Paper short abstract:

The talk deals with the ur-selection of the Man’yōshū, which is assumed in the first 53 poems. On the basis of the annotations added later as well as the possible connections to the Kojiki, the talk will clarify that the ur-selection consisted of only 50 poems and that 3 poems were added later

Paper long abstract:

The Man’yōshū 萬葉集 is the oldest anthology of Japanese literature still in existence today. The over 4500 poems and short prose texts are contained in twenty volumes, but it is still unclear when the compilation was completed. There are two theories concerning the original layout, which will be the subject of my talk. One is about the anthology as a continuation of the Kojiki 古事記, and the other is about the so-called primal or ur-selection, which is assumed to be in the first fifty-three poems of the first Book. While the Kojiki was submitted in 712, the composition of the original selection is assumed to be around the mid-690s.

Both theories are closely related to each other. However, the Man’yōshū as a continuation of the Kojiki cannot refer to the extant anthology consisting of twenty volumes, but only to the ur-selection. Thus, the reasons that speak in favor of the primal selection as a connection to the Kojiki should be stated more clearly than is the case in previous research. On the other hand, it has to be shown that this first selection consisted not of fifty-three poems, but of fifty presenting a unique form of historiography. Three poems were added later to pursue specific ideological goals.

The key to a deeper understanding of the ur-selection lies in the annotations. These were added many years later when the thoughts and intentions of the old selection were no longer comprehensible. Nevertheless, the annotations still guide academic understanding today, but it is necessary to show what a reading of the ur-selection might be like without them.

Paper short abstract:

The portrayal of rōnin characters in Saikaku’s most money-focused collection of stories provides striking examples of the disintegration of the ostensibly honor-driven samurai ethos once individual samurai must fend for themselves. These will be examined in the context of the rest Saikaku’s oeuvre.

Paper long abstract:

“The samurai are a model for the people, an example shining mirror-like above them.” Thus begins the first story in Ihara Saikaku’s (1642–1693) Budō denraiki (Exemplary Tales of the Way of the Warrior, 1687). However, the collection of samurai vendetta tales that follows contrapuntally confirms and contradicts this assertion. Indeed, Saikaku’s fiction taken as whole alternately supports and undermines the postulate that whereas commoners are motivated by vanity, lust and greed, samurai are driven by considerations of honor and loyalty. Saikaku’s most money-focused collection of stories, Seken mune san’yō (Worldly Mental Calculations, 1692), which tells of desperate measures taken to collect, pay off or dodge debts falling due at New Year’s, features portrayals of cash-hungry rōnin characters that provide striking examples of samurai dishonor in scenes of conflict with chōnin (urban commoners). This presentation will both place these depictions of rōnin misbehavior in the historical context of a new, de facto chōnin cultural hegemony and compare them to other clashes between samurai and commoners in Saikaku’s fiction.

Paper short abstract:

Promotional books, or keibutsuhon, is a unique genre of Edo-period literature that served to advertise certain brands and shops. I will be talking about the strategies implemented in these books to promote products specifically for the cosmetic shop Tamaya and how the brand was constructed.

Paper long abstract:

During Edo period (1600s – 1868), promotional and marketing strategies were prospering, and one of the ways shop keepers used to promote their businesses was through promotional books, or keibutsuhon. These books were usually distributed at a shop’s grand opening or annual celebrations as a type of advertisement. Their plot was generally centered around the advertised brand, and they were commonly written as illustrated books, in the genre of kibyōshi, and later gōkan. This was usually a collaboration between the owner and a famous writer, although there are also examples of writers promoting their own store through advertising books. Despite its commercial nature, these books are great examples of creativeness and brilliant humor of the authors.

In this presentation, I am going to look at this genre of promotional literature through advertising and marketing lenses. I examine the strategies that were implemented to promote the brand, and the ways that the image of the brand was constructed. I am deeply interested in reading literature as advertising and how it can contribute to our understanding of the Edo-period society and the early modern Japanese relationship with literature and consumerism. I will be analyzing Onna masakado shichinin keshō, which is considered to be the first known keibutsuhon, and Tamaya keibutsu by Santō Kyōden, as well as Kotobuki kogane no daichō, created by Tamenaga Shunsui. All these books served to promote Tamaya, a shop selling various cosmetics, oils, and other decorative goods. I will compare their promotional strategies and analyze how the Tamaya brand image was changing throughout time and how it was reflected in literary devices of the genre.