Ehon fukujusō 絵本福寿草

FSC-GR 780.358

Commentary by Asano Shūgō

Posted December 11, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

This single-volume picture-book is printed in color. It comprises an introduction (one-and-a-half pages), seven double-page illustrations, a blank single page, and a single-page colophon. As the word fukujusō in the title indicates, this picture-book depicts deities and humans with associations of longevity and good fortune. Relatively little is known about the author of the introduction, Shingoken Birin (寝語軒美隣), except that he was a theater connoisseur who studied kyōka poetry under Kikira Kinkei 奇々羅金鶏 (1767–1809), that he lived in Jōshū province (present-day Gunma Prefecture), and that he built a grass hut on the banks of Lake Biwa. We also know that Birin was a wealthy man who belonged to the circle of Tsutaya Jūzaburō 蔦屋重三郎 (1750–1797), the publisher of this work. It is believed that he was keen to self-advertise and therefore may have paid for the privilege of writing the introduction of this work in his role as compiler. Even though the introduction states “These entirely auspicious images of fortune and longevity are accompanied by poems” (medetaki gakiri no utsushi-e ni fukuji niki kitaru zare uta wo kuhaete めでたきかぎりのうつし絵に福寿に寄たるざれ哥をくはへて), illustrations with kyōka verse have yet to be confirmed.

The double-page illustrations include in order of appearance: “Daikoku, Fukurokuju, and Ebisu” (大国・福禄寿・笑子[恵比寿]); “Asonomiya Shinshoku Tomonari and Takasago no Jōuba” (安蘇宮神職友就・高砂之尉嫗); “Momotarō” (桃太郎); “Takenouchi no Sukune (武内宿禰); “Kaku Shigi” 郭子儀 (Ch: Guo Ziyi); “Hōso” 彭祖 (Ch: Peng Zu) (Kikujidō 菊慈童); and “Emperor Wu of Han, Seiōbo, and Tōbōsaku” (漢武帝・西王母・東方朔). Each image illustrates well-known, auspicious themes. The images are stylistically closer to the Kano school than to ukiyo-e, and it can be imagined that a New Year’s publication like this demanded such propitious imagery. If Ehon fukujusō was in fact a publication financed and sponsored by Shingoken Birin, such safe compositions may have also been selected for Tsutaya Jūzaburō’s benefit. It must be remembered that Ehon fukujusō appeared during an era of censorship under the Kansei Reforms. A modified, retitled impression of this work, the Ehon takara no nanakusa (絵本宝七種) of 1804 (Kyōwa 4), has an introduction by the celebrated writer Santō Kyōden 山東京伝 (1761–1816).

書名　　　絵本福寿草
執筆者浅野秀剛

彩色摺絵本一冊。九丁半。序一丁半、見開き図七、白頁半丁、刊記半丁。福寿草という書名の通り、寿福にかかわる神々や人物を集めた絵本。序文を書いた寝語軒美隣については、狂歌を奇々羅金鶏に学び、上州（群馬県）に住み、一時は琵琶湖のほとりに草庵を構えていた芝居通の人物ということくらいしか知りえない。しかし、蔦屋重三郎周辺の金満家で、売名にも熱心であったと思われるので、本書の編者めいた序文も、お金を出しての行為であったのかもしれない。序文に「めでたきかぎりのうつし絵に福寿に寄たるざれ哥をくはへて」とあるが、狂歌入りのものは確認していない。見開き7図は、「大国・福禄寿・笑子（恵比寿）」「安蘇宮神職友就・高砂之尉嫗」「桃太郎」「武内宿禰」「郭子儀」「彭祖（菊慈童）」「東方朔・漢武帝・西王母」で、いずれも吉祥画題として親しまれているめでたい図様である。描写は浮世絵というよりも狩野派風といってよく、正月向けの刊行物として一定の需要があったものかと想像されるが、寝語軒美隣の入銀本（スポンサーとしてお金を出した本）とすれば、蔦屋重三郎としても、無難な図様を選択したということかもしれない。寛政の改革の一環として出版統制が図られている最中での出版という側面も考慮すべきであろう。改題後修本に享和4年（1804）刊、山東京伝序『絵本宝七種』がある。

Selected readings:

Kobayashi Tadashi 小林忠, “Explanatory Notes” (Kaisetsu 解説), in vol. 14 (1990), Puruverā korekushon 『プルヴェラー・コレクション』, Hizō ukiyo-e taikan『秘蔵浮世絵大観』,ed. Narasaki Muneshige 楢崎宗重, 16 vols. (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1987–1991).

Copies in other collections:

Libraries of Kanazawa City, Sōryōkan Bunko

University of California, Los Angeles

National Diet Library, Tokyo (Ehon takara no nanakusa)