ezooshi illustrated books

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. seihonshi 製本師　bookbinder .
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ezooshi 絵草子 / 絵草紙 Ezoshi, illustrated book or magazine
ezoushi, ezōshi

It is more than a "picture book" for children.



本屋は、浮世絵や戯作を出版する「絵草子屋」 ezooshiya store
and
漢文、学問、和歌の本などを出す「物の本屋」mono no honya for Chinese literature, science and waka poetry.
source :　www.lian.com/TANAKA

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Ezoushi - Also written 絵双紙.
An illustrated booklet published during the Edo period.
These were short publications written in kana 仮名 and illustrated with pictures reporting contemporary events, in journalistic or fictional fashion, or sometimes a mixture of the two.

In a broader sense, various kinds of illustrated books such as *akahon 赤本, *aohon 青本, *kurohon 黒本, *kibyoushi 黄表紙, *goukan 合巻 and *eiri joururibon 絵入浄瑠璃本 are included in the category of ezoushi.

These books were published in great numbers during the Edo period, and the publishers, who were often also booksellers, were known as ezoushiya 絵草子屋 or jihon tonya 地本問屋 (wholesalers of jihon).
Jihon was a term used to distinguish the popular picture books and novelettes produced in Edo from similar books published elsewhere, or from books which were more difficult to read, such as scholarly works or classics.
- source : JAANUS

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Ehon Azuma Asobi Ezoshi-dana 絵草紙店

This picture depicts the storefront of the 蔦屋耕書堂 Tsutaya Koshodo, a picture print shop.
At the entrance there is a sign with the name of 蔦屋重三郎 Tsutaya Juzaburo
and advertisements are also arrayed for a book written by 山東京伝 Santo Kyoden
and collections of 狂歌本 Kyoka (comic poems), while 錦絵 nishiki-e are laid in the interior of the store
and a samurai warrior in traveling garb is illustrated.
Pictures included in "Picture Book: Amusements of Edo" were originally painted as illustrations
in a sumi-e style (Japanese ink painting) for "Amusements of Edo",
which was a collection of Kyoka (comic poems) published by Tsutaya Juzaburo in 1799.
While Katsushika Hokusai, a painter of pictures for this book, is famous as an ukiyo-e (woodblock) artist,
he also produced a number of illustrated Kyoka books that were published by Tsutaya.
"Picture Book: Amusements of Edo" was produced as a book of color prints
that were extracted from the collection of Kyoka.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library

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. Karukaya 苅萱 Japan's First Illustrated Book .

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Very extensive reference



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Jihon and Ezoshi
Two types of bookshop were prominent during the Edo period.
One was shomotsu-ya which dealt in books of scholarly and religious material. The other type of bookshop was kozōshiya which published and sold mainly books for entertainment such as ukiyo-e and illustrated books called ‘kusazōshi’.
In Edo, kozoshi-ya were also known as jihondon-ya (sellers and publishers of local books) and these-- contributed to the evolution and development of many narrative arts that represented both the lives and values of Edo residents.
- source : www.library.metro.tokyo.jp - index

Bookshops of Edo
Tsutaya Jūzaburō (1750 - 1797) was one of the most well-known heads of a jihondonya. He was involved in the publication of many book-genres and picture prints. These included Yoshiwara saiken (guidebooks of the licensed quarter), ehon (picture books), nishiki-e (colored wood-block prints), keiko-bon (collections of Japanese songs), and ōraimono (textbooks for children). He also enjoyed friendships with many persons of culture and high-education, whom he helped with the publication of their works.
- source : www.library.metro.tokyo.jp - page 1

Revival of Classical Literature in the Edo Period
The Bunka era (1804-1818) saw the rise of a particular style of literature called gōkan (compendia) that was popular in Edo.
- source : www.library.metro.tokyo.jp - page 2

Gathering of people in the ‘ren’ salon
Haikai (linked verses) was one of the most important literary genres of the Edo period.
kyōka and senryū
- source : www.library.metro.tokyo.jp - page 3

. saiken　細見 "detailed guide books" of Yoshiwara and Kabuki .

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Azuma Nishiki-E 東錦絵　Nishiki-e from Tokyo
Edo-e 江戸絵 Edo prints


The Principle of Nishiki-e
Sustainability in Japan's Edo Period--300 Years Ago!
Japan in the Edo era had technologies to make it possible to mass-produce nishiki-e, plate prints in multicolor. Nishiki-e is one of the most original art forms created by the Japanese. Nishiki-e artwork was a creative commodity for the general public. It not only nurtured the Japanese people's sensitivity to art over the centuries, but also inspired French impressionists so much that its influence is still evident in today's visual art of the world.
It was rare in those days
to have a product where so much value was added into one piece of paper that was being mass produced. However, because the whole production process required only simple materials--paper and board and painting tools--the energy consumption did not rise above the levels of solar energy obtained during the preceding few years.
We call this ability to rapidly create great value while best meeting consumer needs with only limited resources, the "Nishiki-e Principle". It is for certain this principle was the basis for leading a better-quality life while only using scarce solar energy resources.
All nishiki-e materials, except for the blades of the woodblock carving knives, were made from sustainable botanical resources. Other than the simple materials, only the detailed work of human hands is required. The Japanese paper used for Nishiki-e were made from young branches of paper mulberry matured in the preceding year or two at the most. Woodblocks were mainly made from cherry wood and craftsman fully utilized this resource, by using both sides of woodblock boards. Except in the case where one whole side was one color, one woodblock would be carved for several colors. It was typical to use only five woodblocks to print a nishiki-e in ten colors. More interestingly, professional craftsmen were hired specifically to shave used woodblock boards flat so that they could be reused over and over.
Since the technology of nishiki-e had made it possible
to print complex colors and figures easily, nishiki-e became a popular local product of the Edo town, being also called "azuma-nishiki-e" or simply, "edo-e." As many nishiki-e shops were built in several parts of Edo town in the early 19th century, the nishiki-e price fell down to an affordable 16 or 32 mon, often found in children's pocket money. ("Mon" is a monetary unit of the Edo Period. Sixteen mon is about U.S.$3-6.)
Just like today's children
collect their favorite character goods, it appears that their Japanese counterparts in the Edo era bought woodcut prints produced by their favorite artists such as Toyokuni or Kunisada (popular nishiki-e artists of the era). Those ordinary children who lived in the community flats along narrow streets were playing with picture cards created by artists who have become highly renowned and valued worldwide today.
In a matured society, some people appear to become patrons and aid creators of artwork. In Europe, such patrons were found among royalties, aristocracy or rich local magnates. In Edo Japan, plain commoners including children fulfilled the role of patrons through the purchase of their favorite nishiki-e woodcut prints with pocket change. Thanks to the invention of nishiki-e, the Japanese received many benefits-some of which they were not conscious of.
The effect of the nishiki-e principle
is seen most visibly in hand-crafted products. Today manual production may appear to be inferior to mass-production in efficiency, as no matter how experienced the artists are they can never make exactly the same item in shape or function twice. However, this apparent inefficiency in nishiki-e was in fact a huge benefit in disguise. The strongest point is that because each item is slightly different, customers could easily choose the items that struck their fancy. It is said in Japanese, "ten people, ten colors"--hand-made art is easily adapted for each person's unique tastes.
Take the example of a hoe, ...
- continued here
- source : japanfs.org/en... Eisuke Ishikawa -

