 寛永四年甲辰十二月吉日 ／ 長尾平兵衛. Description: 2 kan, 2 satsu, in a box. (Maki 上) ff. 24; (maki 下) ff. 30. 26.1 x 18.9 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 21.5 x 17.3 cm. (average). Single-line borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with few furigana but with printed dakuten and kutōten. Renewed mid-blue covers, with renewed title slips overprinted with a decorative design in olive green. Manuscript gedai: 文しやうさうし. Title from naidai at head of text in both maki. Hashiragaki: ふんしやう上 (下) + folio no. Edition: First published separately from the set of 23 otogi-zōshi in Jōō 2 (1653). Other editions, dated and undated, followed in Meireki 4 (1658), Kanbun 4 (1664), Kanbun 11 (1671), Genroku 7 (1694), etc. This is therefore a copy of the third edition. Contents: A tale of the Muromachi period (Muromachi jidai monogatari 室町時代物語), traditionally called otogi-zōshi and originally forming part of the set of 23 otogi-zōshi first published in Kan'ei period (1624-44). The story, concerning the successful career of Bunshō who started life as a poor salt merchant of Hitachi province, is recounted in many of the references below and, in English, in Ryerson Catalogue, p. 50.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Richard Lane, 19 Nov. 1956.

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 e. Muromachi jidai monogatari 室町時代物語

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 5, p. 374; Nihon bungaku shoshi 日本文学書誌, p. 732; Nihon bungaku shoshi 日本文学書誌K, vol. 4, p. 48; Descriptive catalogue of Japanese and Chinese illustrated books in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago , p. 50; Muromachi jidai monogatari taisei 室町時代物語大成, vol. 11.