Tsurezuregusa 徒然草

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.g.8
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1672
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Fair to good, apart from stained folios and worm damage on ff. 40-51. Impression: Sharp and clear, from blocks showing little sign of wear. Illustrations: Single-page sumizuri illustrations on ff. 3a, 6a, 9a, 12a, 15 / 21a, 24a, 27a, 31a, 35a, 39a, 42a, 45a and 49a. 13 woodcuts in all. 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., n.d. [maki 下, containing kanki, missing] . For details of publisher and date, see under Edition below. Description: 1 kan (of 2), 1 satsu, in a box. Incomplete copy, maki 上 only. ff. [1] , 1-14, 15 / 21 (十五ノ廿一), 22-46, 47 / 48 (四十七八), 49-51. 26.1 x 18.5 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 22 x 17.4 cm. (average). Single-line borders. No fishtail design. Hiragana-majiri text, with printed furigana, dakuten and kutōten. 16 lines to page, variable no. of characters to line. Original buff covers, badly rubbed and torn, with original printed title slip centrally placed. Gedai: Shinpan e-iri (tsunogaki) tsurezuregusa yomikuse zuki 新板繪入 (角書) つれ [踊字 = つれ] 草 ／ よミくせ付. Title from naidai on first (unnumbered) page. Hashiragaki: 徒上 + folio no. Edition: Despite absence of kanki, this copy can be definitely assigned to the edition published in Kyōto by Yamaji Ienari 山路氏家成, dated Kanbun 12 (1672) 寛文十二暦九月吉辰. The same blocks had been used for printing the Shōkai 松會 edition (Edo) of Kanbun 10 (1670). Contents: A miscellany of short notes, anecdotes, meditative jottings, reminiscences and fragments of narrative, composed c. 1330. Unnumbered folio preceding honmon of maki 上 contains naidai, brief notes on the life of Yoshida Kenkō 吉田兼好 taken from early commentaries, and a synopsis of Tsurezuregusa. This edition of 1672 was the first to contain these notes.

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

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 4, pp. 337-8; Tsurezuregusa no kenkyū 徒然草の研究, pp. 438-40.