Edo no Hanamichi: Reading Military Tales with Saikaku, Basho, and Chikamatsu

2023/07/21

The essays included in this book cover representative authors of early modern literature, including Ihara Saikaku, Matsuo Basho, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Ueda Akinari, Tsuruya Nanboku IV, and Kawatake Mokuami. The theme of this book is how these authors reinterpreted medieval literature, centered on military tales (gunki monogatari), and linked it to their own new creations.

Just as "how to express" a literary work is important, "how to read" it is also greatly influenced by the era and society. In the early modern society ruled by samurai, military tales such as "The Tale of the Heike" and "Taiheiki" became the axis of historical perception. The Tokugawa clan based the legitimacy of their rule on the correctness of their lineage as Seiwa Genji, which extended to the entire samurai class and created a society that placed extreme importance on lineage. However, with the penetration of the monetary economy throughout early modern society, such "logic of rule" began to fray and eventually became invalid. Through the analysis of individual literary works, this book aims to examine the nature of the historical views and value norms that governed early modern society and clarify their transitions.

As I wrote in the "Afterword," the reason I was able to study works in a wide range of fields as my interests led me was largely due to the guidance I received from three professors: the late Professor Kenkichiro Iwamatsu, a researcher of medieval literature; Professor Yasuhiro Uchida, a researcher of early modern literature; and Professor Tamotsu Watanabe, a theater researcher and critic.

The three professors have something in common: they all went to Keio from the Yochisha Elementary School. In a sense, I was raised within the academic culture of Keio. More than various specialized knowledge or research methods, I was influenced by the atmosphere of "being free to research anything without being bound by specialization." Among the essays included in this book, "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan" is the work I first studied in Professor Tamotsu Watanabe's lecture during my third year of undergraduate studies. It was a popular lecture, and the classroom on the first floor of the First Building in Mita was always full. Also, "Asaji ga Yado" from "Ugetsu Monogatari" was a work I handled in Professor Yasuhiro Uchida's seminar during my master's program, and I had always wanted to discuss it someday. I am only ashamed that it took more than 30 years to publish them, but I am truly happy to have been able to publish these essays that are accompanied by such fond memories.

Edo no Hanamichi: Reading Military Tales with Saikaku, Basho, and Chikamatsu

Makito Saya

Keio University Press

272 pages, 3,520 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.