Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: Rakuyō [Kyōto] , Shoshidō, Enpō 5, 1677. Kanki following kango on fol. 52b of maki 12 reads: 于時延寶五丁巳年正月吉日 ／ 洛陽二條通書肆堂開板. Description: 12 kan, 12 satsu, in a box. (1) ff. 52; (2) ff. 59; (3) ff. 2-53 (mokuroku 目録 lacking); (4) ff. 49; (5) ff. 47; (6) ff. 38; (7) ff. 45; (8) ff. 40; (9) ff. 58; (10) ff. 47; (11) ff. 47; (12) ff. 52. 27 x 19.5 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 22.6 x 18 cm. (average). Single-line borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed dakuten, kutōten and some furigana. 15 lines to page, 22-25 characters to line. Pale fawn covers, recently renewed, with renewed title slips bearing manuscript gedai: 平家物語. Title from naidai at head of each maki. Hashiragaki: Heike 平家 + maki no. + folio no. Edition: Of the 9 hiragana-majiri illustrated editions published between 1656 and 1727, this edition ranks as the third, following those issued in Meireki 2 (1656) and Kanbun 11 (1671). Contents: Greatest of the war tales (gunki monogatari 軍記物語), dealing with the heyday of the Taira family (1160-80) and the wars between the Taira and Minamoto clans (1180-85), ending in the crushing defeat of the Taira (Heike 平家). Probably written by a court noble in the early 13th century, though the original source material is uncertain. The work is permeated throughout by Buddhist doctrines of the impermanence of human life and activity.
Heike monogatari 平家物語
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 16052.f.1
- Dates of Creation
- 1677
- Language of Material
- Japanese
- Physical Description
- 12 volumes Condition: Fair to good. Only minor worm damage (some repaired), but many folios are soiled, especially at lower corners, by frequent handling. Some folios stained. Hole pierced through front cover and first few folios of maki 2. Impression: Slightly atozuri. Blocks show some signs of wear, but not markedly so. Illustrations: This edition contains a total of 165 sumizuri illustrations, single-page and double-page, distributed as follows: (maki 1) 13, (2) 15, (3) 15, (4) 12, (5) 14, (6) 13, (7) 13, (8) 14, (9) 17, (10) 14, (11) 11, (12) 14. Artist unknown. Seals of ownership: None.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted
Acquisition Information
Acquired at Glendining's sale, London, 22 March 1956.
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 bungaku daijiten 日本文学大辞典, vol. 6, pp. 347-52; Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 5, pp. 390-9; Descriptive catalogue of Japanese and Chinese illustrated books in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute of Chicago , pp. 73-8.