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9Russian Japanology Review, 2023, 2, pp. 83-97 DOI: 10.55105/2658-6444-2023-2-83-97
Calligrapher Takayasu Rooku and the Question of Authorship of the Tokai Setsuyo Hyakkatsu Encyclopedia
M. M. Kikteva
Abstract
This work focuses on calligrapher Takayasu Rooku (years of life are unknown), who lived and worked in Osaka in the second half of the 18th century. The life and work of Takayasu Rooku deserve attention because it was him who complied one of the most popular encyclopedias of his time, Tokai Setsuyd Hyakkatsu (Complete Compendium of Urban Knowledge, Osaka, 1801), which went through several editions during the 19th century and affected the worldview of city dwellers of that time. Based on the evidence from contemporaries and the analysis of books on which Rooku worked, this work describes his social circle, interests, lifestyle, and his main areas of work.
Keywords: Takayasu Rooku, setsuydshu, calligraphy, bunjin, book publishing, Kamigata, engraving
The Complete Compendium of Urban Knowledge was compiled in Osaka in the second half of the 1790s and belongs to the genre of setsuydshu popular encyclopedias, which contained information about etiquette, history, geography, calendar, and various aspects of daily life. The contents of the encyclopedia are compilatory rather than original. However, given its multiple reprints and, probably, influence on public consciousness, it is important to know who its author and compiler was.
The printer's imprint includes three names: Takayasu Rooku (died in the second half of the 1790s), Matsuni Dojin (1753-1822), and Niwa Tokei (1760-1822). Matsuni Dojin (other variants of the signature: Kamata Kansai, Kamata Tei) was a scholar, a disciple of Katayama Hokkai (1723-1790), head of a juku academy, calligrapher, and author of several dictionaries, books on poetry composition, and Chinese history. Some of his works were co-authored with calligrapher, art connoisseur, and collector Minagawa Kien (1735-1807). Niwa Tokei was an artist and illustrator, a disciple of Shitomi Kangetsu (1747-1797), an author of illustrations for books of various genres, including reference books, encyclopedias, and technical manuals. He is credited as the author of illustrations for the encyclopedia. Matsuni Dojin is credited as the compiler, and Takayasu Rooku - as hanshita, that is, the copyist who prepared the clean copy of the manuscript for print. More detailed information about who created the encyclopedia is provided in the foreword. Listing the authors and the history of creation of the book or another work in the introduction was a common practice of the time. The foreword is placed in the first spread, before the table of contents. It is repeated in all editions available to us without any alterations. In terms of its contents, it is quite typical for the genre [Takanashi 2004]. It speaks about the structure of the world, the contents of the book, and the history of its creation. In particular, it says that, initially, Ko Rooku worked on the encyclopedia, but he died without finishing the job, so the publisher asked Matsuni Dojin to complete the book. The major part had been ready by that time, and Matsuni only added some additional materials. Therefore, it follows from the foreword that Ko Rooku (another variant of Takayasu Rooku's signature) was the main author and compiler of the encyclopedia. If one compares the time of publication and the years of life of Takayasu Rooku, one can consider the version that he died without completing his work a plausible one.
We do not know much about the life and work of Rooku. This is quite understandable - he was neither a writer nor an artist, but, first and foremost, a book copyist and an editor of various reference publications. However, his life, his relations with his colleagues, his worldview and
interests deserve our attention. He became the compiler of one of the largest and most popular reference publications of his time, which served his contemporaries as one of the few available sources of information about the world around them and, according to the opinion of some scholars, defined the necessary minimum of knowledge and the way of thinking of the common townsfolk. Besides, the study of life and work of Rooku will help to shed light on some aspects of the book publishing business and the connections in the intellectual circles of his time.
