Jump to main content
/

Culture of the Edo period (4) ― Kasei Culture

A townsfolk-oriented culture that developed primarily in Edo, in which the publication of kokkeibon books of humorous stories and ukiyo-e woodblock prints flourished, while research on Japanese classical literature and Rangaku Dutch/Western studies developed into mature forms, as well

Encyclopedia Edo period

Table of Contents

This form of culture flourished primarily among Edo townsfolk during the late Edo period around the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804–1830). Amid this period of long-term social stability, cultural activities reached an apex, and the cultural level of commoners such as townsfolk and farmers grew still higher in proportion to their economic power.

             In the realm of arts pursued for enjoyment, such as sado (the tea ceremony), kodo (the incense ceremony), shodo calligraphy, and haikai poetry, establishment of the iemoto system of hierarchical lineages led to popular forms spreading nationwide, and new venues for social interaction formed in major cities and agricultural communities alike.

             The “Kasei period” of the Bunka and Bunsei eras was a period in which the shogunate’s grip on government rule was loosened somewhat through the Kansei Reforms. The culture of amusement and entertainment came to incorporate critical elements, and in Edo, amusement districts appeared in the Ryogoku, Ueno Yamashita, and Asakusa Okuyama neighborhoods. Forms of entertainment intended for the masses, such as light comedy, rakugo comic storytelling, and street performances — as well as show tents — developed rapidly. This lively energy extended beyond the realm of daily life too, and travel throughout the country flourished, nominally for the purpose of making pilgrimages to temples and shrines, including the Grand Shrine of Ise. This brought the attendant publishing of many travel works and observational records, such as Tokaidochu hizakurige (“Hoofing It along the Tokaido Route”), which was a kokkeibon (book of humorous stories) penned by Ikku Juppensha. Meanwhile, ukiyo-e woodblock prints of landscapes and scenery by artists like Hokusai Katsushika and Hiroshige Utagawa attained popularity, as well.

             Groundbreaking developments also took place in the realm of academics and research. Tadataka Ino carried out nationwide coastline surveys to compile his Dainihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu (“Complete Survey of the Japanese Coast”), and, looking outward to regions across the sea, Philipp Franz von Siebold founded a medical school in Nagasaki, and Koan Ogata a Rangaku (Dutch/Western learning) school in Osaka.

Literature and art

An outstanding popular-fiction author of the late Edo period who created such genres as yellow-cover books, gay-quarter novelettes, and Edo-period reading books 1761-1816

An outstanding writer of popular fiction of the late Edo period; the author of Nanso Satomi hakken den 1767-1848

Edo-period author of popular stories who achieved sudden popularity with his Tokaidochu hizakurige (Hoofing It along the Tokaido Route)

An Edo-period best-seller of Ikku Jippensha’s that follows Yaji and Kita on their travels filled with curious mishaps; it ushered in the golden era of books of humorous stories

A kabuki playwright active during the Bunka (1804-1818) and Bunsei (1818-1830) eras. He achieved great success by writing about commoners of the lower strata of Edo society

A representative haiku poet of the late Edo period, who left behind about 20,000 haiku

りゅうていたねひこ。江戸時代後期の戯作者。江戸に生まれ、絵画や俳諧を嗜み特に芝居通として知れた。寛政改革後に隆盛をみた合巻を手がけ、歌舞伎仕立ての文体と役者絵などを取り入れた『正本製』（しょうほんじたて）で地歩を固める。以後、風俗考証に優れた著作も多く残し、浮世絵師の歌川国貞とは協働関係にあった。

江戸時代後期の人情本作家。書肆経営の一方、戯作者を志して式亭三馬や柳亭種彦に入門。天保3年（1832）に『春色梅児誉美』（しゅんしょくうめごよみ）にて人気を博し、続編も刊行。江戸の風俗や自然を的確に捉え、合作によって場面描写を重ねる作風は為水流と称され、明治期の硯友社文学にも影響を与えた。

