Genesis of a misleading label
Are kanazōshi a literary genre?

Laura Moretti (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia)
EAJRS, 21-09-2005

G enesis of a label and birth of a myth
- M izutani Futō’s work-Mizutani Futō 水谷不倒
近世列伝体小説史(1897)

新撰列伝体小説史 (1929)

Periodconsidered

Only works of the Kanbun era

From the Genna era up to theEnpō era

Criterion 1

Works written almost in kanaWorks written almost in kana +(Opposed only to the works after sōshi (short shōsetsu opposed toSaikaku with many kanji withmonogatari, long shōsetsu)
furigana)

Criterion 2

Porpuse: enlightening

Porpuse: amusing (娯楽的) andtrivial (閑文字)Post-Mizutani kanazōshi definitions
See handout ①

Q uestioning the criteria
1
Not exhaustive（網羅的ではない事）

Q uestioning the criteria
2

The use of kana could be considered acriterion? Is the writing style acriterion?

Q uestioning the criteria 2
aTexts which show the “style” typical of kanazōshi but
which are not considered kanazōshi浅井了意著 『浮世物語』（霞亭文庫）

『平家マ 物レガ 語文 』
延宝年
5庫（ローマサレジオ大学）

『日蓮マ 大レガ 聖
文 人
庫 御（ロ 伝ー 記マ 』
サレ
ジオ大学）

延宝９年）『聖徳マ 太レガ 子
文 伝庫 』（ローマサレジオ大学

寛
文６年

Q uestioning the criteria 2b
Texts which do NOT show the “style” typical of kanazōshi
but which are considered kanazōshi

『棠陰比事加鈔』、寛文２年館）（国立国会図書● 医『 世物語』●『酒茶論』

・・・・などTexts in kanbun

Q uestioning the criteria 2c
Texts printed after the Tenna era with the same “style”
of the so called kanazōshi

『賢女物語』

文
庫

寛
文
９年
霞亭

『かの子はなし』

文
庫

元
禄３
年
霞亭

『ひやう』

文庫

寛
文５年
東洋

文
庫

『風流源氏物語』
元
禄１６
霞亭 年

Q uestioning the criteria 2c- イ
The use of kana was not limited to works preceding
Saikaku
See handout ②

Q uestioning the criteria
2

The word kanazōshi in Edo periodQ uestioning the criteria 3a
Was the word kanazōshi already existing in the Edo period?
What was its semantic field?
See handout ③

Q uestioning the criteria 3b
Was the word kanazōshi already existing in the Edo period
to indicate a precise textual category or a literary genre?
→ Shojaku mokuroku

舞 並 草子

仮名物草子類Only in 1 shojaku mokuroku of 1799

仮名草子 仮名 並 和書Q uestioning the criteria 4

Contradiction as concerns the purpose of
these texts→ enlightening or amusing?

I s kanazōshi a “convenient” label?

Many efforts are devoted to justify the use of thislabel.
Many quarrels about the boundaries of kanazōshi.
Startling differences between the view ofkokubungakusha about what kanazōshi are and theview detectable in the Union Catalogue for EarlyJapanese Books.

仮研献録
名草子 究文 目国ーー
書基本デ タベ ス

501 著作

326 著作
In common
211/112

Only in 文献目録
290

Only in 国書基本214

The lack of common features- Sub-classifications in kanazoshi -Sub-classifications of kanazōshi

See handout ④

Parameters
Narrative mode (ludic – practical – enlightening)→ n. 2-4-5-8-9-11
1. Betrayal of texts nature→ hybrid prose?

Intertextual nature→ n. 6-7-12-14
1. Not a peculiarity of early kinsei
2. Betrayal of texts real nature→ newness?

Other problems
Cross classification (交差分類)→ n. 2-4-5-9-13
Grouping of different works in one category→ n. 7-10

C urrent s ituation:
ituation s poradic recog nition of kanazōshi’s definition as
problematic B UT perpetuation of this etiquette as “us eful”, as“convenient”.

Propos al:alabandon this etiquette which is
1. not s cientific
2. uns table
3. un-convenienta) Overall analysis of each single primary sourceb) Investigation about genre consciousnessc) Study of genre theories→ fals e and mis leading

On this g round-zero proceed at the recog nition of s pecific literary genres ,hence to a new and truthful view of the pre-S aikaku Edo period literature