There are not many studies focusing on Takayasu Rooku. The earliest and most detailed of them belong to Mori Senzo (1895-1985), an outstanding researcher of popular urban literature of the Edo period and the author of more than a hundred biographies of writers, artists, calligraphers, representatives of other book-related professions of the Edo period. Two of his works are dedicated to Rooku: Takayasu Rooku and About Takayasu Rooku [Mori 1989, pp. 198-229]. He traces the creative path of Rooku through forewords to books and the evidence from his contemporaries. There are more recent works as well, belonging to Konoe Noriko, a scholar of the work of Ueda Akinari. These are a sketch of life and work of Takayasu Rooku in the context of his relations with Ueda Akinari [Konoe 2002] and a description of Takayasu Rooku's satirical subscriptions to the illustrations by Tachibana Kunio [Konoe 2003].
Takayasu Rooku in the Eyes of His Contemporaries
Brief biographical data about Takayasu Rooku can be found in several indices of notable residents of Osaka, published in different periods. These are the Catalogue of Famous Authors From Osaka (Osaka Meika Chojo Mokuroku, 1914), the Revised Catalogue of Authors (Tenseki Sakusha Koran, second half of the Edo period), Stories About Outstanding People From Naniwa (Naniwa Jinketsu Dan, 1860), Records of Outstanding People of Osaka (Naniwa Jin Ketsudan, Ishida Shintaro, 1927). Almost all of these works contain similar descriptions of Rooku and his life.
Mori Senzo notes that the most likely source thereof is a biography of Takayasu Rooku written by Ikenaga Hadara, a disciple of Takayasu Rooku and Ueda Akinari [Mori 1989, p. 218]. Mori mentions two variants of this biography, slightly different from each other. The earlier version can be found in the collection of stories A Description of Original People of Our Time (Toyo Chijinden, 1795), while the second one - in the book The Biographies of Notable People of Our Time (Kinsei Kiyuden, 1825), where real names and toponyms are changed, but the characters remain recognizable [Ibid., p. 202]. The following is a partial translation of Takayasu Rooku's biography from Naniwa Jinketsu Dan, the way it is provided in the article [Ibid.]:
...Takayasu Sojiro, named Cho, Ro-no Oku, from Naniwa. Comes from a wealthy family but became poor. Honest and selfless, a talented calligrapher... Earned his living by copying books. Worked on the book Wakan Nenkei for a long time, and this work brought him much success... He liked neither wearing beautiful clothes nor decorating himself, was very skinny, and for this he was dubbed Yamai Sojiro (Sojiro the Sick).
The biography of Takayasu Rooku from Kinsei Kiyuden almost completely coincides with the one provided above, even if with altered names [Ibid., p. 203]:
...The real name of Yamai is Imada Shotaro. He was dubbed sick because he always had a sickly appearance. During his childhood, he studied under Yanagisawa Kien (1703-1758) and was considered a talented pupil. Comes from a wealthy merchant family, but, by the time he became an adult, his family grew poor, and he earned his living by copying books.
Besides this short story, Kinsei Kiyuden provides several more stories from the life of Takayasu Rooku, characterizing him as a man far removed from material world and prone to various eccentricities - the qualities typical for a bunjin, "a man of arts and sciences." For example, there is a story about him giving to a woman from a tea house a stick of
Chinese ink, which he relished greatly, as a gift, or the story about how Rooku loved dogs and puppies and organized splendid funerals when some of his pets died.
Another source of information about Takayasu Rooku, which both Mori and Konoe refer to, are the autobiographic records Zaishin Kinji by Rai Shunsui (1746-1816), one of the most notable intellectuals who lived in Osaka in the last quarter of the 18th century [Ibid., p. 204]. Rai Shunsui was born in the province of Aki to a family of humble origins, earned his living by Chinese studies, calligraphy, wrote Chinese poems. In 1764, Rai Shunsui moves to Osaka, joins the "Kontonsha" ("Chaos Society") poetic circle, maintains professional and friendly relations with members of the intellectual elite of Osaka and Kyoto. In 1773, Shunsui opens his own juku academy. Since the 1780s, Shunsui travels a lot due to matters of business, reads lectures in Edo, makes descriptions of historical documents, and reforms the education system of the Aki Province [Beerens 2006, p. 132-133]. In Zaishin Kiji, he writes about Rooku (cit. ex: [Mori 1989, p. 204]):
Cho Sojiro ... earned his living by copying books, created the clean copy for print of the manuscripts of Tawaregusa, Genjitei, many works of Irie Masayoshi (1722-1800). At first, his writing was unskillful and vulgar ... he borrowed a book by Watanabe Sohei (years of life unknown), thoroughly studied and copied it, and his characters became better. Cho was a merry and resourceful man. He often made up tales and served them to his guests as if they were tea and sweets. Cho's appearance was unkempt, his clothes - dirty and ragged. Cho had neither wife nor children. He was helping his elderly parents.
