ninjōbon
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The is a pre-modern
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 ...
ese literary
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
. Founded and developed in the early nineteenth century, this style of books derived from the early sharebon and kokkeibon genres and is a subgenre of gesaku. ''Ninjōbon''  was one of many genres in the Edo period of Japanese literature.  Coming from the genre of “books of manners”, ''ninjōbon'' works were commonly referred to as “sentimental books”. A big difference between these “sentimental books”, often referred to as “weeping books”, and their predecessors –books of manners – ''ninjōbon'' focused more on erotic relationships and featured illustrations and vibrant covers. This style of novels focused on young love and were generally aimed to attract female readers; some common plot points and themes were love, suicide, relationships, family, etc. According to the book, ''An Edo Anthology'', “’Sentimental books’ became the first full-fledged realistic novels complete with descriptive passages” (Jones and Watanabe, 2013).


Developments

Although little information is available about the first ninjobon, the ninjōbon genre begins around 1819 with by Ryūtei Rijō and by
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 ...
as early examples of the genre. The genre reached its peak in the 1830s. Much of this was due to works of Tamenaga Shunsui beginning with in 1832. Shunshokuj Umegoyomi, or ''Imitations of Spring: The Plum Calendar'' had four parts, each containing twelve volumes. These volumes were divided into twenty-four scenes. ''The Plum Calendar'' is known as “the most representative of works in the late Edo genre of ninjobon” (Jones and Watanabe, 2013). In ''The Plum Calendar'', readers will see a sensitive and emotionally weak man, which is common in most ninjobon. “The heronines of ''The Plum Calendar'' fulfill the dictates of the Confucian feminine ideal, living only for and through their man without seeking additional sexual partners,” (Jones and Watanabe, 2013). This was followed by a number of books in the ''Umegoyomi'' series. However, the popularity of the genre came to abrupt end in 1842 with the introduction of the
Tenpō reforms The were an array of economic policies introduced between 1841 and 1843 by the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems. The changes ...
. Led by
Mizuno Tadakuni was a ''daimyō'' during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor (''Rōjū'') in service to the Tokugawa shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpō Reforms. Biography Mizuno Tadakuni was the second son ...
, in an attempt to bring the early Japanese military, economic, and religious systems to what they were supposed to be, according to the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Shogunate wanted to maintain control over commoners. After this, Tamenaga was manacled for 50 days. Due to the Shogunate believing that most works of art and literature were inappropriate for their goals at the time,  many genres of books including Ninjōbon were confiscated and/or censored, and burned, and fewer books in the genre were published following this time. With common life becoming something overwhelming, many people turned to literature as a way to twist their mundane lines into humorous portrayals, so although the shogunate attempted to get rid of literature’s influence, it became even more popular as a way tp escape. Ninjōbon continued to be published until the early
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
. Readers of modern Japanese literature can still find themes popular from this time period. Visions of love, relationships, suicide, and sex are all still present in modern literature and film.


Major works

* (1819), Ryūtei Rijō * (1819), Jippensha Ikku * (1826), Tamenaga Shunsui * (1831), Kyokusanjin * (1832–1833), Tamenaga Shunsui * (1841–1842) * (1862–1865), Shōtei Kinsui * (1864), Sansantei Arindo


References

* * ''Jones, Sumie & Watanabe, Kenji (2013) An Edo Anthology: Literature from Japan’s Mega-City, 1750-1850 ISBN 978-0-8248-3629-0'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ninjobon Japanese literature Edo-period works Gesaku