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Paper short abstract

This presentation analyses the intersection of the genres of Classical Chinese poetry and illustrated fiction (kusazōshi) of the late Edo period. Examples of ornamental paratext, pseudo-classical poetry and suggestive verse demonstrate the varied uses of poetry.

Paper long abstract

Classical Chinese poetry (kanshi) started to increasingly proliferate into wider social strata during the late Edo period. Editions with extensive commentary, translations into contemporary Japanese, illustrated editions and the growing popularity of Classical Chinese poetry by Japanese poets all contributed to this wider reception. In illustrated fiction (kusazōshi) of the late Edo period Classical Chinese poetry is occasionally to be found on book covers or (more rarely) as part of the story itself. A bestseller like Pale Moon: A Cat’s Story (Oborozuki neko no sōshi) by Santō Kyōzan, illustrated by Kuniyoshi, features on its seventh and last volume (published in 1849) a poem on cats by Kikuchi Gozan. Tōjō Kindai’s preface to Kunisada’s erotic booklet Enshi gojūyojō takes the form of a kanshi. Some authors, such as Jippensha Ikku, would also compose lyrics of varying quality themselves to add to their works, some of the texts akin to the dog latin or Macaronic poetry of Europe. This presentation will take a look at examples like these to understand the varieties of creative adaptation of Classical Chinese poetry to be found in popular fiction. To bring light to this intersection of genres, problems such as the the status of Chinese learning in late Edo society assessment of the popularity of Classical Chinese poetry, the influence of trends in kanshi poetics such as a focus on everyday and tangible topics, the discourse around opposition and admixture of high and low culture and the ornamental function of paratext will be discussed.