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Nishiki-e 錦絵 from "Guide to Famous Spots of Edo -

In the late Edo period, Ukiyo-e (woodblock prints of everyday life in the Edo period)
produced in Edo were known as "Nishiki-e" (brocade pictures) on account of their bountiful colors,
and were extremely popular Edo miyage 江戸土産 (Edo souvenirs).
Ukiyo-e were sold by publishers called 地本問屋 jihon-donya or 絵草紙屋 ezoshi-Ya
who handled unique Edo books, and they contributed significantly to the development of Edo culture.
This picture shows the front of the 通油町 Tōriabura-chō branch shop of 鶴屋喜右衛門 Tsuruya Kiemon,
a publisher whose main shop was located in Kyoto.
Their Edo branch operated as both a 書物問屋 shomotsu-donya (publishers of regular books)
and a 地本問屋 jihon-donya.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library

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Eastern-Style Comic Tanka Library (Azumaburi Kyōka Bunko)

This is a color picture book with portraits of 50 representative kyōka (comic tanka) poets in the late Edo period and their own kyōka. The portraits were drawn like dynastic poets by Kitao Masanobu (his popular writer name is Santō Kyōden).
Azumaburi Kyōka Bunko (Eastern-Style Comic Tanka Library) was drawn by a young and energetic ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) artist, Kitao Masanobu (or Santō Kyōden), selected by Yadoya Meshimori (his real name was Ishikawa Masamochi), and produced by Tsutaya Jūzaburō, a person famous for his great performance, promoting Kitagawa Utamaro and Tōshūsai Sharaku to be successful later. The success of this book also made him a top-selling publisher.
Kyōka, or a Japanese poetic style that has a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable pattern with socially satirical, ironic and witty verse, had its highlight during the period between 1781 and 1789. Kyōka poets were samurai warriors, merchants, Edo residents and local people and they were very active in those days, enabling cross-social and cross-regional networks to be established.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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Edo Sparrow (Edo Suzume) 江戸雀 （えどすずめ）

The Edo Suzume (sparrows)' was the first periodical published in the Edo period. It was compiled from practical guides to famous places in Edo and in the final section it lists up all the Daimyō residences, shrines and temples, neighborhoods and bridges with the explanation that it intended to summarize the area covering approx. 12km in every direction. It forms together with the guides of Kyoto and Osaka (Namba), the 'Three Suzume'.
Many of the Edo periodicals published in the early Edo period focused more on introducing Edo as a booming town rather than serving as an exact and utilitarian geographical guide. As Edo bookshops were as yet not fully developed, most of them were published in the Kamigata (present day Osaka). This is considered to be the earliest Edo periodical and was authored and published by Edo residents and it is also highly rated as a picture book containing illustrations by Moronobu Hishikawa who is considered to be the founder of Ukiyo-e paintings.
At the introduction, it says that practical guides to famous local places, historic sites, temples and shrines were privided for the benefit of those who came to Edo from their home regions. The city center is divided by direction and each one is depicted in great detail from Daimyō residences, shrines and temples and famous historic sites all the way to streets and houses allowing us to know how to reach there.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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kibyooshi Kibyōshi 黄表紙 Kibyoshi "Yellow Cover Books"
is a genre of Japanese picture book kusazōshi (草双紙) produced during the middle of the Edo period, from 1775 to the early 19th century. Physically identifiable by their yellow-backed covers, kibyōshi were typically printed in 10 page volumes, many spanning two to three volumes in length, with the average number of total pages being 30. Considered to be the first purely adult comicbook in Japanese literature, a large picture spans each page, with descriptive prose and dialogue filling the blank spaces in the image.
- - -　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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A Smash Hit for the Local Book Trade (Atariyashita Jihon Doiya)

A kibyōshi (illustrated storybook with a yellow cover) by Jippensha Ikku who is famous as the author of "Tōkaidōchū hizakurige", a best selling book in the Edo period. From this picture we can see how books were sold at that time.
Jihon doiya is a shop that deals in nishiki-e (colored woodblock prints) and kusa-zōshi (illustrated storybooks), which is unique to the Edo period. "Atariyashita", the title of this kibyōshi (illustrated storybook with a yellow cover) means in the language of Edo period that the books issued by the jihon doiya sold very well.
In this book, the owner of a jihon doiya Murata-ya gives some mysterious drug to a lazy writer, Jippensha Ikku. After taking the drug, the writer immediately completes his manuscript. Murata-ya engraves printing blocks, prints the manuscript and sells the book. It becomes a best-seller and Murata-ya treats Ikku with soba (buckwheat noodles), Ikku's favorite.
This book shows the process of publishing – engraving, printing, folding printed papers, collating and binding – and selling in detail.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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Kinkin-sensei's Dream of Splendor (Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume)
金々先生栄花夢

During the Annei (1772-1781) and Bunka (1804-1817) periods, kibyōshi (illustrated storybook with a yellow cover) for commoners became very popular. It is said that the first kibyōshi was "Kinkin sensei eiga no yume" by Koikawa Harumachi.
The author, Koikawa Harumachi 恋川春町 (1744-1789) was very talented and known as a kyōgen (satirical) poet, kibyōshi (illustrated storybook with a yellow cover) writer and ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) artist. Born in a samurai family, he became a core member of Suruga Kojima somain as an officer of Takiwaki-Matsudaira family and he had access to information about the domain government.
He became a popular author with "Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume". In 1788 (Tenmei 8), he published "Ōmu Gaeshi Bunbu no Futamichi". Soon afterwards, the book became a subject of control for having criticized the Shogunate and Harumachi passed away some time after this. The book was based on the scenario of "Kōryō Issui no Yume" of a noh song "Kantan". On a slit that was put on the inside of the cover of the second edition of the book, there was a picture of the main character Kinmura Kinbei. The picture shows him lying and dreaming of an awa-mochi (millet cake) shop on his way to moving to Edo.
The character is welcomed by a rich merchant as the future head, but he keeps spending money and plays around until he is kicked out – then, he wakes up and realizes that the peak of one's life passes while cooking awa-mochi. Waking from a dream, he decides to go back to his home town. With modern and intelligent description, the book is regarded as a historical work that heralded the beginning of the "kibyōshi" period.
- source : Tokyo Metropolitan Library -

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blue prints (aizuri-e - 藍摺絵)

"In the late 1820s a new imported blue pigment became more readily available and affordable to woodblock print publishers. This intense blue was developed in Berlin by a color manufacturer in the early 18th century, and had been sporadically imported to Japan as early as the 1780s, primarily for use by painters. Hasui The color was known as bero, a derivation from the Dutch Berlyns blaauw ('Berlin blue'); in English it is often called Prussian blue. Unlike the natural pigments previously used for print-making; this blue was strong, vibrant, and stable. While there may be examples where bero was used on woodblock prints in the 1820s, it was not widely utilized until circa 1830 when the costs decreased and the quantities increased (apparently as a result of competition between the Dutch and Chinese importers).
By 1830 the production of the landscape series, 'Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji' by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was underway, a landmark series which was initially advertised as aizuri-e ('all blue') series rendered in bero. At about the same time, a relatively unknown artist, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), began his landscape series, 'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido.' The inarguable success of these two ambitious projects essentially mark the advent of a new genre of ukiyo-e: landscape prints."
- source : woodblockprints.org/index... -

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. WKD : History of Saijiki .

