Intertextuality, Humour, and Sexual Education in Early-Modern Japan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Shunpon: Intertextuality, Humour, and Sexual Education in Early-modern Japan Maria Lucia Bugno Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Emmanuel College June 2018 Abstract Shunpon: Intertextuality, Humour, and Sexual Education in Early-modern Japan This dissertation explores the sexually explicit rewritings of earlier literature in early-modern shunpon production. The term shunpon is used today by scholars to refer to books containing shunga (images displaying explicit sexual content), which were produced in Japan throughout the Edo period (1600-1868). Despite the remarkable output of shunpon, until recently the textual part of this corpus has seldom been the object of academic study, which has focused mostly on pictures. By analysing the texts in shunpon, I examine the characteristics of these early-modern writings, their aims, readership, and connection with the whole literary panorama of the time. Besides the sexual and satirical uses that have been put forward so far, this study emphasises other aims for these works, namely humour and sexual education. In particular, the focus on shunpon rewritings of earlier literature reveals how our own perception of these works, considered canonical today, differs from how they were read at the time. The introduction gives an outline of the theoretical framework. Chapter One analyses the shunpon rewritings of the 17th-century Meijo nasake kurabe (Famous Women: Comparisons of Affection), a collection of stories which has so far been considered a minor work. Chapter Two takes up the 18th-century rewritings of Makura no sōshi (The Pillow Book), a work that is considered canonical today. Chapter Three examines the re-adaptations of another Heian- period classic, Ise monogatari (Tales of Ise), which cover a vast range of works, such as narrative prose texts, sex manuals and miscellaneous illustrated books. Chapter Four turns to the erotic rewritings of Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji), which were published between the 17th and the 19th century. Bringing together the main arguments of the discussion, the conclusion points out how this research on the texts in shunpon offers new insight into the study of parody, intertextuality, pornography, and the erotic. Declaration I hereby declare that his dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text This dissertation does not exceed the prescribed word limit of 100.000 words including footnotes. Maria Lucia Bugno i ii To the memory of my father. iii iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. vii Note to the Reader ................................................................................................................................. ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Shunpon and the state of literature .................................................................................................. 3 The discovery of new critical venues .............................................................................................. 6 Defining terms ................................................................................................................................ 8 Shunpon rewritings: a history of reception ................................................................................... 16 Chapter 1. Making explicit what was implicit: Meijo nasake kurabe as a source for shunpon ....... 19 Meijo nasake kurabe: an educational work for women or an erotic book? .................................. 20 Genji on-iro asobi: humour in shunpon rewritings ....................................................................... 36 Kōshoku meijo makura: a digest with a sex manual ..................................................................... 57 Chapter 2 List with a twist: Makura no sōshi reinterpreted .............................................................. 70 Makura no sōshi as a canonical text: Reception vs Reputation .................................................... 71 First substitution: Makura no sōshi and its reputation as a succession of lists ............................. 74 Second substitution: parodies as a further shift to the erotic......................................................... 78 Shunpon rewritings of Makura no sōshi: a comparison ................................................................ 85 Chapter 3 ‘Zoku-isation’: eroticising Narihira ................................................................................ 110 The canonical Ise monogatari and the shift to the erotic ............................................................ 111 Phase 1: playing with Ise monogatari word by word ................................................................. 115 Phase 2: the celebration of Narihira as the god of sexual union ................................................. 120 Phase 3: Iconic tropes turned into erotic or pornographic scenes ............................................... 124 Phase 4: Mocking Narihira ......................................................................................................... 136 Phase 5: sex disclosed with humour ........................................................................................... 144 Chapter 4 Replacing and reimagining Genji monogatari ............................................................... 160 Genji monogatari replaced.......................................................................................................... 161 Genji monogatari readapted: reconfiguring Genji abridgements ............................................... 166 Genji shinasadame: Recasting narrative knowledge of Genji stories ......................................... 174 A Rustic Genji replacing Prince Genji: shunpon rewritings in the 19th century ......................... 182 Replacing Genji monogatari: waka and kai-awase ..................................................................... 208 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………. 222 Appendix 1: shunpon rewritings ......................................................................................................... 227 Appendix 2: Bibliographical data ....................................................................................................... 233 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 235 vi Acknowledgments There are many people and institutions that have made my research possible. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Laura Moretti, not only for the superb quality of her supervision, but also for her unstinting support and encouragement during the turbulent times that accompanied the development and writing of the thesis. Also, I wish to thank her for introducing me to the Edo-period literature during our time at Ca' Foscari University. No words in any language can express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor at Senshū University, Itasaka Noriko, who with her kindness, warmth and generosity, made my research in Japan an unforgettable time. I would also like to thank fellow graduate students at Senshū University, in particular Kimura Kaoru. The project benefitted from the generous support of numerous sources of funding, including the Japanese Trust Funds from the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies of the University of Cambridge, a Sasakawa Fellowship, a BAJS fellowship and a John Crump Studentship, and a University of Cambridge Fieldwork subsidy to undertake research in Japan in the summer of 2016. The contribution I received from Emmanuel College (University of Cambridge) allowed me to present at conference venues and to receive further guidance attending to workshops and seminars. I am particularly grateful to collectors who gave me the permission to access their rare books collections making this project possible, especially Sebastian Izzard in New York and Urakami Mitsuru in Tokyo. I am also very grateful to Sasaki Takahiro for the intensive day of teaching at the Cambridge University Library in 2017, and to Ellis Tinios for sharing his knowledge on the materiality of the book on multiple occasions. I owe special thanks to my first-year report examiners, Joshua Mostow and Andrew Gerstle for their thoughtful comments and feedback. Special thanks go to all the people who helped me throughout this project: Ishigami Aki for informing me about the copy of Kōshoku hana susuki held at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and for all her kind guidance; Kamiya Katsuhiro for making available to