Usuyuki monogatari うすゆき物語

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

  • Reference
    • GB 59 16107.h.12
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1678
  • Language of Material
    • Japanese
  • Physical Description
    • 1 volume Condition: Fair. No worm damage, but most folios are badly stained. Impression: Sharp and clear, with only slight signs of block wear. Illustrations: A total of 5 sumizuri illustrations, 3 double-page and 2 single-page, on ff. 2b-3a and 8b-9a of maki 上, and ff. 2b-3a, 9b and 10a of maki 下. Seals of ownership: Large square red seal, Hashimoto-shi toshoki 橋本氏圖書記, on first page of maki 上.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Unknown. Imprint: [Kyōto] , Akitaya Gorōbē, Enpō 6, 1678. Kanki on fol. 13a of maki 下 reads: 延宝六戊午暦弥生 ／ 秋田屋五郎兵衛新板. Description: 2 kan, 1 satsu, in a chitsu case. (Maki 上) ff. 11; (maki 下) ff. 13. 26 x 18 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame varies between 19 and 20.2 x 14.8 cm. Single-line borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text, with dakuten and kutōten but few furigana. 15 lines to page, 28-30 characters to line. Original grey covers with traces of embossed pattern. No title slip, nor gedai. Title from naidai at head of maki 上 and 下. Hashiragaki: varies between うすゆ, うす雪 and 薄雪, throughout the work + 上 (下) + olio no. Edition: One of the many blockprinted editions of this work published between Kan'ei 9 (1632) and Genroku 4 (1691). These were preceded by at least two movable type editions (undated) of Keichō / Genna / Kan'ei period, and were followed by seihan editions dated 1636, 1664, 1665, 1666, 1669, 1680, 1686 and 1691, attesting to the remarkable popularity of this work. Contents: A kana-zōshi story, based on love letters exchanged between Sonobe no Emon and Lady Usuyuki. In Sonobe's absence Usuyuki dies of a sickness, and Sonobe, heartbroken, retires to a monastery and soon meets an early death.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired from Rinrōkaku, 11 July 1966.

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 5. Literature - fiction 国文-小説 f. Kana-zōshi 仮名草子

Bibliography

Nihon koten bungaku daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典, vol. 1, P. 277; Kana-zōshi shūsei 仮名草子集成, vol. 6, pp. 201-65, 387-91; Usuyuki monogatari hanpon kō 薄雪物語板本考, in Kinsei bungei 近世文芸, nos. 27 / 28.