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"Bakemono Hakonesaki" - written by unknown and illustrated by Torii Kiyonaga

"Shirimakuri Goyoujin" - written and illustrated by Jippensha Ikku

"Narita Dochu Hizakurige" - by Kanagaki Robun and illustrated by Ichimatsusai Yoshimune

"Ninso Tenohira Roya San Mitoshi Sajiki" - written and illustrated by Santo Kyoden

"Oni Kojima Homare no Adauchi" - by Shikitei Sanba and illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni

"Keisei Suikoden" - by Kyokutei Bakin and illustrated by Utagawa Kuniyasu

"Akutai no kyoukotsu" - written and illustrated by Santo Kyoden

"Kanataduna Chushingura" - by Santo Kyoden and illustrated by Kitao Shigemasa

"Kanewaraji" - by Jippensha Ikku and illustrated by Tsukimaru ,Yoshimaru and Kunimaru

"Oo Edo Bakemono Saiken" "Edo Bakemono Soushi" - by Adam Kabat

"Edo Gesaku Bunko" - by Hayashi Yoshikazu : Kawade Shobo Shinsha

"Edo Gesaku Soushi" - by Tanahashi Masahiro

"Edo no Gesaku Ehon" - by Koike Masatane

"Dochu Sugoroku" - by Ryutei Tanehiko and illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada

"Kyokun" - by Jippensha Ikku and illustrated by Katsushika Hokusai

"Boshu Higami Myokengu Riyaku no Sukedachi" y Jippensha Ikku and illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni

"Omisoka Akebono-zoshi" - by Santo Kyozan and illustrated by Utagawa Toyokuni

"Mitsunoura Naniwa no Adauchi" - by Jippensha Ikku and illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada

- What is Kusazoshi ?
How to make Kusazoshi
- source : geocities.jp/kusazoshi -


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otogizooshi 御伽草子 popular tales

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otogi zoushi　御伽草子
Popular stories which flourished from the late Kamakura to the early Edo period.
The name derives from an early 18c collection of twenty-three short stories entitled otogi bunko 御伽文庫 (The Companion Library) collected and printed by Shibukawa Seiemon 渋川清右衛門, a publisher in Osaka. The title was changed to Otogi zoushi (The Companion Book) in a later version published in 1801. Once introduced, the term quickly became generalized to include a whole body of popular stories such as folk-tales, didactic narratives, war stories, etc.

Because these stories were appreciated by people from all levels of society, they were frequently illustrated and made into scroll paintings *emaki 絵巻 and picture books
*nara- ehon 奈良絵本 dating from the Muromachi to the early Edo periods. The stories were also recited by chanters and priests sometimes with the help of illustrations *etoki 絵解. The illustrations were painted in a naive style using bright colors, usually by anonymous artists. However, official painters produced a limited number of refined illustrations for the families of emperors and shoguns.

Otogi zoushi were the forerunners of Edo period *kana zoushi 仮名草子 (a story book in kana 仮名 script) and *ukiyo zoushi 浮世草子 (a story book of the floating world). Literary scholars today prefer using the terms Muromachi jidai monogatari 室町時代物語 (Muromachi Period Tales) or Chuusei shousetsu 中世小説 (Short Stories of the Middle Ages) to more precisely describe these short stories.
- source : JAANUS

hachimonjiyabon 八文字屋本
kana zooshi 仮名草子 / ukiyo zooshi 浮世草子

13 translations of the most famous Otogi Zoshi - Kyoto University
Episode 1. 玉水物語 The Tale of Tamamizu
Episode 2. 物くさ太郎 Monokusa Taro
Episode 3. 烏帽子折草子（ゑほしおりさうし） Yeboshi Ori Zoshi
Episode 4. 満仲（まんじゅう） Manjuu
Episode 5. 付喪神 Tsukumogami
Episode 6. ふくろう Owl
Episode 7. 祇王 Gio
Episode 8. 塩焼き文正 Bunsho The Saltmaker
Episode 9. たま藻のまへ Tamamo-no-mae
Episode 10. 雁の草子 A tale of tragic love of a lady and a bird [Japanese only]
Episode 11. 車僧草子 The Wagon Monk Story
Episode 12. 西行物語 The Tale of Saigyo
Episode 13. 弁慶物語 The Tale of Benkei [Japanese only]
- source : edb.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp

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ukiyo zooshi 浮世草子 Ukiyo-zoshi - books about the floating world

. Matsuo Basho and the Floating World .

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ukiyo zoushi　浮世草子
Lit. Books soushi 草子 of the Floating World (ukiyo 浮世).
Printed books containing illustrated prose stories which developed from the kamigata 上方 (Osaka-Kyoto) region and flourished between the 1680s and 1770s. Ukiyo zoushi reflected the culture of the townpeople chounin 町人, and the subject matter was their lives, romances and pursuit of pleasure. The word ukiyo had a range of associations arising from the Buddhist sense of this transient world of sorrows.

In works by well-known writer Ihara Saikaku 井原西鶴 (1642-93), this sense applied more particularly to what belonged to the present, and the varying manifestations of fleeting life in contemporary times. Saikaku also celebrated the human passion of sexual love koushoku 好色 in his novels, beginning with his KOUSHOKU ICHIDAI OTOKO 好色一代男 (Life of an Amorous Man ; 1682). Ukiyo zoushi came in a variety of forms and styles, but there were certain categories established by Saikaku in his major works.

These included koushokumono 好色物, amorous pieces centering around the pleasure quarters, chouninmono 町人物, which dealt with the economic lives of townsmen, and setsuwamono 説話物, which included tales of curious happenings gathered from legends and folklore.
A fourth category dealt with bukemono 武家物, aspects of the lives of samurai 侍. At the time Saikaku was writing, popular fiction in an easily read script was referred to as *kana zoushi 仮名草子, and it was not until about 1710 that the term ukiyo zoushi was mentioned as a genre. Even then, it referred to the amorous fiction earlier known as koushokubon 好色本. It was later, during the Meiji period (1868-1912), that these Edo period novels describing the tribulations of this world were called ukiyo zoushi.

The printed books generally came out in sets of five or six fascicles of hanshibon 半紙本, that is, books made from *hanshi 半紙 paper, folded in half and trimmed. The dimensions of these books could vary but were approximately 165 x 235 mm. (6 1/2 x 9 1/4").


