Hierarchy, Hubris, and Parody in Ihara Saikaku's Kōshoku ichidai otoko

This article focuses on chapters in Kōshoku ichidai otoko in which condemnations of commoners' hubristic behavior are undermined by parodic passages rendering the text guilty of the rhetorical equivalent of what it condemns. It posits these contrasting elements as setting a pattern of tension between narratorial moralizing and the surrounding narrative typical of Ihara Saikaku's fiction. Elucidating Saikaku's intricate style, the article explores the range and functions of parody in his fiction, arguing that rather than ridiculing the elite texts it takes as its objects, Saikaku's parody functions primarily to transfer their prestige to the prosperous chōnin milieus depicted.