Takayasu Rooku's Teachers
We know little about Takayasu Rooku's education, and we can only judge by the records of his contemporaries and by the mentions by Rooku himself of those whom he considered his teachers.
Kinsei Kiyuden says that Takayasu Rooku learned under a disciple of Ogyu Sorai, an artist, Confucian scholar, and physician Yanagisawa Kien, and the teacher distinguished him from other pupils. However, comparing the approximate date of birth of Rooku and the date of death of Kien, 1758, Mori concludes that Rooku could only be his pupil in his early youth, as, at the time of the teacher's death, the pupil was no older than 15 years old [Ibid., p. 206]. We do not have more detailed data about the relations of Yanagisawa Kien, one of the first and most notable representatives of the bunjinga school, and Takayasu Rooku. There is no evidence that Rooku practiced painting, and all of his biographies available to us state that he was a scholar of Chinese language and Chinese studies and made his living with calligraphy. He probably mastered the basics of these skills under Kien's guidance. As for practicing medicine, Mori, based on the poems dedicated to Rooku by his friends, hypothesizes that he ran a drugstore. Mori also mentions that Rooku had certain connections to Kimura Kenkado (1736-1802), who, besides literature and art, was a well-known herbalist and expert on plants. Probably, Rooku studied under him in later years [Ibid., p. 222].
Another teacher of Takayasu Rooku was Suga (Kan) Kankoku (1691-1764). Kan Kankoku studied in Edo under Ogyu Sorai, and later he moved to Osaka and opened a school there. We can conclude about Rooku's and Kankoku's relations as those of a teacher and a disciple from the posthumously published collection of Kankoku's poems, where Rooku calls Kankoku his teacher. This edition was prepared by Takayasu Rooku together with other disciples of Kan Kankoku - Tanaka Meimon (1722-1788) and Shinozaki Santo (1736-1813). Rooku's study under Kan Kankoku, like, several years before that, his study under Yanagisawa Kien, ended with the teacher's death in 1764. Takayasu Rooku was slightly over 20 years old then. It is difficult to say what exactly Rooku studied under Kankoku. We can assume that he studied poetry composition in Chinese, calligraphy, and Chinese studies. After the death of his teacher, Rooku continues professional and creative communication with his fellow pupils. Together, they prepare a posthumous edition of their teacher's poems, they visit the meetings of "Kontosha" together, work on publication of
books. Shinozaki Santo was born in Osaka to a wealthy merchant family, which specialized in paper trading, showed interested in studying, studied Chinese sciences, calligraphy, poetry composition. In 1757, he inherited his father's business, however, he did not abandon scholarship, and was known as a good calligrapher and an owner of a large collection of books and calligraphy. In 1776, he retired from business and opened his own school [Beerens 2006, p. 141-142]. Tanaka Meimon came from the Omi Province and moved to Osaka because he inherited a business of producing pots and kettles from one of his relatives. After moving there, Meimon started to learn under Kan Kankoku, met members of the intellectual elite of Osaka and Kyoto, was acquainted with Katayama Hokkai, Toriyama Shugaku (1707-1776). In 1765, he became one of the founders of the "Kontonsha" poetic circle and remained one of its most active members [Ibid., p. 150].
Mori Senzo believes that, after the death of Kan Kankoku, Rooku became a disciple of Nakai Chikuzan [Mori 1989, p. 206], but there is no documentary evidence supporting this. Rooku is not to be found in the list of Nakai's disciples, and Rooku himself does not call Nakai his teacher.
