Paper short abstract:

I will argue that the use by performers, especially professionals, of the surimono format to promote themselves is significant because performers were officially considered beneath the status system. The surimono format enabled these individuals to present themselves as poets and artists - bunjin.

Paper long abstract:

There are many varieties of surimono but most that survive include poems (haiku, kyōka, kanshi) and an image. Poetry gatherings were an essential aspect of socializing in early modern Japan and allowed for the mixing of individuals from different statuses, regions, genders and ages. Poetry or other gatherings to participate in the arts created a cultural setting that was outside of the ordinary daily work life, and seems to have been considered egalitarian in the sense that within the group everyone held an identity as a 'poet' or 'artist' with a distinct penname or gō. Those who participated, therefore, were participating in a distinct cultural sphere as bunjin. It is relatively easy to create a short haiku of three lines, but it is difficult to create a haiku with an impact, especially within a renku sequence in which haiku were created around a theme and in relation to previous verses. It is remarkable that a really broad section of the Japanese population participated in poetry gatherings in the early modern era into the twentieth century.

In Kyoto-Osaka we have a sub-genre of surimono that relate to particular events within the world of performing arts, such as kabuki, jōruri, buyō, shamisen, rakugo, geiko, kendama, etc. These 'kamigata' surimono usually celebrate or commemorate an event, such a taking on a new name, or marking the memorial of a predecessor.

Focusing on several examples, I will argue that the use by performers, especially professionals, of the surimono format to promote themselves and/or their schools, is significant because actors and performers were officially considered beneath the status system, literally beyond the pale. The surimono format enabled these low status (but popular) individuals to present themselves as poets and artists - rather than as the pejorative phrase kawara-kojiki performers, who had to sell their art (and/or bodies) to make a living.