江戸時代後期の国学者、民俗学者。三河国に生まれたと伝わり、賀茂真淵の門人から国学を学ぶ。天明3年（1783）より諸国を巡り、日本各地の習俗や庶民生活を取材。生涯にわたり旅を続け、その記録は『真澄遊覧記』などの著作として発表された。文化8年（1811）には秋田藩に居を構え地誌製作にも従事した。

しきていさんば。江戸時代後期の戯作者。江戸に生まれ、本屋に奉公して戯作に親しむ。19歳のときに『天道浮世出星操』 （てんどううきよのでづかい）を発表。市井の生活を洒落を交えながら描き出す黄表紙本や遊里に取材した洒落本などを多数著し、江戸戯作の正統な作風を受け継いだ。

Scholarship

A German physician and naturalist who served as a physician for the Dutch trading house in Dejima during the Edo period

Dutch-learning scholar of the Edo period noted for opening Tekitekisai School and fostering numerous distinguished public figures, and for contributing to the popularization of smallpox vaccination

A geographical surveyor of the Edo period who created the first map of Japan using surveying techniques

ひろせたんそう。江戸時代後期の儒学者、教育者。亀井南冥・昭陽父子について儒学を学ぶも病を患い、その後は独学で学問を続ける。文化2年（1805）、郷里の豊後国にて私塾を開き、後に咸宜園（かんぎえん）と称した。勉学の他、人間性を育む厳格な規律を旨とし、全国から延べ3000人を超える入門者が集った。

らいさんよう。江戸時代後期の儒学者、漢詩人。儒学者の父のもと大坂に生まれ、18歳のときに江戸に出て経学や国学を学ぶ。源平両氏から徳川氏に至る武家の歴史をまとめた歴史書『日本外史』を20年以上の歳月を費やして著す。儒教の大義名分論に基づく尊王思想を展開し、幕末の尊王運動にも影響を及ぼした。

Fine art

A literatus painter of the middle and late Edo period. Though he was a samurai in the service of his lord, he devoted himself to painting, writing Chinese poetry, and playing the qin (Chinese zither), and at age 50 he left this service and traveled about the country

A master of ukiyo-e prints in the late Edo period, known also for his eccentricities

A master painter of actor portraits who surpassed even Sharaku in popularity

A ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo period who influenced Vincent van Gogh

An ukiyo-e artist of the end of the Edo period known for his outlandish compositions and innovative painting style

Founder of the Edo Rinpa School of painting, who drew inspiration from Sotatsu Tawaraya and Korin Ogata to revitalize the Rinpa style in Edo

あおうどうでんぜん。江戸時代後期の洋風画家。陸奥国に生まれ、白河城主の松平定信に命じられ、銅版画研究をはじめる。後に司馬江漢の門下で学び、やがて蘭学者の協力のもと銅版画や油絵の技法を習得した。江戸の名所風景を大小の銅版画で描き、幕末の葛飾北斎や歌川広重の浮世絵風景版画に影響を与えた。

ごしゅん。江戸時代後期の絵師。初期の画号は松村月渓。京都に生まれ、与謝蕪村に師事し南画と俳諧を学ぶ。その後、円山応挙と関係を深め写生画の影響を受けて新たな画風を確立し、俳諧にも通じる詩趣の漂う花鳥画や風景画を描く。四条高倉に居住したため、四条派と呼ばれ隆盛を誇った。

すずききいつ。江戸時代後期の絵師。江戸に生まれ、幼少期より江戸琳派の代表的絵師である酒井抱一の内弟子となり、画力が認められしばしば代作も勤めたといわれる。その教えを基礎としながらも、やがて装飾性に富んだ独自の画風を確立し、江戸琳派の新たな担い手として活躍する。

References

  5. 辻惟雄 監修,美術出版社
  6. 詳説日本史図録編集委員会 編,山川出版社
Responsibility
Secondary Usage

except images: check each right statement

Last updated
March 7, 2024