Professional and Creative Activity of Takayasu Rooku
Mori Senzo ascribes to Rooku himself the zuihitsu "Yuhi Saisatsuki" and draws information about his life from this book [Ibid., pp. 220223]. However, later researchers, Konoe Noriko among them, reject the version that this book was authored by Takayasu Rooku [Konoe 2003]. Therefore, the books in the creation of which Rooku participated are the main source of information about his professional and creative life.
Rooku starts to actively participate in book publishing since the second half of the 1770s. He creates clean copies of text for print (hanshita), does proofreading, editing, compiles reference editions, writes forewords to published works. The genre and content characteristics of the books in the creation of which Rooku participated were largely
defined by the circle of his professional and personal communication and, of course, by the demand from and the interests of the publishing houses. Rooku was an active member of the Osaka intellectual community of the last quarter of the 18th century, which also included, among others, Ueda Akinari, Tsuga Teisho, Irie Masayoshi, and many others.
According to Konoe Noriko, Takayasu Rooku participated in the creation of 47 books [Konoe 2002, p. 58-60]. In our study, in the cases of disputed authorship, we will follow Konoe's opinion, as this is the most recent piece of research, based on the works of all previous researchers. We can distinguish several directions which, probably, to some degree reflect the specifics of Rooku's circle of communication and his personal preferences. These include calligraphy, reference editions and textbooks of the Chinese language, books created in cooperation with Tsuga Teisho and Inaba Tsuryu, re-editions of the classics with commentaries, dictionaries for classical works, scholarly works by the kokugakusha and kangakusha, with whom Rooku was acquainted from the "Kontonsha" poetic circle. A special place in his creative biography is occupied by poetry books - both kanshi and waka.
In the biographies, Rooku is mentioned as a calligrapher or a man who made his living by copying books. It is known that Rooku's calligraphy teacher was one of the disciples of Niioki Mosho (1687-1755), a famous calligrapher and the founder of the Osaka school Shoki Naniwaha. In memory of this teacher of his, in 1776, Rooku publishes a textbook he himself used as a student: Togai Sensei Shosoku [Konoe 2002, pp. 5758]. This book is an oraimono composed by Ito Togai (1670-1736) for teaching writing. Ito Togai was a calligrapher, a Confucian scholar, and had his own juku school named Kogido This book became
one of the first in the calligraphy career of Rooku. Later, calligraphy becomes one of the main directions of his activity. In total, we know of seven books on calligraphy in the creation of which, at different times, Rooku participated. This are a collection of calligraphy by Zhu Yunming (1460-1526), published in 1779; Yakakuteikinsho (1780), a textbook on calligraphy by Fujiwara-no Koreyuki (1139-1175); a re-edition of Nyobo Sanjurokunin Kasen (1780) by Watanabe Sohei; a collection
of calligraphy by Fujiwara-no Yukinari compiled by Watanabe Sohei (1784). The edition titled "Handbook of Japanese and Chinese Famous Artists and Calligraphers" (Wakan Shoga Ichiran), published in 1786, is also thematically connected with calligraphy.
Two books by Rooku are connected with Watanabe Sohei. For them, Rooku wrote prefaces and afterwords [Ibid., p. 57]. In the preface to Nyobo Sanjurokunin Kasen, Rooku provides a biography of Sohei and says that he has long admired characters written by this master [Mori 1989, p. 208-209]. Zaishin Kiji says that Rooku borrowed a book by Sohei from Irie Masayoshi, and it is due to hard work with this book that he reached high proficiency in calligraphy. It is unclear when exactly Rooku first became acquainted with Sohei's calligraphy, but it is beyond doubt that Rooku mimicked him and that Sohei's style influenced the formation of Rooku's style.
