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.