Paper short abstract:

Following a discussion of a concept of ‘books for children’ in the (late) Edo period, this paper will analyze several kusazōshi about Yoshitsune that try to engage an audience of children and offer social guidance for life lived in the present and the future.

Paper long abstract:

The appearance of modern children’s literature in Japan is closely related to paradigmatic changes in the perception of children and childhood during the late Meiji and Taishō period. Karatani Kōjin (1993), for example, has argued that children’s literature only appeared in the early twentieth century, with Western concepts of childhood rooted in Romanticism and psychology. Consequently, Edo period books specifically aimed at children have been largely overlooked in conceptualizing children’s literature in Japan. However, the wider field of children’s literature studies acknowledges various perceptions of the genre (e.g., Nodelman 2008), and a considerable body of research focuses on children’s books broadly defined as a reflection of (or challenge to) social norms, beliefs, gender roles, and canonical knowledge. In this vein, we may identify works for children among the highly picture-oriented kusazōshi of the (early) eighteenth century (e.g., Williams 2012, Moretti 2016). The more sophisticated kusazōshi of the later Edo period, i.e., kibyōshi and gōkan, are however almost exclusively associated with a popular adult audience. Thus, late Edo fiction aimed at children has suffered neglect from the discipline of modern children’s literature as well as early modern book studies.

Legends about famous warriors were closely associated with children, and continuously appeared in eighteenth and nineteenth century kusazōshi of a straightforward nature, that would primarily have appealed to those with yet limited cultural knowledge. After discussing the notion of ‘children’s books’ in an Edo period context, I will analyze several kusazōshi about arguably the most popular protagonist, namely Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189). I will make three arguments. First, the text and images not only introduce children to an important cultural icon, but also steer their audience towards contemporary social norms and gendered models of behavior. Second, the form and content of these books challenge the idea of a ‘main legend’ concerned with tragic heroism (Morris 1975). Finally, through an example of a Meiji period adaptation, I will argue that the Edo period heritage played an important role in the decoding of the concept of children's literature, as it existed in the nineteenth century West, and its implementation in a Japanese context.