Ihara Saikaku
The mass production of woodblock prints in the Edo period was due to the high literacy rate of Japanese people in those days. The literacy rate of the Japanese in the Edo period was almost 100% for the samurai class and 50% to 60% for the "chōnin" and "nōmin" (farmer) class due to the spread of private schools "terakoya". There were more than 600 rental bookstores in Edo, and people lent woodblock-printed illustrated books of various genres. While the Saga Books were printed on expensive paper, and used various embellishments, being printed specifically for a small circle of literary connoisseurs, other printers in Edo quickly adapted the conventional woodblock printing to producing cheaper books in large numbers, for more general consumption. The content of these books varied widely, including travel guides, gardening books, cookbooks, "kibyōshi" (satirical novels), "sharebon" (books on urban culture), "kokkeibon" (comical books), "ninjōbon" (romance novel), "yomihon", "kusazōshi", art books, play scripts for the kabuki and "jōruri" (puppet) theatre, etc. The best-selling books of this period were "Kōshoku Ichidai Otoko (Life of an Amorous Man)" by Ihara Saikaku, "Nansō Satomi Hakkenden" by Takizawa Bakin, and "Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige" by Jippensha Ikku, and these books were reprinted many times.