''Genchū Yoteki'' (源註余摘) is a commentary on ''
The Tale of Genji'' by the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
''
kokugaku
''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...
'' scholar
Ishikawa Masamochi
was a Japanese ''kokugaku'' scholar, ''kyōka'' poet and writer of ''yomihon'' of the late Edo period.
Biography
Ishikawa Masamochi was born Nukaya Shichihē. According to the autobiographical ''Rokujuen Jihitsu Kirekiroku'' (六樹園自筆 ...
. It criticizes earlier Edo commentaries by
Keichū
(1640 – April 3, 1701) was a Buddhist priest and a scholar of Kokugaku in the mid Edo period. Keichū's grandfather was a personal retainer of Katō Kiyomasa but his father was a ''rōnin'' from the Amagasaki fief. When he was 13, Keichū left h ...
and others, based on Masamochi's original linguistic scholarship. Its date is unknown, but it took its current form at some point between 1799 and 1830. It is in 54 books (matching the 54 books of ''Genji''), and has been published in various numbers of volumes, most commonly 20.
Overview
Ishikawa Masamochi
was a Japanese ''kokugaku'' scholar, ''kyōka'' poet and writer of ''yomihon'' of the late Edo period.
Biography
Ishikawa Masamochi was born Nukaya Shichihē. According to the autobiographical ''Rokujuen Jihitsu Kirekiroku'' (六樹園自筆 ...
's commentary on ''
The Tale of Genji'', ''Genchū Yoteki'', is in 54 books divided between 20 volumes. The exact date the work was written is uncertain, but it cites
Motoori Norinaga's commentary ', which was published in
Kansei 11 (1799), and Masamochi died in Bunsei 13 (1830), so it must have been taken its current form between these dates.
Background
Masamochi's impetus for writing the commentary was to correct what he saw as the errors of ', an earlier commentary by .
Contents
A unique feature of Masamochi's commentary is that, in his work to correct the errors of older commentaries, he built on the works of
Keichū
(1640 – April 3, 1701) was a Buddhist priest and a scholar of Kokugaku in the mid Edo period. Keichū's grandfather was a personal retainer of Katō Kiyomasa but his father was a ''rōnin'' from the Amagasaki fief. When he was 13, Keichū left h ...
(''
Genchū Shūi''),
Kamo no Mabuchi
was a ''kokugaku'' scholar, poet and philologist during mid-Edo period Japan. Along with Kada no Azumamaro, Motoori Norinaga, and Hirata Atsutane, he was regarded as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku, and through his research into the spiri ...
(''
Genji Monogatari Shinshaku'') and Norinaga (''Tama no Ogushi''). When accepting or rejecting the theories of these more recent authors, he gave appropriate rationales for his choices. In addition to collecting and commenting on earlier scholars' research, he provides his own original analysis based on copious examples. Much of his commentary focuses on linguistic analysis of individual words based on their usage in multiple texts.
, in his article on the ''Genchū Yoteki'' for the ''
Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten
Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten (Japanese: 日本古典文学大辞典) is a reference work about Japanese literature published by Iwanami Shoten circa 1983-1985.
References
External links
* CiNii
CiNii () is a bibliographic database service for ...
'', praised it as showing a clear critical eye that builds on a broad scholarly basis.
Textual tradition
20-volume editions of the ''Genchū Yoteki'' include those in the holdings of the
National Diet Library
The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
and the
University of Tokyo, while
Jissen Women's University and the
Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library
is the metropolitan public library system for Tokyo, Japan.
Libraries
The Tokyo Metropolitan Library has two branches. The Hibiya Library, a third branch, was closed on April 1, 2009. Both branches provide access to free public Wi-Fi, printing an ...
(Ichimura Bunko) have 54-volume editions. There are also other variant copies, such as the ten-volume edition in the Kannarai Archives (神習文庫).
References
Works cited
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genchuu Yoteki
The Tale of Genji
Edo-period works