Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how printed broadsheets that satirised poems and pictures from the Hyakunin Isshū pointed a self-reflexive gaze onto the inner nature of the Edoite, providing an alternative view to the often-celebrated disaster resilience of Edo's residents.

Paper long abstract:

"Fires and Quarrels are the Flowers of Edo" is a saying that is often quoted to describe the boisterous attitude of Edoites in the face of adversity. Edo's residents were proud of their ability to mitigate disaster. In the nineteenth century, printed images and illustrated scrolls celebrated the brave struggles of daimyo and commoner fire brigades in putting out the fires that frequently spread through the city. At the same time, the apparent clash between people's desire for self-preservation and the need for cooperation in the aftermath of fires created ample opportunities for satirically exploring the pettier side of human nature. Individual idiosyncrasies emerged as people tried to save their possessions, and as curious people eyed up the residents emerging from daimyo residences that were being evacuated during fires.

Satire works by contrasting opposites, and this paper will demonstrate how a combination of satirical text and images in printed media shed light onto the inner nature of the Edoite. By exploring a range of printed broadsheets that satirised poems and pictures from the Hyakunin Isshū, this presentation will demonstrate how satire functioned to point a self-reflexive gaze onto the inner nature of the Edoite, providing an alternative view to the often-celebrated disaster resilience of Edo's residents. In so doing, it will show that satirical expression was not merely a tool to criticise the the Shogunate, but it was also useful in revealing the shortcomings of the celebrated boisterous nature of the Edoite.