Creating the 3rd volume of 'Kibyoshi Nozoki' for Tokyo Literature Flea Market 40

Kibyoshi is a genre of illustrated books from the Edo period.
It is said to have been born with the publication of a work called 'Kinkin Sensei Eiga Yume' (Master Kinkin's Dream of Prosperity) in 1775.

The story follows a protagonist who comes from the countryside and falls asleep while taking a break at a millet dumpling shop. In his dream, he becomes incredibly wealthy and spends his time playing around.
The work, which included details about the trendy fashions of the time and the characteristics of the three major hotspots—Yoshiwara, Fukagawa, and Shinagawa—became an instant hit, and from then on, this Kibyoshi format would lead the commercial publishing industry in Edo.

The Kibyoshi collection is full of truly absurd and ridiculous, yet hilarious works, such as a mermaid born from Urashima Taro's affair becoming a courtesan, or a white demon brought back by Momotaro as a sequel becoming a fierce love rival to a monkey. However, because they are written in 'kuzushiji' (cursive script), almost no one can read them.
Even if you can manage to read them, you won't understand what's funny without knowing the language, customs, and social conditions of the time.
So, people buy commentary books and try their best to read them, but illustrated books are interesting because the pictures and text work together. If you look at the pictures while reading the commentary, the fun is halved, or rather, almost completely lost.
(Of course, this is fine for research books, but I'm talking about whether it's suitable for the general public.)
Imagine if the speech bubbles in a modern manga were written in an alien language, with Japanese explanations provided underneath.
That wouldn't be very fun, would it?

That's why I thought about how to make Kibyoshi as easy to enjoy as it was for people back then, who read them while laughing out loud. I came up with the idea of keeping the layout as is, but translating the text into modern language that fits current sensibilities as much as possible and placing it in the original text's position.
Phrases and background information that are difficult to understand from the main text alone are noted in the margins.

In this way, my book 'Kibyoshi Nozoki' makes it easy to read Kibyoshi without having to furrow your brow. When you look at it this way, you realize, 'Oh, the people of Edo were just as full of desires as we are today, and they were laughing at these kinds of puns,' and the Edo period feels much closer.

※ Since the images from the NDL (National Diet Library Digital Collections) are from old books, many are dark and heavily stained. The most difficult part of the work is actually changing the color tone and removing stains without making it look unnatural to make them as easy to see as possible.

This is the first volume of 'Kibyoshi Nozoki'. ↓

I am also studying kuzushiji, and I refer to various books to ensure my interpretations are not arbitrary (a bibliography is also included).
It was very well received when sold at the Literature Flea Market and through mail order, so I got carried away and released a sequel in December 2024.

※ Thankfully, it sold out, but it is now back in stock.

Furthermore, with the 2025 Taiga drama 'Berabo' currently airing, I am in the process of creating the third volume, 'Zoku Zoku Kibyoshi Nozoki', for the upcoming Tokyo Literature Flea Market 40.

However, as mentioned earlier, some original NDL image data is too heavily stained to be corrected, and there is the constraint that I cannot freely choose the works I want to introduce, so selecting works is quite difficult.

<Works included in the 1st volume>
'Kinkin Sensei Eiga Yume', 'Momotaro Gojitsu Banashi', 'Tekichu Jihon Donya', 'Edo-uma Uruwashi Kabayaki', 'Hako-iri Musume Men-ya Ningyo'

<Works included in the 2nd volume>
'Shingaku Hayazomegusa', 'Ningen Issho Mune-zanyo', 'Makirezu Jikon Kane no Naru Ki', 'Daihi Senrokubon', 'Jito-sen Shinkon'

For the 3rd volume, I'm currently thinking of including 'Shingaku Tokeigusa', where the author is full of admiration for the techniques of a courtesan, and 'Kukai Junen Iro Jigoku', where Santo Kyoden, having married a former courtesan, introduces her past hardships and, dressed as a monk, preaches that men must treat courtesans with more care. But we'll see how that goes.

If you are interested, please look forward to it.

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◎ The works for the 3rd volume have been decided! I have announced the progress information, so please check that out as well ↓

Click here for the Yamatodo website

📚 Related Articles

• What is Kibyoshi? A summary of plot synopses and author introductions

• Berabo Review Magazine — Delivering in-depth reviews of every episode and behind-the-scenes stories of Edo culture