Ota Nanpo
A literary giant of the Edo period known for his kyoka (comic Japanese poetry) and sharebon (gay-quarter novelettes). In addition to "Nanpo," he also used "Shokusanjin" and "Yomo no Akara" as pen names. In addition, he was a capable official in the Edo shogunate
1749-1823
Ota Nanpo was a literatus of the middle and late Edo period. He produced many works of both poetry (primarily kyoka [comic Japanese poetry] and kyoshi [comic Chinese poetry]) and literature (primarily sharebon [gay-quarter novelettes], kibyoshi [illustrated storybooks with yellow covers], and zuihitsu [literary jottings]). He was also a retainer for the shogunate. Born in Ushigome, Edo (present-day Tokyo), he bore the name Fukashi. He used Nanpo as a pen name and Shishi as his courtesy name, and he was commonly known as Naojiro. His other well-known pen names include Shokusanjin and Yomo no Akara, and his less well known pen names include Kyokaen. He studied Japanese classical literature and Japanese poetry under Uchiyama Gatei and Confucianism under Matsuzaki Kankai.
In 1767 he published his accumulated comic Chinese poetry under the title Neboke-sensei bunshu (The Collected Writings of Master Half Asleep), with a foreword by Hiraga Gennai, establishing a name for himself as a writer. With Karakoromo Kisshu, a fellow student studying under Uchiyama Gatei, Nanpo, using the pen name Yomo no Akara, also tried his hand at comic Japanese poetry. Displaying wit and humor, these two writers established a foundation for the popularity of comic Japanese poetry that swept Edo during the Tenmei era (1781-1789).
From 1775 he wrote such gay-quarter novelettes as Koeki shinwa (Hearsay of the First Post Station), Fukagawa shinwa (Hearsay of Fukagawa), and Hentsu karuizawa (Light Gossip of Strange Ways). And from 1781 he wrote and critiqued yellow-cover illustrated storybooks. Two years later Yomo no Akara coedited, with Akera Kanko, Manzai kyoka shu (Collection of Comic Poems of Ten Thousand Years), ushering in the Tenmei era craze for comic Japanese poetry. This title is a parody of the work Senzai waka shu (Collection of Poems of a Thousand Years). However, with the advent of the Kansei Reforms in the Kansei era (1789-1801), reforms that affected the publishing industry as well, Nanpo took a break from writing popular, lowbrow literature. In addition to serving as a minor official in the shogunate, he opened a private school for studying the Chinese classics for several years. Then in 1794 he scored at the top of the Gakumon Ginmi (Academic Examination), which tested proficiency in the Chinese classics and was used as the basis for promotion, and in 1796 he was promoted to the position of managing accountant in the bureaucracy. In 1800 he became warehouse account book auditor in the accounting office within the Takebashi Gate of Edo Castle, in 1801 he began working in the Osaka copper coin mint, and in 1804 he started a job in the Nagasaki Magistrate's Office. During the Bunka era (1804-1818), he dominated the Edo literary scene as an outstanding writer and exerted a great influence on all of Edo culture. His major literary works, in addition to those listed above, include Shokusan hyakushu (One Hundred Poems by Nanpo) and his monumental collection of literary jottings Ichiwa ichigen. His posthumous Buddhist name is Kyokaen Shin'itsu Nikkyu, and his grave can be found at Honnen Temple in Hakusan, in the Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Writings under the name Akara Yomono
Nanpo as an official of the shogunate
Books with prefaces or postscripts by Nanpo
Biographies and critical biographies
Related Works
Portraits
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所在地は東京都文京区。境内に大田南畝の墓がある。
所在地は東京都新宿区。大田南畝の書が刻まれた水鉢がある(文政3年奉納)。
長崎県長崎市にある。園内に大田南畝の石碑が建立されている。
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太田記念美術館(東京都渋谷区)で、2008年5月-6月に開催された展覧会の解説文。
「第2部 集う」に大田南畝の著作が紹介されている。
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References
- 浜田義一郎 [ほか]編,岩波書店
- 佐竹昭広 [ほか]編,岩波書店寝惚先生文集 狂歌才蔵集 四方のあか