Nishizawa Ippuu 西沢一風 (1665-1731) produced many ukiyo zoushi inspired by Saikaku as well as historical romances such as GOZEN GIKEIKI 御前義経記 (Yoshitsune's Story Told Before His Excellencｙ ; 1700). Ejima Kiseki 江島其磧 (1666-1735), author of KEISEI IROJAMISEN 傾城色三味線 (The Courtesan's Amorous Shamisen ; 1701), wrote books for the important Kyoto publishing house, Hachimonjiya 八文字屋. Kiseki and the bookseller Hachimonjiya Jishou 八文字屋自笑 (d.1745) as a team produced numerous ukiyo zoushi which were known as *hachimonjiyabon 八文字屋本 and served to make the genre more popular and accessible. Kiseki also developed a type of ukiyo zoushi known as katagimono 気質物, which consisted of sketches of townspeople and their doings.

Designers of the illustrations in these books included the authors themselves, such as Saikaku, as well as prominent *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists. Nishikawa Sukenobu 西川祐信 (1671-1751), Kawashima Nobukiyo 川島叙清 (fl.1711-36) and Yoshida Hanbee 吉田半平衛 (fl.c. 1660-92) were well-known illustrators for these books in the kamigata region.

In Edo, Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (c. 1618-94), Furuyama Moroshige 古山師重 (fl. 1678-89), Sugimura Jihee 杉村治兵衛 (fl.c.1680-98), and Okumura Masanobu 奥村政信 (1686-1764) all produced illustrations for ukiyo zoushi.

In around 1766, however, after the deaths of Kiseki and Hachimonjiya Jishou, the Hachimonjiya publishing house in Kyoto was sold, and ukiyo zoushi as a literary form was almost extinguished, although a few books of this type continued to be produced.
- source : JAANUS

kooshokumono 好色物 / chooninmono 町人物

. Ihara Saikaku, Ibara Saikaku 井原西鶴 .

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Obtaining Images: Art, Production, and Display in Edo Japan
by Timon Screech (Author)



The Edo period (1603–1868) witnessed one of the great flowerings of Japanese art. Towards the mid-seventeenth century, the Japanese states were largely at peace, and rapid urbanization, a rise in literacy and an increase in international contact ensued. The number of those able to purchase luxury goods, or who felt their social position necessitated owning them, soared. Painters and artists flourished and the late seventeenth century also saw a rise in the importance of printmaking. There were dominant styles and trends throughout Japan, but also those peculiar to specifc regions, such as the Kanto (Edo) and the Kamigata (Osaka and Kyoto) and, more remotely, Nagasaki.

Obtaining Images introduces the reader to important artists and their work, but also to the intellectual issues and concepts surrounding the production, consumption and display of art in Japan in the Edo period. Rather than looking at these through the lens of European art, the book contextualizes the making and use of paintings and prints, elucidating how and why works were commissioned, where they were displayed and what special properties were attributed to them.

Different imperatives are at work in the art of different traditions, and Obtaining Images firmly anchors the art of Japan of this period in its contemporary context, offering a highly engaging and comprehensive introduction for the student and general reader alike.
- reference source : www.amazon.com ... -

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Painting of the Realm:
The Kano House of Painters in Seventeenth-Century
by Yukio Lippit (Author)



In this eloquent and far-ranging work, Yukio Lippit explores the seventeenth-century consolidation of Japanese painting by the famed Kano painting house, whose style evolved from the legacy of Zen monk-painters of the medieval era and intertwined Chinese with native Japanese practices. Legitimacy was transmitted from master to disciple in a manner similar to that in religious traditions. Lippit illuminates the role of key factors--bequeathal of artworks, authentication of art, painting in the mode of famous masters, collections of art, and the use of art in governance--in establishing the orthodoxy of the Kano painters and their paramount role in defining Japanese painting.

The Painting of the Realm is pathbreaking in its analysis of the discursive operations of the Kano school and its posing of large questions about painting that exceed narrow artist-centered, formalist analysis. Lippit has undertaken a bold and dense study of painting production and reception, presenting original and compelling interpretations.
- reference source : amazon.co.jp -

Edo no Ehon 江戸の絵本 Picture books from Edo
. umesatoclub.com/~mojiquiz ... .

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. kitan sooshi 鬼譚草紙 Kitan Soshi "demon stories" .
奇譚草紙 Kitan Soshi Magic Stories

. shuppansha 出版社 publishing company, book publisher .
ABC - Introduction

. kashihonya, kashihon'ya 貸本屋 booklender, booklender
furuhonya, furu-honya 古本屋 selling old books in Edo .

. Famous Book Titles from Japan - Edo .

. Teikin Oorai, Teikin ōrai 庭訓往来 textbooks .

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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

春雨や傘さして見る絵草子屋
harusame ya kasa shashite miru ezooshiya

spring rain:
browsing under an umbrella
at the picture-book store
Tr. Beichman

Janine Beichman has commented perceptively, "A quiet feeling of spring rain is splendidly evoked, but the identity of the browser is deliberately left vague in order to evoke better the quality of the rain." This is an excellent example of a shasei haiku. There is never mention of a "you" or "I," but the atmosphere is perfectly evoked.
source :　Donald Keene - The Winter Sun Shines In

. Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 visiting shrines and temples .

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. seihonshi 製本師　bookbinder .

. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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kaki, kakine - hedge, fence

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kakine 垣根 hedge, fence
kakoi 囲い, saku さく. hei 塀

The main word is KAKI, read ..GAKI in compound words.


ishigaki　石垣　stone wall, stone fence
ikegaki 生け垣 "living fence", hedge
shooen, shirogaki 城垣 castle "hedge", castle wall

. kamigaki 神垣 fence of a shrine .
"Fence of the Gods"
igaki 斎垣 / tamagaki 玉垣 / mizugaki 瑞垣





- quote
kaki　垣
Also read en; also called kakine 垣根.
A generic term for a fence, garden precinct wall, or partition. Some varieties of bamboo take 竹, Japanese bush clover hagi 萩, brush kanboku 潅木, or azalea tsutsuji 躑躅 are used for hedges *ikegaki 生垣. If the fencing material is cut and dried it is referred to as dead material shinigaki 死垣, and can include such things as embedded bamboo posts hottate-no-take 掘立の竹, posts with bark, or bamboo stake and bamboo reeds takeho 竹穂, as for example at Katsura Rikyuu 桂離宮 in Kyoto, specifically known as katsuragaki 桂垣.
Long fences are known as *oogaki 大垣 and short fences as *sodegaki 袖垣.
Light fences used to divide a garden are called shikirigaki 仕切垣.


ikegaki　生垣
Lit. living fence.

