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 -   SANTŌ KYŌDEN Illustrated by Kitao Masanobu Z Santō Kyōden (1761–1816) was not only the most popular author but also one of the esteemed tsū dandies of the day. The son of a successful pawnshop owner, he began his career as an artist with the studio name of Kitao Masanobu. After working as a book illustrator, he made his teenage debut as an author of a “yellow book,” Our Favorite Merchandise (Gozonji no Shōbaimono, 1782) for which he, as Kitao Masanobu, provided illustrations. The book made him an instant star thanks to a review by the celebrated wit Ōta Nanpo (1749–1823). Whilehebecameaprolificauthorof“booksofmanners”and“yellowbooks,” he was also a successful merchant. He sold fashionable goods at a shop in Nihonbashi and promoted his business with his stylish and witty designs for the merchandise as well as for advertisements. His “books of manners,” including A Connoisseur’s Words (Tsūgen Sōmagaki, 1787) and Forty-Eight Ways for Seducing Courtesans (Keiseikai Shijūhatte, 1790), featured conversations in a variety of styles as well as subtle treatments of the characters’ sentiments. But in 1791, the laws of the Kansei Reforms attacking writings on pleasure quarters punished Kyōden and his publisher Tsutaya Jūsaburō for three “books of manners” authored by Kyōden. He had already been sentenced the year before to fifty days in handcuffs for illustrating a satirical “yellow book” written by another author. 186 HEROES, ROGUES, AND FOOLS His second work in this genre, Playboy, Grilled Edo Style (Edoumare Uwaki no Kabayaki, three volumes, 1785), achieved even greater success than the first. It is not only the best example of Kyōden’s talents doubling as author and illustrator, but is also the most quintessentially Edo-esque of all the popular writings in this period. It is a product of the power of consumerism in the metropolis and the highly developed aesthetics of its inhabitants. The book celebrates Edo’s financial powers, which seemed to make almost any type of desire attainable, and glorifies the notorious places where any kind of pleasure was available. Kyōden, a true tsū who frequented Yoshiwara and even married two courtesans one after the other, spared no energy when wielding his pen or brush in his praise of the quarter. Complimentary references are made, often with real names, to Yoshiwara’s tea houses, their proprietors and courtesans, clothing stores, and caterers, in addition to kabuki productions and actors. The newly planted cherry trees along the streets, the topic of the town for the season, are celebrated in the elaborate linguistic play in the jōruri song for the “lovers’ journey” scene in the book. In the conversation at the brothel, the proprietress mentions a historical Soga clan play now being put on. She is proud that Bokuga, the owner of the famous brothel Ōgiya, has taken part in an amateur production of a Soga play at Yoshiwara. The role of the great villain Kudō Suketsune is identified as “Bokuga’s part” as though it belonged to the brothel owner rather than to the kabuki star Matsumoto Kōshirō IV (1737–1802). At the same time, the book pokes fun at obsessive pleasure hunters— super-rich patrons as well as run-of-the-mill playboys. Those who could afford it poured their wealth into the display of style. To seal their reputations asplayboys,afewactuallywentsofarastocommitdoublesuicideswithcourtesans , actions that were not far from Enjirō’s ludicrous endeavors. Also satirized are more common playboys who lost their heads aspiring to be famous tsū.ThequackShian’sadvice,forinstance,consistsofstaleconventionsabout Yoshiwara that would impress only a half-baked tsū, the kind that soaks up any trivial knowledge about the quarter. Numerous allusions, simultaneously complimentary and ironic, are made to popular songs, for they occupied the attention of Edoites as the most affordable way to be fashionable. The most prominent genre in the book is meriyasu, of which sixty-eight titles are listed by Kinosuke as part of his lesson for Enjirō on playboyhood. “Kamisuki,” or “touching up his coiffure” was a dominant theme in meriyasu : many songs were titled “kamisuki this” or “kamisuki that,” associating tangled hair with the pain of love. The image of a handsome man injured in a fight and a beautiful woman combing his hair to soothe his pain and help restore his good looks probably constituted an ultimate fantasy for men and women. Lacking the looks or strength to fight, Enjirō must hire men to beat [18.190.219.65] Project MUSE...

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