Kyokutei Bakin
Encyclopedia
was a late Japanese
Edo period
gesaku
author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki.
may also be read as Kuruwa de Makoto meaning a man who is truly devoted to the courtesans of the pleasure districts. Later in life he took the first name of . Modern scholarship generally refers to him as Takizawa Bakin, a combination of his surname and pen name, or just as Bakin.
Born in Edo
(present day Tokyo
) on 4 July 1767, Bakin was the fifth son of Omon and Okiyoshi, his father and a samurai in the service of one of the Shogun's retainers Matsudaira Nobunari. Two of his older brothers died in infancy while the other two, Rabun (1759–1798) and Keichū (1765–1786) played pivotal roles in Bakin's life. His younger sister Ohisa was born in 1771 and Okiku in 1774.
In his diaries, Bakin wrote that his father, a heavy drinker, was highly devoted to scholarship and the classics, diligent in his work as a samurai. He died when Bakin was only nine years old in 1775, having aggravated his gout through drinking. Bakin's family stipend was soon reduced by half and in December of the following year, Rabun gave up his devotion to the Matsudaira in favor of living as a rōnin
. Bakin and his family were forced into a much smaller dwelling as a result.
Eventually Rabun received a new post and in 1778 Bakin's mother pretended to be sick in order to move in with him. Bakin had been placed in service of the Matsudaira lord's grandson, but was treated cruelly and ran away when only 14 in 1780. He left the following haiku
as a note explaining his reasons for leaving:
"The Eight Dog Chronicle" took 28 years to complete, and Bakin had grown blind
and lost his wife and son in the meantime. The final parts of the novel were dictated to his daughter-in-law. Although he was born of lower samurai
birth, Bakin renounced his status to become a writer. His works center on samurai themes, including loyalty
and family honor, as well as Confucianism
, bushido
and Buddhist philosophy
. Nansō Satomi Hakkenden has been adapted many times, but is best known in the West as the anime
OVA The Hakkenden
.
His Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (The Crescent Moon, 1811) was adapted for the Kabuki stage by
Yukio Mishima
.
A wonderful series of ukiyo-e containing 50 pictures depicting characters from Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
and featuring leading kabuki actors was created by Utagawa Kunisada II
. These prints were published in the early 1850s by Tsutaya Kichizo.
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Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
gesaku
Gesaku
is an alternative style, genre or school of Japanese literature. In the simplest contemporary sense, any literary work of a playful, mocking, joking, silly or frivolous nature may be called Gesaku. Unlike predecessors in the literary field, Gesaku writers did not strive for beauty and perfect...
author best known for works such as Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
is a Japanese 106 volume epic novel by Kyokutei Bakin. Written over a period of nearly thirty years and published from 1814 to 1842, Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and the final parts were dictated to his daughter-in-law Michi to be transcribed...
and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki.
Life
He was born as , he wrote under the pen name which is a pun as the kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
may also be read as Kuruwa de Makoto meaning a man who is truly devoted to the courtesans of the pleasure districts. Later in life he took the first name of . Modern scholarship generally refers to him as Takizawa Bakin, a combination of his surname and pen name, or just as Bakin.
Born in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(present day Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
) on 4 July 1767, Bakin was the fifth son of Omon and Okiyoshi, his father and a samurai in the service of one of the Shogun's retainers Matsudaira Nobunari. Two of his older brothers died in infancy while the other two, Rabun (1759–1798) and Keichū (1765–1786) played pivotal roles in Bakin's life. His younger sister Ohisa was born in 1771 and Okiku in 1774.
In his diaries, Bakin wrote that his father, a heavy drinker, was highly devoted to scholarship and the classics, diligent in his work as a samurai. He died when Bakin was only nine years old in 1775, having aggravated his gout through drinking. Bakin's family stipend was soon reduced by half and in December of the following year, Rabun gave up his devotion to the Matsudaira in favor of living as a rōnin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
. Bakin and his family were forced into a much smaller dwelling as a result.
Eventually Rabun received a new post and in 1778 Bakin's mother pretended to be sick in order to move in with him. Bakin had been placed in service of the Matsudaira lord's grandson, but was treated cruelly and ran away when only 14 in 1780. He left the following haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
as a note explaining his reasons for leaving:
- こがらしに
- 思い立ちけり
- 神の旅
- Chilled by winter winds
- I have decided
- To journey with the gods.
"The Eight Dog Chronicle" took 28 years to complete, and Bakin had grown blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and lost his wife and son in the meantime. The final parts of the novel were dictated to his daughter-in-law. Although he was born of lower samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
birth, Bakin renounced his status to become a writer. His works center on samurai themes, including loyalty
Loyalty
Loyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause There are many aspects to...
and family honor, as well as Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
, bushido
Bushido
, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
and Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.Some scholars assert that early Buddhist philosophy did not engage in ontological or metaphysical speculation, but was based instead on empirical evidence gained by the sense organs...
. Nansō Satomi Hakkenden has been adapted many times, but is best known in the West as the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
OVA The Hakkenden
The Hakkenden
is an OVA series by AIC in two sequences, the second subtitled Shinshō . A TV series sequel, Shin Hakkenden, aired in 1999. The anime is based on the epic novel Nansō Satomi Hakkenden written by Kyokutei Bakin during the latter half of the Edo Period...
.
His Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (The Crescent Moon, 1811) was adapted for the Kabuki stage by
Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
.
A wonderful series of ukiyo-e containing 50 pictures depicting characters from Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
Nanso Satomi Hakkenden
is a Japanese 106 volume epic novel by Kyokutei Bakin. Written over a period of nearly thirty years and published from 1814 to 1842, Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, and the final parts were dictated to his daughter-in-law Michi to be transcribed...
and featuring leading kabuki actors was created by Utagawa Kunisada II
Utagawa Kunisada II
Utagawa Kunisada II was a Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker, one of three to take the name "Utagawa Kunisada."A pupil of Utagawa Kunisada I, he signed much of his early work "Baidō Kunimasa III." He took the name Kunisada after marrying his master's eldest daughter in 1846. He changed his name once more...
. These prints were published in the early 1850s by Tsutaya Kichizo.
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