A type of hedge made of trees, bamboo or other living plants planted in a row and trimmed so as to form a fence. Ikegaki (called ikekigaki 生木垣 or living tree fence in Edo period) are different than itagaki 板垣 (board fences), *ishigaki 石垣 (stone fences), *takegaki 竹垣 (bamboo fences) and other types of shinigaki 死垣 (dead fences). When composed of thorn bushes they are called ibaragaki 茨垣, when made of bamboo, sasagaki 笹垣, and when created with several kinds of tree, called *mazegaki 交垣.
A large clipped hedge or ookarikomi 大刈込 may be used to block out unwanted views *dankei 断景. Ikegaki around houses often serve as windbreaks, while their use between different people's land serves as a property marker.
Because of the ancient belief that a god kami 神, resided in evergreen plants himorogi 神籬, ikegaki were often used in shrines and temples to divide space. Evergreens such as Japanese cypress hinoki 桧, Chinese black pine maki 槇 and sakaki 榊 are most frequently employed, although deciduous trees may be used.
For protective hedges, thorn bushes are effective, while the dense leaves of Japanese azaleas, satsuki さつき and tsutsuji 躑躅 make them effective when used to block unwanted views.


sodegaki　袖垣
Lit. sleeve fence.

A narrow fence which may serve to screen off some garden element or may be completely ornamental. Commonly found in tea gardens *roji 露路, sodegaki are attached at right angle to the edge of a building. They are generally about two meters high and a meter across. The fence is named for its proportions which resemble those of a kimono 着物 sleeve.
Varieties of sodegaki include *chasengaki 茶筅垣, *ensouhishi sodegaki 円窓菱袖垣, *teppoogaki 鉄砲垣, *nozokigaki 覗垣 and *yaegaki 八重垣 as well as yoroigaki 鎧垣 (armor-pattern fence), *uguisugaki 鶯垣, to name just a few of the many variations.
Sodegaki are contrasted with functional continuous fences, *oogaki 大垣.
- source : JAANUS


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- - - - - We have some kigo with fences and hedges:

kigo in spring

kaki tsukurou 垣繕う (かきつくろう) repairing the hedge
..... kaki teire 垣手入れ（かきていれ）

yukigaki toku 雪垣解く（ゆきがきとく）
taking down the snow guard hedges


konome gaki 木の芽垣（このめがき）
fence of budding trees


ukogigaki 五加垣（うこぎがき）hedge of aralia trees
the leaves can be picked and prepared for tea


kakidooshi 垣通 Glechoma hederacea subsp. grandis
a creeper plant of the mint family


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kigo in summer

bara no hanagaki 茨の花垣（ばらのはながき）
hedge of wild roses


kakoi bune 囲い船 (かこいぶね) fencing ships


unohana gaki 卯の花垣（うのはながき） hedge of deutzia blossoms


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kigo in autumn

shishigaki 鹿垣 (ししがき) fence against wild boars
and other animals


inagaki 稲垣（いながき）fence to protect the rice plants


mukuge gaki 木槿垣（むくげがき）
fence with the rose of Sharon


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kigo in winter



ishigaki ichigo 石垣苺（いしがきいちご）
strawberries grown on stone walls
They are grown in hot houses, to provide strawberries for the Japanese christmas cake.



kazegaki 風垣（かざがき） wind-protecting hedges
yukigaki 雪垣（ゆきがき）snow-protecting hedge


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topics

beech tree hedge

Robin-run-the-hedge / Galium aparine


. Katsuragaki かつらがき【桂垣】Katsura-Hedge
"takehoogaki" 竹穂垣, hoogaki 穂垣
made from the leaves of living bamboo.


. ukogi うこぎ　/ 五加木 kind of aralia tree .
The leaves have been used as food in the Yonezawa area since the Edo period, when the daimyo Naoe Kanetsugu 直江 兼続（なおえ かねつぐ 1560 - 1619） made them plant this trees for fences around the homes and have some food in times of need.




nerihei　練り塀　mud and tile wall or fence, topped with tiles
Stone-wall ("NERIHEI"), nerihei-wall, stonel-mud wall/fence

It helps protect the property from fire and is used in small fishing villages, especially in Iwaishima island in Yamaguchi.





紫陽花や練り塀長き国分寺
ajisai ya nerihei nagaki Kokubunji

hydrangeas -
the long stone-mud-wall
of temple Kokubunji

anonymous
source :　slownet

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. - Temple fences and walls - 塀　 　


. . Japanese Haiku with KAKINE hedge . .

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yaraigaki矢来垣, ootsugaki 大津垣 Otsugaki, Lit. Ootsu fence



- quote -
chousengaki 朝鮮垣, and chousen yarai 朝鮮矢来 (chosen yarai, Korean fence).
A type of simple wooden fence. In 1711 a Korean mission traveling from Ootsu 大津 to Edo attracted so much attention that the government ordered people to erect fences along the road on which the Koreans passed. These fences were made with pieces of uncut bamboo tied on intersecting diagonals between two or three cross bars of split bamboo. Often the projecting bamboo at the top is cut to create a sharp edge.
- source : JAANUS -

. Yaraicho 矢来町 - "Palisade quarter" in Edo .


More Types of hedges in Japan
建仁寺垣 Kenninjigaki / 光悦寺垣 Koetsujigaki / 竜安寺垣 Ryoanjigaki / 網代垣 ajirogaki / ななこ垣 nanakogaki
四つ目垣 Yotsumegaki / 金閣寺垣 Kinkakujigaki / 鉄砲垣 teppogaki / 篠垣 shinogaki / 清水垣 Kiyomizugaki
御簾垣 misugaki / 沼津垣 Numazugaki / 蓑垣 minogaki / 鎧垣 yoroigaki / 桂垣 katsuragaki
竹穂垣 takenohogaki / 時雨垣 shiguregaki / 長穂垣 nagahogaki / 大徳寺垣 Daitokujigaki
茶筅垣 chasengaki / 清水鉄砲 Kiyomizu teppo / 萩鉄砲 Hagi teppo / 松明垣 taimatsugaki
http://homepage3.nifty.com/fuj-takeya/takegaki.htm

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. WKD : Fences and Hedges in Kenya .


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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -

蝶の羽のいくたび越ゆる塀の屋根
choo no ha no ikutabi koyuru hei no yane

butterfly's wings -
how many times do they flit
over the roofed wall?
Tr. Ueda

Written in 1690 元禄3年春. Basho stayed with his disciple from Iga, Saboku 乍木. The wall between the homes of Saboku and his neighbour might have been quite tall.

. - choo, chō 蝶 butterfly - and Basho .
butterfly - kigo for spring



桐の木に鶉鳴くなる塀の内　
. kiri no ki ni uzura naku naru hei no uchi .
quails inside the garden wall


. yoku mireba nazuna hana saku kakine kana .
(New Year) sheperd's purse. looking closely. hedge



. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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- - - - - Yosa Buson - - - - -

冬鴬むかし王維が垣根哉
. fuyu uguisu mukashi Oi ga kakine kana .
the hedge of the Chinese Oi. - Wang Wei 王維 -(699 - 759)


白梅や誰が昔より垣の外　
. shiraume ya taga mukashi yori kaki no soto .
outside the fence

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妹が垣ね三味線草の花咲ぬ
imo ga kakine shamisengusa nohana sakinu

- quote
In the hedge of his girl's
He sees
Shepherd's purses in bloom.

'Kinshin o motte bijin ni idomu': 琴心挑美人
The prefatory note derives from a historical event in old China. In the Haiku the Poet replaces a 'koto' with a 'samisen'.

