Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [Meireki 3, 1657 ?] . No kanki. See under Edition below. Description: 3 kan, 3 satsu, in a box. (1) ff. 35; (2) ff. 47; (3) ff. 40. 27.6 x 19.6 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame varies between 21.8 and 22.4 x 17.2 cm. Single-line borders round text and illustrations. Vertical rules mark off frame bordering 3 / 4-page illustrations. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed furigana, dakuten and kutōten. 13 lines to page, 24-25 characters to line. Dark blue covers, old but probably not original, with renewed title slips bearing manuscript gedai: 保元物語□ (二, 三). Title from naidai. Hashiragaki: Hōgen 保元 + maki no. + folio no. Edition: Undated, but probably belongs to the third blockprinted edition published in Meireki 3 (明暦三年). As this work and Heiji monogatari 平治物語 were companion works (姉妹篇) and often published together, it seems to have been the practice in early-Edo period to print a kanki at the end of Heiji but not of Hōgen monogatari. This may be seen in the case of the Kan'ei 3 (1626) edition of Hōgen monogatari, of which the BL has a copy at Or.75.g.2. Another possibility, however, is that a dated edition of this work was published in Meireki 3 (1657). Contents: A semi-historical war tale (gunki monogatari) describing the power struggle for the imperial succession in the Hōgen no ran 保元の乱 of 1156. It focuses on the figure of Minamoto no Tametomo as a tragic hero, and on the bitter internecine strife between members of the same families: Fujiwara, Taira and Minamoto. This work is usually paired with Heiji monogatari.
Hōgen monogatari 保元物語
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 16052.f.29
- Dates of Creation
- 1657
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 3 volumes Condition: Fair to good. Only minor worm damage, but many folios are soiled at lower corners and most are split at fold along fore-edge. Impression: Sharp and clear, showing only moderate signs of block wear. Illustrations: A total of 35 hand-coloured sumizuri illustrations, distributed as follows: maki 1, ff. 6a, 8a, 12a, 14b, 18b, 22a, 24a, 25a, 29b, 32a, 35b; maki 2, ff. 7b, 17a, 19a, 21b, 23b, 26a, 29a, 31a, 33b, 39a, 40b, 45b, 47a; maki 3, ff. 7b, 11a, 13b, 19b, 22b, 26a, 27a, 31a, 33b, 39a, 40a. A tanroku-bon, hand-coloured in red (tan 丹, now partly oxidised), green, yellow, blue and dull pink. Whether the colours were applied at the time of publication, or at a much later date, is open to question. Seals of ownership: None.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Acquired by transfer from the British Museum, 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 5. Literature - fiction 国文-小説 d. Gunki monogatari 軍記物語
Bibliography
Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 5, pp. 424-6; Descriptive catalogue of Japanese and Chinese illustrated books in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago , pp. 38-9.