Tsurezuregusa 徒然草

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or.59.b.28
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1613
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Good. Some traces of worm damage, skilfully repaired. Impression: Clear and sharp. Seals of ownership: None.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Yoshida Kenkō 吉田兼好, c. 1283-1352, known as Kenkō Hōshi 兼好法師. Imprint: N.p., Mitsuhiro 光廣, Keichō 18, 1613. Kanki on last (unnumbered) folio reads: 慶長癸丑仲秋日 黃門光廣. Description: 2 kan, formerly in 2 satsu, now rebound in 1 vol. western style. (Maki 上) ff. [95]; (maki 下) ff. [75] (folios unnumbered). 26.3 x 19.5 cm. Fukurotoji. Movable type. Printing frame 22 x 18 cm. No borders. No printed hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text without furigana, printed in cursive style. 10 lines to page, 16-17 characters to line. Original dark blue front cover of maki 上 only, embossed with a chequerboard design, within a modern western style half-leather binding. Title slip missing, but its original position in centre is clear. Gedai faintly handwritten in sōsho: 徒然草. No naidai. Title from gedai. Edition: This is the celebrated Karasumaru-bon 烏丸本, so called because Karasumaru Mitsuhiro 烏丸光廣 (1579-1638) revised the text for this edition and sponsored its publication. Printed from movable type throughout, except for a blockprinted batsu and kanki on the last folio, signed by Mitsuhiro. The typeface is modelled on the calligraphy of Miyake Kisai (Bōyō) 三宅寄齋 (亡羊), whose name appears in the batsu. Contents: A miscellany of short notes, anecdotes, meditative jottings, reminiscences and fragments of narrative, composed c. 1330.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Ernest M. Satow, 22 Sept. 1884.

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 6. Literature - prose 国文-散文 b. Zuihitsu 随筆

Bibliography

Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 207, 525, 892, pl. 387; Takagi bunko kokatsuji-ban mokuroku 高木文庫古活字版目録, pp. 14-5. See also references under Edition above.