Prof. Tsutomu Ogata comments that 'he' may have walked by her house very often, hoping to see her; but probably in vain . Anyway, so much time has passed and shepherds' purses are now blooming in the hedge of her house. Little as they are, they look so fresh and vivid. For so much waste of dear time, the white flowers may give him a new hope and he will surely regain strength and try his best to win her heart.
Mr. Takahashi says that we associate a white little flower with a pretty beloved girl. 'He' in the Haiku is not necessarily the Poet himself. Here is clearly read a man's strong devoted love for the girl in his heart.
- source : Shoji Kumano -

- James Karkoski wrote:

Kinshin chō bijin 琴心挑美人
The mind to challenge a beautiful women with a stringed instrument

The women a hedge,
certainly the shepherd's purse flowers
have come in bloom!

This haiku is difficult to translate because the common name for shepherd's purse in Japanese is 'shamisen grass' which alludes to the three stringed instrument that is still popular in Japan today.
This ties in with the maegaki (forward) Kinshin chō bijin 琴心挑美人
that alludes to an episode in the life of the Chinese poet Sima Xiangru that is recorded 'Shiki' (Records of the Grand Historian), a book that has biographies of famous people during the Han Dynasty in China. Xiangru was introduced to the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family who was recently widowed, and he when played a song on a zither in admiration of her beautiful she fell in love with him and they later eloped against her father's wishes.
The reason why it is called 'shamisen grass' is because the way the way the stems of the flowers shake resembles the sound that a shamisen makes, and traditionally children will break off the flowery part of the plant and placing it in one hand will play shamisen by moving it like a plectrum. Commentators note that is recorded that Buson was remembering a lost love around the time he wrote this haiku.
The opening phrase 'Imo ga kakine' is very vague and I have kept to the literal translation of it, although you could play around with the articles if you want. Commentators tend to read it as meaning that the women is at the hedge, and that is plausible as well depending on how you want to read what verb is being implied here.
I think that the allusion to Xiangru's triumph naturally reads the haiku into being about Buson's childish attempts to win this women's heart.
There is another forward that is also attributed to this haiku that translates as 'First folded pocket paper' which no doubt is about Buson passing love poetry on his love, and, hopefully, he didn't use shepherd's purse as the central image to express his affections for this women.This counts as 18.
- source : James Karkoski facebook -


. shamisengusa 三味線草 "Shamisen plant" - sheperd's purse .
kigo for all spring

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垣越しにものうちかたる接木かな
kakigoshi ni mono uchikataru tsugiki kana
(1770)

over the hedge
they exchange stories
while grafting trees . . .

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.

. WKD : tsugiki, tsugi-ki 接木 (つぎき / 接ぎ木) grafting .
kigo for mid-spring


筍や柑子をゝしむ垣の外
takenoko ya kooji o oshimu kaki no soto
(1775)

these bamboo shoots -
outside the hedge that guards
the sweet tangerines


. WKD : take no ko 筍　bamboo shoots .
kigo for summer

. WKD :
yabukooji 藪柑子 (やぶこうじ) Ardisia japonica .


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

笹鳴も手持ぶさたの垣根哉
. sasa naki mo temochi-busata no kakine kana .


来る蝶に鼻を明するかきね哉
kuru choo ni hana o akasuru kakine kana

a fence shows
an amazed butterfly
something very special
Tr. Chris Drake

This spring hokku was written toward the end of the 2nd month (late March or early April) of 1820, when Issa was in and around his hometown. The hokku seems to be about a bamboo (probably lattice) fence or a hedge used as a fence that is being visited by a butterfly (or butterflies) and how the fence wows or "knocks out" the visitor with its unexpected attractions for butterflies. The idiom in the second line is used mainly when a person who is normally in a weak position manages to outperform or beat or grab the attention of someone who is in a stronger position. I take this to mean that Issa is reversing common sense in this hokku and looking at the world from the fence's point of view.

During the winter and early spring the fence wasn't much to look at, and it had no flowers in bloom, but suddenly, at the end of March, the flowers that twine around the bamboo fence posts begin to unfold with attractive flowers and sweet nectar. If it is a hedge, then the hedge has suddenly put out its own flowers. Until now butterflies have been simply flying over the nondescript fence, ignoring it as if it didn't exist, but today a butterfly finally notices the flowers and can't help but stop and drink for a while. No doubt there will be more visitors from now on. Issa may be sharing in the joy he imagines the ignored fence must somehow be feeling at finally being able to impress and attract a beautiful butterfly. The hokku may also be about how humans, like butterflies, tend to overlook plain-looking things until suddenly something happens to stun them into recognition of how important these almost invisible things actually are.

Chris Drake


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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source :　fuuknaag.exblog.jp

露葎より城垣の反り上がる
tsuyu muguro yori shirogaki no soriagaru

from dewy weeds
the castle wall curves
and rises
Tr. Gabi Greve

Kashiwabara Min-u 柏原眠雨


花木槿弓師が垣根夕日さす
内藤鳴雪

桃折れば牛の面出す垣根かな
梅本塵山

洪水名残り照らす垣根の螢かな
金尾梅の門


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. WKD : Fences and Hedges in Kenya .


. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .


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Kameyama

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Kameyama 亀山 "Turtle Mountain"

There are some places in Japan with this name.

Kameyama shi 亀山市 Kameyama Town in Mie, a station of the old Tokaido 三重県亀山市
. 46. Kameyama-juku 亀山宿 (Kameyama) .


Kameyama Castle (亀山城, Kameyama-jō, Kameyama joo)
is a castle located in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture. It guarded the northwest passage into Kyoto for nearly three-hundred years.
In the past, Kameoka was known as Kameyama and served as the provincial capital for Tamba province.
1577 - Under the direction of Nobunaga Oda, Mitsuhide Akechi erected Kameyama Castle.
1869 - Kameyama was renamed Kameoka
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Kameyama dono 亀山殿 a retreat for emperor Saga, also called
Saga dono 嵯峨殿, in the compound of temple Tenryuuji 天竜寺 Tenryu-Ji.

The most famous is probably a mountain in Saga, Kyoto
京都市右京区の嵯峨にある山


source :　e2jin.cocolog-nifty.com
River Katsuragawa and mount Kameyama （大井河（桂川）と亀山）


under construction
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- - - - - H A I K U - - - - -

亀山へ通ふ大工やきじの聲
亀山へ通ふ大工やきじの声
kameyama e kayou daiku ya kiji no koe

the carpenters
commute to Kameyama -
voice of a pheasant
Tr. Gabi Greve

This haiku refers most probably to Kameyama in Kyoto.

An old legend says, when Go Saga Tenno 後嵯峨天皇 (1220 - 1272) had ordered the construction of Kameyama Dono 亀山殿 Kameyama Retreat, the carpenters who had to walk there from Kyoto were afraid of a lot of poisonous snakes on their way. They thought the region was under a curse.
The ministers tried to convince them of the safety of the road, because it was a project for the Honorable Emperor himself, and while they talked, there was the loud cry of a pheasant. Pheasants are known to eat poisonous snakes.
So the spell was broken and the construction could proceed without further delay.

