Bunshō-zōshi 文正草子

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.g.27
  • Dates of Creation
    • [1673-1736]
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Good, apart from minor worm damage, neatly repaired by urauchi patching, and damaged front cover. Impression: A slightly later impression than no. 349 above. Illustrations: 16 single-page sumizuri woodcuts in an archaistic style, similar to no. 352. Seals of ownership: Square red seal, Kyūkodō 汲古堂, on blank leaf following mikaeshi.

Scope and Content

Variant title: Bunshō no sōshi ぶんしやうのさうし. Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [Enpō 延宝 to Kyōhō 享保 period, late 17th early 18th century ?] . No colophon. Description: 1 kan, 1 satsu, in a chitsu case. ff. [55] (folios unnumbered). 15.8 x 22.7 cm. Yokohon (oblong format). Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 12.5 x 20.5 cm. (average). No borders. No printed hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed furigana, dakuten and kutōten. 13 lines to page, c. 12 characters to line. Original dark blue covers, now much rubbed, with painted designs of plants faintly discernible. Original pink title slip (damaged) with printed gedai: 文正さうし 一. Title from gedai. No naidai. Edition: One volume (maki 1) from the same set Or.75.g.15. 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 Kōbunsō, 14 April 1958.

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; and references under no. 357. Also Okayama daigaku shozō Ikeda-ke bunko sōmokuroku 岡山大学所蔵池田家文庫総目録, p. 173.