Kyōgenki 狂言記

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 ORB30/305
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1660
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 3 volumes Condition: Poor. Many folios split along fore-edge. In need of repair and re-sewing. Impression: Variable. Slightly atozuri for the most part, but elsewhere sharp and clear. Illustrations: A total of 25 single-page sumizuri illustrations in the style of Moronobu, hand-coloured in yellow. 7 in maki 1, 9 in maki 4 and 9 in maki 5. Seals of ownership: Oblong red seal (unidentified) on title slip of each maki.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: [Kyōto ?] , Hata Seizaemon, Manji 3, 1660. Kanki following batsu on fol. 45b of maki 5 reads: 萬治三暦庚子三月吉日 ／ 畑清左衛門板行. Description: 3 kan (of 5), 3 satsu, in a buckram chitsu case. Incomplete copy, comprising maki 1, 4 and 5 only. (Maki 1) ff. [1] (mokuroku 目録), 1-4 (5-8 missing), 9-34 (35-37 missing), 38-41; (maki 4) ff. [1] (mokuroku), 1-9 (10-13 missing), 14-37; (maki 5) ff. [1] (mokuroku), 1-9 (10-12 missing), 13-45. Defective copy. 26.9 x 18.6 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 22.4 x 17.7 cm. (average). Single-line borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed furigana, dakuten and kutōten. 13 lines to page, c. 22 characters to line. Original mid-blue covers, badly damaged, with fragment of original title slip, centrally placed on front cover of maki 1, and renewed title slips on maki 4 and 5. Gedai: E-iri (tsunogaki) kyōgenki 繪入 (角書) 狂言記. Title from mokurokudai in each maki. Hashiragaki: 狂言記一 (四, 五) + folio no. Edition: Earliest edition of the first series of this work. Followed by other 17th century editions dated Kanbun 2 (1662), Kanbun 5 (1665) and Genroku 12 (1699). Contents: A collection of texts of kyōgen plays, 10 to each maki.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the British Museum in 1973.

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 8. Literature - poetry 国文-詩歌 c. Kyōgen 狂言

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 2, p. 192; Kyōgenki no kenkyū 狂言記の研究, p. 14 and passim.