Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [Genna / Kan'ei period, c. 1620-40] . No colophon. Description: 2 kan, 2 satsu, each in a chitsu case. (Maki 上) ff. 33; (maki 下) ff. 33. (上) 26.7 x 17.5 cm., (下) 26.1 × 17.8 cm. Fukurotoji. Movable type. Printing frame 22 x 15.2 cm. No borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text without furigana. 10 lines to page, 21-22 characters to line. Original dark brown covers of maki 上 and front cover of maki 下. Back cover of maki 下, old paper but added at a later date. No title slips or gedai. Naidai: Kinō wa kyō no monogatari きのふハけふの物語. The jō 上 following naidai of maki 上 has been obliterated, thus giving the impression that the work is complete in 1 kan. Hashiragaki: Jō 上 (ge 下) +folio no. Edition: 7 distinct movable type editions of this work are listed in Kokatsujiban no kenkyū (pp. 932-4), of which maki 下 of the present copy belongs to Type 4 (第四種本). No copy of maki 上 of this edition has survived in Japan, but there is a strong likelihood that maki 上 of the present copy (acquired separately from maki 下 in 1960) also belongs to the same Type 4 edition. In any case, both maki were printed from the same font of movable type and are markedly different from all other early movable type editions. Contents: A collection of amusing tales, compiled c. early Genna period (i. e. after 1615). Sometimes classified as a kana-zōshi, but more properly described as a hanashi-bon 噺本.
Kinō wa kyō no monogatari きのふはけふの物語
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 Or.74.c.9
- Dates of Creation
- [1620-1640]
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 2 volumes Condition: Fair. Slight water staining and worm damage in maki 上. Extensive discoloration of paper due to water damage in maki 下. Impression: Both maki show signs of type wear and some broken lines in certain ji. Seals of ownership: None in maki 上. Oblong red seal within a double border, Takagi-ke zō 高木家藏 (seal of Takagi Bunko) on first page of maki 下.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Acquired from Rinrōkaku, 4 Aug. 1960 (maki 上), 29 July 1964 (maki 下).
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. 2, p. 149; Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 601-2, 932-4, pl. 550; Dai Ei toshokan hōsho shōroku 大英図書館訪書小録, in Tōyō bunko shohō, no. 17, pp. 71-2; 'Kinō wa kyō no monogatari' no shohon 「昨日は今日の物語」の諸本, in Gakushūin daigaku bun gakubu kenkyū nenpō 学習院大学文学部研究年報, no. 12; Kinō wa kyō no monogatari shohon kō 昨日は今日の物語諸本考, in Kokugo kokubun kenkyū 国語国文研究, no. 51; Kana-zōshi 仮名草子, vol. 1, pp. 1-2; Kinō wa kyō no monogatari きのふはけふの物語 (Benseisha bunko 勉誠社文庫, vol. 81) facsimile reproduction of the present copy.