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


. WKD : kiji　雉　pheasant .



Go Saga Tenno 後嵯峨天皇 (1220 - 1272)
- quote
Emperor Go-Saga (後嵯峨天皇 Go-Saga-tennō) (April 1, 1220 – March 17, 1272) was the 88th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years 1242 through 1246.



This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 8th-century Emperor Saga and go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Saga". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the "second one;" and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Saga, the second," or as "Saga II."
In 1246 he abdicated to his son, Emperor Go-Fukakusa, beginning his reign as cloistered emperor. In 1259, he compelled Emperor Go-Fukakusa to abdicate to his younger brother, Emperor Kameyama.
Emperor Kameyama (亀山天皇, Kameyama tennō)
(July 9, 1249 – October 4, 1305)
was the 90th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1259 through 1274.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

The emperor Gosaga was initiated as Emperor on the 16th day of the 6th month and had food purchased for 16 coins of the Kajo-period.
. WKD : kajoogashi 嘉定菓子）Kajo-cakes .

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. Japanese Architecture - cultural keywords used in haiku .

. daiku　大工 carpenter and legends .

. hana no miyako 花の都 Kyoto　京都 .



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Neo-Confucianism

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. 足利学校 Ashikaga Gakkō, The Ashikaga School .
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Neo-Confucianism in the Edo period

. Confucius 01 .
孔夫子, Kung Tzu, Kung Fu Tzu, Kung Fu Zi, Kǒng fū zǐ.
also called
Sekiten 釈奠 or Sekisai 釈菜

. Confucius - 02 .
MICHAEL HOFFMAN : CONFUCIUS : A man in the soul of Japan
and --- Is Confucius dead?




- quote
CONFUCIANISM IN THE EDO (TOKUGAWA) PERIOD

In Japan, the official guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) was Neo-Confucianism. This philosophy profoundly influenced the thought and behaviour of the educated class. The tradition, introduced into Japan from China by Zen Buddhists in the medieval period, provided a heavenly sanction for the existing social order. In the Neo-Confucian view, harmony was maintained by a reciprocal relationship of justice between a superior, who was urged to be benevolent, and a subordinate, who was urged to be obedient and to observe propriety.

The Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar Chu Hsi's (aka Zhu Xi) ideas were the most influential, but they were by no means the only ones studied in the Tokugawa period.

Here are the four main elements of Neo-Confucianism which influenced Japan:

1) Fundamental rationalism
a. stressed objective reason as the basis of learning and conduct
b. pursued the "investigation of thing" as described in The Great Learning.
c. studied the constant laws of nature and human society (as opposed to the ceaseless change and Law of Impermanence stressed by Buddhism).

2) Essential humanism
a. focus on man and his relationships, not the supernatural world
The stress on social order (warrior, farmer, artisans, merchants) was supported by these ideas.
b. also stressed were the five Confucian relationships
c. clearly rejected Buddhism and Taoism, as Hayashi Razan does on p. 357.

3) Historicism
a. like Confucius in the Analects, scholars hearkened to the past for precedents.
b. in the Japanese case, scholars looked not to Chinese history but to Japanese history.

4) Ethnocentrism
a. In China, this meant anti-Buddhist and anti-Mongol/Turkic invaders.
b. In Japan, this meant loyalty to the emperor and intense xenophobia, which worked nicely with the National Learning scholarship of the time. Also contributed to isolationism.

The Edo period was a time of growing commerce, but Confucianism was opposed to it because it held that the fortunes of the government rose and fell with the fortunes of agriculture, not those of commerce. Both commoner and samurai ethics were more dependent on Confucianism than any other system.

Hayashi Razan (1583-1657)
-Advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), the first Tokugawa shogun.
-Helped draft almost all edicts promulgated by the early Tokugawa shogun.
-Was also a scholar of Shinto and National Learning

The concept of the shi (Chinese: shih): "knight" or "gentleman," someone with a level of "spiritual/moral development, as well as academic and martial cultivation which is clearly above that of the average person." (Muller)

-the true shi would be both a good soldier and scholarly
Excepts from Neo-confucian texts:

XIII:20 Tzu Kung asked: "What must a man be like to be called a shih?" The Master said, "One who in conducting himself maintains a sense of honor, and who when sent to the four quarters of the world does not disgrace his prince's commission, may be called a shih."

XIII:28 If you are decisive, kind and gentle, you can be called a shih. With friends, the shih is clear but kind. With his brothers he is gentle.

XIV:3 Confucius said: "A shih who is addicted to comfort should not be called a shih."

XV:8 Confucius said: "The determined shih and the man of jen will not save their lives if it requires damaging their jen. They will even sacrifice themselves to consummate their jen."

XIX:1 Tzu Chang said: "The shih who faced with danger can abandon his life...he is worth something."


Hayashi equated the shi with the samurai. In Japan, the shi replaced the chuntze as the ideal.
The samurai was to be learned not just in the art of war, but in the Confucian classics as well.

Yamazaki Ansai (1618-1682)
--Simple doctrine: "Devotion within, righteousness without"
--Devotion: service to the Shinto deities
--Righteousness: proper behavior in society
--Yamazaki tried hard to reconcile Shinto and Confucian philosophies.
In the end, he claimed that man must take some things on faith (which is a Shinto statement).

Gave rise to three major trends of the following two centuries:

1. the popularization of Confucian ethics (see Hosoi Heishu)
2. the revival of Shinto and its development as a coherent system
3. intense nationalism

Yamazaki gave a special focus to education

-"the aim of education...is to clarify human relationships"
-This focus on education was continued through into the modern era.
-Yamazaki found The Great Learning particularly important
-closely associated the five relationships to education

Other Significant Schools or Currenths of Thought:

1. The Oyomei (Chinese: Wang Yang-ming) School:
Also Neo-Confucian, but different from most Chu Hsi schools:

Stressed "Intuition" (shin) over "Reason" (ri)
Stressed Action over Words
Felt that man had an innate knowledge, and it was primarily important for one to cultivate it.

Was theistic, and addressed the existence of God(s)
Man's innate knowledge was closely tied to the "Supreme Ultimate"

In sum scholarly Neo-Confucian studies were widespread and varied. A number of Confucian "academies" (like think tanks) were established, such as the Kaitokudo in Osaka. A so-called "merchant academy," it taught, subtly, that the merchants did have value to society as well and their contribution to the welfare of the realm was significant. Generally, only the samurai class would attend these academies, so this gave merchants a place to send their sons and instill pride in what their families did.
On the popular level, though, people learnedabout their place in society and the importance of loyalty and filial piety through travelling scholars and what was taught in the terakoya or temple schools.

The establishment of Oyomei schools also helped reconcile Shintoism with Neo-Confucianism, because is allowed for supernatural element in a Confucian world.

