Kanadehon yakō no tama 仮字手鑑夜光玉

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Commentary by Kurahashi Masae

Posted December 7, 2017

Original unedited text in Japanese follows

This subject of this erotic book is based on the celebrated vendetta tale of the masterless samurai (rōnin) from Akō as told in thejōruri puppet play Kanadehon chūshingura 仮名手本忠臣蔵 (The treasure of loyal retainers). The popular Chūshingura play has been frequently staged in the kabuki theater since its premiere in 1748 (Kan’en 1) at the Takemoto Theater in Osaka. Most people at this time would have been familiar with the Chūshingura plot, characters, as well as the text and dialogues from the jōruri play. The text in the preface to this book is a parody version of the introduction to the original jōruri script.

The scenes and acts in the erotic renditions of the Chūshingura often assume a stereotyped representation. However, this book substitutes the world of the Chūshingura with contemporary manners and customs. It does not simply utilize the characters (and genders) as they appear in the original play, instead it takes the episodes and human relationships from the original text and invents new characters in order to transform male-female sexual relations. This approach is also followed in the sequel, Chūshingura kōhen 口吸心久茎後編 (Chūshingura, part 2), written by Ōchinbō Karitaka, a pen name meaning something like “Great Treasure (penis) Hunting Hawk (big cock)” (大珍宝狩鷹) and illustrated by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; these books stand out among the eroticized versions of the Chūshingura. [1]

Kunisada’s illustrations in Kanadehon yakō no tamadiffer from the typical erotic book in that not all the imagery depicts scenes of sexual liaison. For example, the first two illustrations in volume 1 show scenes of the ōsōji (end of the year cleaning) in preparation for the New Year to reference act 11 of Chūshingura. Moreover, the eighth illustrated opening in volume 2, which is intended to represent act 7, reworks the moment in that act when Oboshi Yuranosuke (大星由良之助) reads a secret missive at the Ichiriki teahouse while Ono Kudayū (斧九太夫) looks furtively on from his hiding place under the floor boards. Instead, it shows Oyu (お由), the proprietess of the Ichiriki teahouse, reading a letter from a man with whom she has a secret correspondence, and replaces Kudayū with a cat playing with the letter. Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, and others would later use these types of parodic compositions and ideas in woodblock prints portraying the Chūshingura tale. [2]

書名仮字手鑑夜光玉 (仮名手本夜光玉)

執筆者倉橋正恵

赤穂浪士の討ち入りを描いた人形浄瑠璃「仮名手本忠臣蔵」（以下、「忠臣蔵」とする）を題材にした艶本。「忠臣蔵」は寛延元年（1748）の大坂竹本座での初演以降、歌舞伎でも東西を問わず何度も上演された人気演目であった。ゆえに、そのあらすじや登場人物、浄瑠璃の詞章や台詞などは、誰もが知っているものであった。本書序文の文章も、浄瑠璃本文の大序の冒頭の詞章をパロディー化したものである。

「忠臣蔵」が艶本化される場合、場面や段ごとに類型的な表現に陥ることが多い。しかし、本書では忠臣蔵の世界を全て当世風俗に置き換え、登場人物も忠臣蔵の人物や性別をそのまま用いることはせず、原作のエピソードと人間関係を踏まえた上で新たな人物を創作し、それを男女関係に転化させている。この趣向は本書の続編『口吸心久茎　後編』（大珍宝狩鷹作、歌川国芳画）にも踏襲され、忠臣蔵物の艶本の中では異彩を放つ。[1]

国貞が描く口絵には、通常の艶本とは異なり、男女の交わりを全く連想させないような図も挿入されている。例えば、上巻の口絵第一図と第二図は、忠臣蔵十一段目の討ち入りの見立てとして年末の大掃除の様子を描いている。また、「七段目」とする中巻の口絵第八図は、忠臣蔵七段目の一力茶屋において大星由良之助が密書を読み、床下に潜む斧九太夫がそれを盗み見る場面を、密通男からの文を読む一力屋の女房お由と、その文にじゃれつく猫に置き換えている。こうした見立てのアイデアや構図等は、後に国貞自身や国芳等によって忠臣蔵見立ての浮世絵に再利用されていくようになる。[2]

Selected readings:

Hayashi Yoshikazu 林美一, Edo makurae shūsei: Utagawa Kunisada『歌川国貞』, vol. 10, Edo makurae shūsei『江戸枕絵集成』(Tokyo: Kawade Shobō Shinsha, [1989] 1994).

Ishigami Aki 石上阿希, Nihon no shunga, ehon kenkyū 『日本の春画・艶本研究』(Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2015).

Copies in other collections:

Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Ritsumeikan University Art Research Center, Kyoto

[1] Ishigami 2015, 245–56.

[2] Ibid., 257–62.

Kanadehon Yakō no tama