Tōkaidō gojūsan eki shiki shū 東海道五十三駅四季集

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Commentary by Tashiro Kazuha

Posted July 13, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

Tōkaidō gojūsaneki shikishū is an anthology of poetry about the east-west Tōkaidō highway and the subject of travel. Thirteen poet-critics, notably figures such as Isōan Ryōtai 惟草庵寥岱(1791?–1853),selected the poems. The cover, which is believed to have been added later, has an individually hand-written title slip reading Zeshin eiri haiku shū 是真絵入俳句集(a collection of haiku with pictures by Zeshin). What appears to be the title page is in fact the original cover. Here, the text reads Shinizumi-chō Yurōkakugaku/Tōkaidō gojūsan eki shiki shū 新泉町湯楼掛額/東海道五十三駅四季集(Shinizumi-chō Yurōkakugaku/Collection of the four seasons of the stations of the Tōkaidō), and it includes an illustration of straw sandals and hammer by Shibata Zeshin. A painter and lacquer (maki-e) artist, Zeshin was one of the most active designer of single-sheet prints with haiku from the late Edo to Meiji periods. However, in this work only the original cover image is by Zeshin; the remaining seven illustrations are believed to be by the little-known artist Kōrei (晃嶺).[1]

The eight color images are of a type referred to as haiga (a mode combining haikai poetry with painting) with a brush style that conveys a simplicity and warmth in spirit. The illustrations include a portable brush and ink set and an accounts booklet inscribed with the character sakana 魚(fish); a calendar from Mishima Shrine dated 1848 (Kōka 4) [2] and a dried Hakone salamander; the view of a craftsman assembling a bamboo fence; a sparrow-shaped toy next to a round fan inscribed with the characters “eighty” (hachijū 八十), “cross” (wataru わたる), and “happiness” (kō 幸); an Odawara paper lantern with the characters for “Ōtsu Inn” (Ōtsu yado 大津宿) and the silhouette of an Ōtsu horse that evokes a nocturnal setting; the evening cool of Shijō-kawara in Kyoto; and a palanquin constructed of green bamboo.

These images are loosely associated with travel, the Tōkaidō highway, or the “four seasons” mentioned in the title. The picture of sandals on the title page hints at a journey, while the Mishima calendar, Hakone salamander, Ōtsu horse, and Shijō-kawara (the end station of the Tōkaidō) allude to meisho名所(famous places) and meibutsu 名物(regional products) of the period.

書名　東海道五十三駅四季集
執筆者田代一葉

惟草庵ら13名の点者が選んだ句合集で、東海道や旅に関する句を収録。後人の手によりつけられたと考えられる表紙には、題簽に手書きで「是真絵入俳句集」と書かれているが仮称と考えられる。本文1ページ目のように見えるのが本来の表紙で、「新泉町湯楼掛額　東海道五十三駅四季集」と題名がある。表紙の草鞋と金槌の絵は、柴田是真によるもの。柴田是真（1807-1891）は、絵師で蒔絵師であるが、幕末から明治期にかけて俳諧一枚摺の作者として、もっとも活躍した人物の一人。本書は、表紙の1図のみが彼の手によるもので、ほかの7図は晃嶺（未詳）による。［1］

絵は、いわゆる俳画で、素朴で温かみのある筆致の彩色摺り。本文の図柄は以下のとおり。矢立と「魚」と書いた字が見える大福帳（第1図）、弘化4年の三島暦と箱根サンショウウオの干したもの（第2図）、竹垣を結う職人の後姿（第3図）、「八十」「わたる」「幸」と書かれた団扇の一部分とすずめの玩具（第4図）、「大津宿」と書かれた小田原ちょうちんと、ぼかしを使って夜の空気感を出した大津馬のシルエット（第5図）、四条河原の夕涼み（第6図）、青竹で作られた駕篭（第7図）。
これらは、旅や東海道、また書名に見える「四季」と緩やかに関連しており、表紙の草鞋は、旅を暗示し、三島暦と箱根サンショウウオ、大津馬、四条河原は、東海道の名所・名物を表している。

Selected readings:
Kira Sueo雲英末雄, Haisho no hanashi「俳書の話」, Nihon shoshigaku taikei 60 『日本書誌学大系』(Tokyo: Seishōdō Shoten, 1989).

Kira Sueo雲英末雄, Haisho no sekai「俳書の世界」, Nihon shoshigaku taikei 84 『日本書誌学大系』(Tokyo: Seishōdō Shoten, 1999).

Matsuzawa Masaki松澤正樹, “Shibata Zeshin no haikai ichimaizuri”「柴田是真の俳諧一枚摺」, in Edo bungaku『江戸文学』, vol. 25 (June 2002), 196–202.

Copies in other collections:
Waseda University Library, Tokyo

[1] The third double-page illustration (pp. 6–7 on the website) is missing the vermillion Kōrei (晃嶺) seal; a copy in Waseda University collection (へ05 01527) is also missing this seal.
[2] Referred to as “Mishima calendars” (Mishima goyomi 三島暦), these calendars were produced from the medieval era to the Meiji period and distributed by the Mishima Shrine in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Tokaidō gojūsan eki shiki shū