2. School of Ancient Learning or Kogaku
One of the most significant of these "academies" was Ogyu Sorai's school of Ancient Learning or Kogaku. Ogyu Sorai (1666-1728) considered Zhu Xi's Neo-Confuciansm of the Soung Dynasty to be a distortion of the original teachings of the master. And the version of Neo-Confucianism that the Japanese were getting was third or fourth hand anyway. So he wanted scholars to go back to the origianl Han and pre-Han era documents and meet the ancients on their own terms, try to read the canonic texts as they did. Moreover, he wanted to credit the foundational figures in Confucianism for their genius and initiative in using ideas about how to order society that were rooted not really in eternal principles like li, but grew out of the needs of the times. Ieaysu had done the same exact thing, Sorai believed. This belief was meant to be supportive at the time; but it had subversive potential: if institutions were man made and different times called for different types of institutions, then in the early 1800s, when the Tokugawa system did not seem to be working so well any longer, there could be a rational and legitimate call for political change.

3. School of Native Learning or Kokugaku
[Literally, School of National Learning--as opposed to any kind of Chinese Learning]
Also popular were schools of "Native Studies" or Kokugaku, sometimes also called the School of National Learning. But this school can be called "Native Studies" because it suggests that Japan's own history and literature are every bit as worthy has China's are to study and learn from so they did serious linguistic and historical analysis of books like the Kojiki, the Nihon shoki, and The Tale of Genji. When these scholars looked at Japanese history they saw something not in evidence in China: rule by a single monarachical line that alledgedly goes back to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and her grandson, Prince Ninigi. Chinese history, by contrast, featured "dynastic cycles" whereby one ruling house propsered and then deteriorated and was replaced by another. So, this focus in its own way could be subversive, too, in the sense that when you looked back to see what Japan's essence was, you could not avoid coming up against the emperor so the role of the Shogun as someone who was temporarily ruling in place of the emperor came to the for. If the Shogun was no longer able to do what he was supposed to do--i.e., subdue the barbarians and keep them at bay, then maybe there needed to be a central role for the emperor once again.
Not all scholars mixed Confucianism with National Learning: some felt that one or the other was superior.

4. Dutch Studies or Rangaku
Begins in earnest after 1970 and Shogun Yoshimune's liberalization of the kind of books that could be imported from abroad. Scholars tended to concentrate on physical and medical sciences" biology, botany, anatomy, opticals, etc. This school came to be associated to openness toward western ideas and learning. Sakuma Shozan (1811-1864) would later coin the phrase "Eastern morals, Western technology" (Touyou doutoku, Seiyou geijutsu); in other words, still rely on Neo-confucianism for moral guidance but accept the fact that the west was the source of superior science, technology and therefore military power.

5. Mitogaku or Mito Historical Studies
Not so much a "school" per se but the Tokugawa commissioned Shimpan Tokugawa House of Mito to undertake the compilation of a multi-volume Dai Nipponshi or the Great History of Japan. What did this mean? Well, a community of scholars turned their attention to all available records of Japanese history and inevitably began to concentrate on the unique aspects of Japan's monarchical institution. Not subject to dynastic cycles as China's was, Japan's monarch featured amazing continuity back to the age of the gods. Since the Japanese emperor was also a chief priest of Shinto, the native religion and native texts were featured. Therefore, Mito became the locus of intense feelings of Japanese superiority and loyalty to the throne. Echoed/interfaced with School of Native Studies.


Adapted and supplemented from a page that is no longer available: http://www.albany.edu/eas/190/tokugawa.htm;


There were also even a few scholars and critics who were able to think "outside the box":
a. Dazai Shundai--commerce essential to the economy so why not develop the economy? Daimyo should take advantage of this resource, commerce
b. Kaiho Seiryo--don't disparage pursuit of profit; whole world rests on the principle of exchange and profit; Han should pursue profit by exporting local products
c. Yamagato Banto-scholar of Osaka Merchant Academy--urged reformers not to fix prices but let scarce goods go where they are needed
d. Honda Toshiaki urged trade and even overseas colonizastion!
e. Sato Nobuhiro argues for a strong, centralized state with a Ministry to to direct all economic activities
- source :www.willamette.edu


jusha 儒者 Confucian scholar


. terakoya 寺子屋 "temple school", private school .

. Nakae Tooju, Nakae Tōju 中江藤樹 Nakae Toju .
(21 April 1608 – 11 October 1648)

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Hayashi Razan 林羅山 (1583 – March 7, 1657)
also known as Hayashi Dōshun, was a Japanese Neo-Confucian philosopher, serving as a tutor and an advisor to the first four shoguns of the Tokugawa bakufu. He is also attributed with first listing the Three Views of Japan. Razan was the founder of the Hayashi clan of Confucian scholars.



Razan was an influential scholar, teacher and administrator. Together with his sons and grandsons, he is credited with establishing the official neo-Confucian doctrine of the Tokugawa shogunate. Razan's emphasis on the values inherent in a static conservative perspective provided the intellectual underpinnings for the Edo bakufu. Razan also reinterpreted Shinto, and thus created a foundation for the development of Confucianised Shinto which developed in the 20th century.

The intellectual foundation of Razan's life's work was based on early studies with Fujiwara Seika (1561–1619), the first Japanese scholar who is known for a close study of Confucius and the Confucian commentators. This kuge noble had become a Buddhist priest; but Seika's dissatisfaction with the philosophy and doctrines of Buddhism led him to a study of Confucianism. In due course, Seika drew other similarly motivated scholars to join him in studies which were greatly influenced by the work of Chinese Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi, a Sung-dynasty savant. Zhu Xi and Seika emphasized the role of the individual as a functionary of a society which naturally settles into a certain hierarchical form.
He separated people into four distinct classes: samurai (ruling class), farmers, artisans and merchants.
..... In 1607, Hayashi was accepted as a political adviser to the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada.
..... Razan became the rector of Edo’s Confucian Academy, the Shōhei-kō (afterwards known at the Yushima Seidō) which was built on land provided by the shogun.
..... Razan had the honorific title Daigaku-no-kami, which became hereditary in his family.
..... His son, Hayashi Gahō 林鵞峰 (1618 – 1688)
..... Nihon Ōdai Ichiran - compiled by Gaho
..... Gahō published the 310 volumes of The Comprehensive History of Japan (本朝通鑑 Honchō-tsugan), A General Mirror of Japan.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Yushima Seidoo, Yushima Seidō 湯島聖堂 Yushima Seido .


. gakumonjo 学問所 Academies of Higher Learning - Introduction .

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貧乏な儒者訪ひ来ぬる冬至哉
貧乏な 儒者とひ来（きた）る 冬至哉
binboo na jusha toi-kitaru tooji kana

a poor Confucian scholar
somes to visit
for the winter equinox . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve



腐儒者 韮 の羹 くらひけり
kusare jusha nira no atsumono kurai keri

Corrupt Confucian
Drank a brew of
Hot leek soup.

"... Buson employed the particularly harsh term 'kusare' (rotten, smelly, putrid, corrupt) to characterize a Confucian scholar...

"This hokku refers to an ancient ritual in which Confucians drank a certain kind of soup, but the verse was based on one by Du Fu that attacks false Confucians and not the presigious caste itself. Unflattering or ironic references to the Buddhist clergy appear in some of Buson's verses. More, however, contain expressions of piety and respect."
Tr. and Comment by Rosenfield

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

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