This Scheming World

Name: This Scheming World
Brand: Unknown
SKU: 9784805317105
Price: 34.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Classic Tales of Desire, Deception and Greed in Old Japan

By Ihara Saikaku

Summary

This Scheming World by Ihara Saikaku delves into the bustling and vibrant urban life of Edo-period Japan. The story captures the complexities of social interactions and personal ambitions through its richly detailed portrayal of merchants, courtesans, and common folk. Saikaku paints a vivid picture of the era, highlighting the challenges and desires that drive individuals in their pursuit of wealth and happiness.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$34⁹⁹

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This Scheming World

$34⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the intricacies of 17th-century Japanese society and keen to explore its cultural nuances through humour and satire. The narrative weaves together vivid tales of everyday life, offering a witty and insightful glimpse into the ambitions and desires of its characters.

This Scheming World

Description

The New Year's Eve is more precious than a thousand pieces of gold. It is the Great Divide between winter and spring, which none can pass over without copper and silver.

Ihara Saikaku is regarded as Japan's first popular writer. The twenty lively stories in This Scheming World recount raucous events surrounding New Year's Eve, as crafty money lenders attempt to collect their money from equally crafty debtors. From the bawdy to the outrageous, these tales demonstrate how far 17th-century Japanese would go to avoid paying their debts, with hilariously unexpected and often disastrous results!

These finely-crafted tales include stories of:

Philanderers who slip off to hide in the homes of their mistresses
Hustlers who leave town suddenly on 'very important' business trips
Connivers who become actors for a day to hide-in-plain-sight on stage

Saikaku portrays his characters with such a deft and human touch that, even three centuries later, his stories still ring true. The new introduction by Saikaku expert David J. Gundry explains how and why this entertaining work still resonates with modern readers today.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9784805317105

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 October 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Tuttle Publishing

Illustration: 20 short stories

Contributors:

Translated by Masanori Takatsuka
Translated by David C. Stubbs
Introduction by David J. Gundry

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 170g

Pages: 192

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Ihara Saikaku Literary Fiction

About the Author

Ihara Saikaku (1641-1693) has been called 'the greatest popular Japanese novelist of the 17th century'. He began as a successful merchant in the up-and-coming city of Osaka. The tragedy of losing his wife and daughter moved him to abandon his business and become a roving Buddhist monk and for twenty years he wrote haiku verse and prose. Saikaku founded the Ukiyo-zoshi (Floating World) genre of literature, which flourished between the 1680s and the 1770s.

Masanori Takatsuka, a graduate of Hiroshima Koshi, and David C. Stubbs, a graduate of Florida State University, were both faculty members of Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya, Japan.

David J. Gundry is Associate Professor of Japanese at the University of California, Davis. He has published numerous articles on Japanese literature as well as the book Parody, Irony and Ideology in the Fiction of Ihara Saikaku.

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Life of an Amorous Man

By Ihara Saikaku

Paperback

$37⁹⁹

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