Shikoku-ochi 四國落 [四国落]

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or.81.c.20
  • Dates of Creation
    • [1630-1640]
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Fair to good. Some brown stains. Impression: Atozuri from moderately worn blocks. Illustrations: Single-page sumizuri illustrations with single-line borders on ff. 2a, 5a, 8b, 10b, 13b and 15a. Seals of ownership: Oblong red seal, faintly impressed, on inner front cover reading (in part) : Marunoya 丸野屋.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: N.p., n.d. [mid-Kan'ei period, c. 1630-40] . No colophon. Description: 1 kan, 1 satsu. ff. 16. 26.4 x 17.8 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 21 x 16 cm. No borders (except around woodcuts). No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text with occasional furigana. 10 lines to page, 19 characters to line. Dark blue covers, probably original, with manuscript title slip in centre. Gedai and naidai identical. Hashiragaki: Shikoku-ochi 四國落 + folio no. Modern chitsu case. Edition: Undated seihan edition, closely modelled on a movable type edition of mid-Keichō period. Complete sets and single volumes of mai no hon 舞の本 were issued on numerous occasions during Keichō, Genna and Kan'ei periods. Among these, movable type editions are often difficult to distinguish from blockprints. Contents: One work from the standard collection of 36 mai no hon 舞の本 (kōwaka bukyoku 幸若舞曲). The story is based on the group of legends concerning Yoshitsune and Benkei, the first half covering the same ground as the yōkyoku text Funa Benkei (謡曲) 舟辨慶 and the second half Ashiya Benkei 蘆屋辨慶.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Kōbunsō, 3 May 1976.

Other Finding Aids

Kenneth Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese books in the British Library printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, 1993). C. Japanese works 和書 8. Literature - poetry 国文-詩歌 a. Kōwaka (Mai no hon) 幸若 (舞の本)

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 3, p. 178; Kokatsujiban no kenkyū 古活字版の研究, pp. 401, 491, 596-600, 932; Ryūmon bunko zenpon shomoku 竜門文庫善本書目, p. 134; Kōwaka bukyoku kō 幸若舞曲考, pp. 333-45.