Tsutaya Jūzaburō ( ja, 蔦屋重三郎; 13 February 1750 – 31 May 1797) was the founder and head of the Tsutaya publishing house in

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and produced illustrated books and

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...

woodblock prints Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...

of many of the period's most famous artists. Tsutaya's is the best-remembered name of all ukiyo-e publishers. He is also known as Tsuta-Jū and Jūzaburō I. Tsutaya set up his shop in 1774 and began by publishing guides to the

Yoshiwara was a famous (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shima ...

pleasure quarters. By 1776 he was publishing print series, and went on to publish some of the best-known artists of the late 1700s. He is best remembered for his association with

Utamaro Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed ...

and as the sole publisher of

Sharaku Tōshūsai Sharaku ( ja, 東洲斎写楽; active 1794–1795) was a Japanese ukiyo-e print designer, known for his portraits of kabuki actors. Neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known. His active career as a woodbloc ...

. "Tsutaya" is not a true surname, but a ''

yagō , literally meaning "house name", is a term applied in traditional Japanese culture to names passed down within a guild, studio, or other circumstance other than blood relations. The term is synonymous with and . The term most often refers to the ...

'' "shop name" that translates as "Ivy Shop". The publisher used a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

of ivy leaves under a stylized

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

as a publisher's mark.

Life and career

Jūzaburō's father is believed to have been a member of the Maruyama clan and a worker in

's pleasure district. Born in Yoshiwara, Jūzaburō was adopted into the Kitagawa family and given the name "Tsutaya" after the shop name of one of the Kitagawa's

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

s. Tsutaya opened his publishing business in Shinyoshiwara Gojukkendō Higashigawa in Edo in 1774 and began publishing with a volume of illustrations of Yoshiwara beauties by

Kitao Shigemasa was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist from Edo. He was one of the leading printmakers of his day, but his works have been slightly obscure. He is noted for images of beautiful women (''bijinga''). He was taught by Shigenaga and has been referred to as ...

called ''Hitome Senbon'' (''"Thousands at a Glance"''); Tsutaya's other early publications were also guides to the pleasure quarters. With the publisher Urokogataya, Tsutaya co-published the ''Yoshiwara Saiken'' (''"Guide to Yoshiwara"'') from around 1774–75, and published it solo from 1776 to 1836 with illustrations by such artists as

Katsukawa Shunshō Shunshō Katsukawa ( ja, 勝川春章; 1726 – 19 January 1793) was a Japanese painter and printmaker in the ''ukiyo-e'' style, and the leading artist of the Katsukawa school. Shunshō studied under Miyagawa Shunsui, son and student of Miy ...

. Also from 1776 Tsutaya began publishing books of

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

poetry, ''

sharebon which can be roughly translated as "book of manners", was a pre-modern Japanese literary genre, produced during the middle of the Edo period from the 1720's all the way to the end of the 18th century. Plots almost invariably took place in the Yos ...

'' books, and ''

ehon is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of woodblock printed illustrated volume published in the Edo period (1603–1867). The first were religious items with images ...

'' picture books, and with publisher Nishimura Yohachi, Tsutaya co-published his first print series in 1776:

Koryūsai Isoda Koryūsai (, 1735–1790) was a Japanese ukiyo-e print designer and painter active from 1769 to 1790. Life and career Koryūsai was born in 1735 and worked as a samurai in the service of the Tsuchiya clan. He became a masterless ''rōni ...

's ''Hinagata Wakana no Hatsumoyō'' (''"Models for Fashion: New Designs as Fresh Young Leaves"''). Tsutaya did not continue with the series, though, and Nishimura finished publishing it alone in 1781. In 1783, he began publishing ''

kibyōshi is a genre of produced during the middle of the Edo period (1603–1867), from 1775 to the early 19th century. Physically identifiable by their yellow-backed covers, were typically printed in 10 page volumes, many spanning two to three volumes ...

'' by the famous writer Hōseidō Kisanji, marking the beginning of his popularity and success. He soon expanded into books of ''

kyōka ''Kyōka'' (, "wild" or "mad poetry") is a popular, parodic subgenre of the tanka form of Japanese poetry with a metre of 5-7-5-7-7. The form flourished during the Edo period (17th–18th centuries) and reached its zenith during the Tenmei era ...

'' (comic

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

poetry). He moved his shop to

Nihonbashi is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current ...

Tōriaburachō Minamigawa in 1783. The same year, he took over the publishing house of Maruya Kohei, and began publishing

the same year. Over the course of his career, Tsutaya discovered and supported artists and writers such as

, Bakin,

Jippensha Ikku was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (重田貞一), a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He was among the most prolific writers of the late Edo period — between 1795 and 1801 he wrote a minimum of twenty novels ...

, and

Santō Kyōden Santō Kyōden (山東京伝, 13 September 1761 Edo – 27 October 1816) was a Japanese artist, writer, and the owner of a tobacco shop during the Edo period. His real name was Iwase Samuru (岩瀬醒), and he was also known popularly as Kyō ...

, producing thousands of prints based on the artists' designs, printing the writers' books, encouraging these creative talents, and serving as their patron and mentor. Though he enjoyed great contemporary success and profits for his publications, his fame today likely derives more from his ability to discover and nurture great talents. Without his efforts, many of the period's most famous and talented artists and writers may not have ever emerged. The

Kansei Reforms was a after ''Tenmei'' and before ''Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-min ...

, instituted from 1787–1793, brought strict censorship and strict penalties. In 1791 Santō Kyōden was placed under house arrest in shackles, and Tsutaya was forced to pay a large monetary penalty for publishing his politically volatile works. For a period of ten months in 1794–1795, he printed and edited the entire work of the great artist Sharaku, to great contemporary success and profits. As Sharaku's identity remains a subject of debate, some scholars claim he and Jūzaburō may have been the same person, although this is unlikely. Tsutaya died at the age of 48 in 1797. Some sources claim the cause to have been

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, r ...

. His business continued under his chief clerk Yūsuke, who took on the name Jūzaburō II; production became sporadic from the 1810s, and appears to have ceased by the early 1850s.

Legacy

Tsutaya is the best-remembered ukiyo-e print publisher, largely due to his promotion of Utamaro and as the sole publisher of Sharaku. Richard Lane called him "the greatest of the print publishers". Lane, Richard. ''Images from the Floating World.'' Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky & Konecky, 1978. p. 127. Tsutaya was well known for his ''kyōka'' poetry, which he wrote under the pseudonym Tsuta no Karamaru. He lodged writers and artists in his home, including Kyokutei Bakin, Santō Kyōden, and Utamaro, the last of whom still lived there at the time of Tsutaya's death. His portrait appeared in at least five books during his lifetime, and his shop appeared in 1799 in Hokusai's ''Ehon Azuma Asobi'' (''"Picture Book of the Pleasure Spots of the Eastern Capital"''). His work is held in the collection 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 ...

References

Works cited

* * Lane, Richard. (1978). ''Images from the Floating World, The Japanese Print.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press.
OCLC 5246796
* * Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 48943301
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsutaya, Juzaburo Ukiyo-e Japanese publishers (people) Japanese merchants Japanese editors 1750 births 1797 deaths 18th-century Japanese businesspeople 18th-century merchants