55 - Development of the late yomihon: Santō Kyōden and Kyokutei Bakin

Summary

This chapter traces the formation and development of the late yomihon as a fictional form, focusing on Santo Kyoden's and Kyokutei Bakin's innovations and the relationship between the two authors. The haishi-mono or unofficial history style emerged in Edo in the wake of the Kansei Reforms, carried out under the direction of Matsudaira Sadanobu. After Santo Kyoden's attention-getting punishment for three of his sharebon, some early yomihon authors active in Edo incorporated discussions of the reforms in their work. The first unofficial history yomihon was Santo Kyoden's Chu shin suikoden, illustrated by Kitao Shigemasa. Kyoden's second yomihon was Asaka no numa, which was the product of a combination of prominent works from the Chinese and Japanese traditions. Bakin's first yomihon was Takao senjimon. Bakin has come to be regarded as the preeminent yomihon author, a firm grasp of the role Kyoden played in the genre, and of Bakin's relationship to him, is essential to an accurate understanding of late yomihon.