Genji kokagami 源氏小鏡

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.g.11
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1675
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 3 volumes Condition: Good, except for a few stains and soiled corners. Impression: A fine sharp impression, shozuri or near. Illustrations: A total of 43 single-page sumizuri illustrations by an unknown artist, distributed as follows: (maki 上) 18, (maki 中) 17, (maki 下) 8. Seals of ownership: None.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Unknown, but formerly attributed to Kazan'in Nagachika 花山院長親, died c. 1429. Imprint: Edo, Tsuruya Kiemon, Enpō 3, 1675. Kanki on fol. 20b of maki 下 reads: 延寶三年乙卯弥生吉辰 ／ 江戸大傳馬町三丁目 ／ 鶴屋喜右衛門開板. Description: 3 kan, 3 satsu, in a box. (Maki 上) ff. [1] (目録 on verso), 40; (maki 中) ff. [1] (目録), 37; (maki 下) ff. [1] (目録), 20. Fol. 6 recto of maki 下 is missing. 27.1 x 19 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 22.5 x 17.2 cm. (average). No borders, except single-line round illustrations. No printed hanshin. Folios are numbered on inner (binding) edge of each folio recto, preceded by Gen 源 + jō (chū, ge) 上 (中, 下). Hiragana-majiri text, with some printed furigana. 15 lines to page, 26-28 characters to line. Original pale fawn covers, with original printed title slips on maki 上 and 下 only. Gedai: E-iri (tsunogaki) Genji kokagami 繪入 (角書) 源氏小鏡. Title from gedai. No naidai other than mokurokudai at head of each maki: 源氏目録上 (中, 下). Edition: Following a Saga-bon and several movable type editions in Keichō and Genna periods, this is the fourth blockprinted edition. The first was published in Keian 4 (1651), then Meireki 3 (1657) and Kanbun 6 (1666). Contents: One of the earliest works explaining and commenting on the text of Genji monogatari 源氏物語; authorship uncertain but believed to date from the mid-14th century in its original form.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired at Glendining's sale, 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 a. Early monogatari 古物語

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 2, p. 403; Genji monogatari chūshakushi no kenkyū 源氏物語注釈史の研究, pp. 854-7.