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Illustrated tetsuyōsō-style books

Starting roughly in the second half of the 17th century, illustrated books also began to be made in the more prestigious tetsuyōsō format.
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In this video I will talk about the appearance of illustrated tetsuyōsō books. As I mentioned earlier, the first illustrated books to appear were in fukurotoji binding. Their popularity paved the way for tetsuyōsō-style illustrated books, which first emerged around the mid-17th century. As for why fukurotoji books were the first to appear, the likely reason is that they are the closest in terms of structure to scrolls. The images were added as you see, with the text continuing on the rear of the picture. In most cases, however, the images were painted on separate sheets and then pasted on pages deliberately left blank for the purpose. This method would later become standard for all types of binding, not just fukurotoji books.
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Another genre of books to consider in relation to the appearance of illustrated multi-section books are these books which I have showed you when we talked about the placement of the title. The cover designs and style of inscription of some of them closely resemble those of illustrated tetsuyōsō and they appeared more or less at the same time, but they do not contain pictures, only text. These lavishly-made books were made for the daughters of wealthy families, such as those of provincial lords, for them to take with them when they moved to their new home when they married. That’s why specialists call them yomeiri-bon or trousseau books.
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Though we do not know for sure, it is very likely that these illustrated tetsuyōsō books were made for the same purpose, as part of a bride’s dowry. As for the reason for choosing the tetsuyōsō binding over fukurotoji binding in these books, I have already mentioned that there was a hierarchy of book formats, in which tetsuyōsō books occupied a higher place than fukurotoji books; so it makes sense that for something so special as a wedding gift, the more prestigious format would be chosen.

The second half of the 17th century saw the appearance of illustrated books also began to be made in the more prestigious tetsuyōsō format. They stand out for their beauty and quality. First, read the following article, and then watch Prof. Sasaki’s video explanation.

It is likely that the appearance of the illustrated fukurotoji books gradually weakened whatever resistance there might have been against placing illustrations in book-type formats. An important role may have also been played by the so-called trousseau books (yomeiri-bon), which from a design point of view were in every respect identical to illustrated tetsuyōsō books, and so it is possible that the first illustrated tetsuyōsō books were produced as gifts for new brides. Both the writing and the artwork in illustrated fukurotoji books tend to have a certain childish simplicity to them, especially in the horizontal, yoko-hon ones.

By contrast, tetsuyōsō books are usually of superior quality throughout, from the quality of the paper to the beauty and detail of the illustrations, which suggests that they were seen as a luxurious kind of picture books. With the appearance of illustrated tetsuyōsō-style books the prejudice against placing pictures in book-style formats vanished completely.

The vast majority of the illustrated tetsuyōsō books are in the larger “quarter” (yotsuhan) format. These two examples Monjuhime (Princess Monju) (Fig.1) and Tanabata (Tanabata, a.k.a. Ame no wakamiko)(Fig.2) measure 17.9 x 23.8 cm and 18.1 x 24.2 cm respectively, which is standard for this type of books.

Monjuhime Fig.1. Monjuhime Click to take a closer look

Tanabata Fig.2. Tanabata Click to take a closer look

Though much rarer, there are some examples of illustrated “eighth-size” books (yatsuhan-bon) or even smaller, but all come in vertical rather than horizontal alignment. Both the calligraphy and the artwork on this particular book Genji monogatari (Fig.3) are by a woman called Isome Tsuna (active 17th c.) who has been recently garnering attention as an author of illustrated books. It is extremely small, measuring just 4.6 by 6.0 cm. In addition to the standard formats, Tsuna also experimented with smaller ones, this being a particularly tiny example of her work.

Genji monogatari Fig.3. Genji monogatari Click to take a closer look

Books introduced in the video

Books on the table

1. Chūjōhime 2. Bunshō Sōsi 3. Genjimonogatari “Hanachirusato” 4. Atsutada shū
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Japanese Culture Through Rare Books

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