Revenge Aftermath ① - A Kibyoshi Edo Manga Depicting a Silly and Absurd Revenge

Edo manga, which began in the fourth year of An'ei (1775) with Koikawa Harumachi, became a huge hit during the Tenmei era (1781–1789). However, due to the Kansei Reforms (1787–1793), restrictions were imposed, and the previous witty and satirical content was avoided in favor of story-driven revenge tales. As stories became more complex, the Kibyoshi, which had previously been limited to five sheets (10 pages) per volume and a maximum of three volumes, gradually grew longer, eventually evolving into 'gokan' (bound volumes), and the Kibyoshi format disappeared.
Well, that is a later development; in the Tenmei-era Kibyoshi, even when it came to revenge, when handled by Kyoden, it was depicted with plenty of wit and satire.

"Revenge Aftermath" was written and illustrated by Santo Kyoden and published in the eighth year of Tenmei (1788). The publisher is unknown.
I will introduce the modern Japanese translation (quite a loose translation) of the three volumes in three parts.

Volume 1
One

Around the Genki era (1570–1573), in the household of a certain lord of Hamamatsu Castle in Enshu, there was a man named Semai Yokozo. He was a short-tempered man, and holding a grudge over a minor argument with a fellow retainer, Hiroi Yotaemon, he snuck in one night, killed him, and fled—how bold of him.

Two

Yokozo had killed Yotaemon and fled, but upon reflection, he realized that throughout history, no one who had harmed another had ever escaped unscathed. Wishing to be killed by his son with dignity, he returned and was killed by the son, Yotaro.

Three

Hiroi Yotaemon's son, Yotaro, having immediately avenged his father, was praised by his lord for his strong martial fortune, his filial piety, and the protection of the gods and Buddhas. He was successfully granted the inheritance of the family estate and given a cup of sake—how fortunate.

Hey, you absurd author. Are you saying there's such a serious revenge plot these days? How foolish, how foolish. The craftsmanship is in the details; just watch the finish.

Four

With this, the revenge story is roughly finished, but Yotaro thinks to himself: looking at old revenge stories, to avenge a master or parent, one must lie in wait in fields and mountains, work oneself to the bone, sell one's daughter or wife into prostitution, endure humiliation, hide one's identity, ignore poverty, suffer miserable experiences, and endure sadness before finally killing the enemy—that is why it is called loyalty and filial piety. However, I had my father killed and the enemy immediately identified himself, so I killed him without any trouble or effort. My path of filial piety feels thin. Since doing it later is the same as doing it earlier, I have decided to start experiencing the hardships typical of a revenge story now. This is quite a convoluted logic.

Yotaro: "Well, that's true. It would be nice if someone could play some sound effects in the background to build up the excitement."

Five

Yotaro expressed his thoughts to his lord and requested leave, and the lord, being a man of theater, said,
“This is indeed reasonable, as you say. Whether you do it before or after, the logic remains the same. You have noticed a good point. Well, well, your filial piety is commendable. I am fortunate to have such a good retainer.”
He praised him highly and bestowed upon him the family treasures, theKishii swordand theKohamai short swordas gifts.

Lord: “I shall grant your request as you wish.”
Yotaro: “I will work hard to achieve my goal and return triumphantly.”

Man on the left: “To ask for leave and go through the trouble of becoming a ronin—what a strange fellow. If I had that kind of time, I’d go to the Chojiya or Ogiya and flirt at a brothel.”

6

Yotaro received his leave as requested, wore the swords he had been given, carried 250 ryo in gold, and set off on his journey without any particular destination in mind. He didn't really intend to go very far, but he set out in travel attire, looking the part of someone on a revenge mission. Even so, it felt rather uninspiring.

Yotaro: “A life without an enemy is easy. Although they say I have an enemy, I would have no complaints if they were still alive; I actually envy those who have enemies. A revenge mission without an enemy, chili peppers without spice, and a courtesan without affection—well, these are truly uninspiring things.”

To be continued in the next installment,

For a modern translation of Koikawa Harumachi’s “Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume” (1775), said to be the first Kibyoshi, click here,

For a modern translation of Santo Kyoden’s masterpiece of Kibyoshi, “Edo Umare Uwaki no Kabayaki” (1785), click here,

Within these, there are also introductions to other Kibyoshi, so please take a look.

The Kibyoshi I introduce are quite liberal translations, and many of the illustrations are omitted, so if you would like to see the original works, please try searching for them at the following link. (Though many works are not available...)