Kanshi poems were one of the creative interests of Rooku. Two poems of his were selected by Emura Hokkai (1713-1788) for the collection Nihon Shisenzokuhen in 1779 [Konoe 2002, p. 58-60]. Rooku was part of the literary society of kanshi enthusiasts and poets "Kontonsha." The society was established in 1765, Katayama Hokkai (1723-1790) became its head, and many disciples of Kan Kankoku were its active members. We have no detailed information about how its meetings were conducted, and it is only known that the participants met once a month, composed poems on a set topic without preparation, and later discussed them. Contemporaries report that every educated person who came to Osaka strove to participate in the meetings of the club.
Besides kanshi poems, the professional and, probably, personal interests of Rooku included waka poetry. In 1775, he prepared a clean copy of Manioshu, a collection of kyoka composed by Ueda Akinari. Besides, Rooku cooperated with Goshoan Chomu (1732-1795), a poet from Kyoto, an abbot of a Buddhist temple, and a proponent of restoring the poetic principles of the Genroku period (1688-1704), one of the recognized experts on the heritage of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). In 1784 and 1786, Goshoan published two of his books: "Yoshinofuyuno
Ki" ("Notes About Winter in Yoshino") and "Toomino Ki" ("Notes About Toomi") [Beerens 2006, p. 55].
Besides preparing collections of works by contemporary poets, Rooku also participated in re-publishing the works of waka poets of the early Tokugawa era. For example, he prepared manuscripts for re-publishing the poems by Kamishima Onitsura (1661-1738), Onitsura Hokku Shu, in 1783, and an early Tokugawa era kyoka collection (first edition in 1672), Gosen Ikyoku Shu, in 1785, prepared by Inaba Tsuryu.
A separate category ofbooks created with the participation ofTakayasu Rooku and connected to poetry composition are re-editions of Japanese classical poetry anthologies. For example, in 1775 Rooku made the clean copy of Kokon Niwakasen, a selection from classical works, such as Uji Shui Monogatari. In 1779, Rooku was preparing for publication and proofreading the text of Nyobo Hyakunin Isshu. In 1780, he wrote the preface for and was engaged in publishing Nyobo Sanjurokunin Kasen (a reproduction of calligraphy by Watanabe Sohei) - a collection of best poems created by female poets of the Kamakura period. In 1790, Rooku participated in re-publishing a Nanbokucho period (1336-1392) private poetic anthology Soan Wakashu Ruidai Shui.
On numerous occasions, Rooku participated as a calligrapher in publishing his contemporaries' commentaries on classical texts. Rooku was acquainted and worked with many kokugakusha scholars of the Kamigata region. Among them were Irie Masayoshi (1722-1800), Kato Umaki (1721-1777), Fujitani Nariakira (1738-1779). In 1777, Rooku works as a calligrapher on the commentary to the Tale of Genji by Kato Umaki, Yuyamonogatari Tamikotoba. In 1784, Rooku creates hanshita for the commentary on Taketori Monogatari by Katayama Hokkai's disciple Koyama Tadashi (1750-1775), Taketori Monogatari Sho, with commentary by Irie Masayoshi and preface by Rai Shunsui.
Another genre in which Rooku cooperated with kokugakusha is zuihitsu. In 1771, he prepares the publication of the work by Irie Masayoshi, Yuen Zuihitsu; in 1778, he edits a work by Kato Umaki titled Shizunoya Zatcho; in 1784, he prepares the clean copy of the manuscript by Irie Masayoshi Kubono Susabi. Mori considers this book one of the
best examples of calligraphy by Rooku [Mori 1989, p. 215-216]. In 1786, Rooku writes a foreword to the work by Fujitani Nariakira, Hinarubeshi. Mori Senzo believes that Rooku prepared this edition for print all by himself, as was the case on other occasions, when he had Inaba Tsuryu print the books, and he also notes that, in this book, Rooku is using the kaisho calligraphic style, which was not usual for him [Ibid.].
Work With Tsuga Teisho and Inaba Tsuryu
Another notable member of the bunjin community in Osaka, with whom Rooku frequently cooperated, was Tsuga Teisho (1718-1794) - the author of several abridged variants of Chinese popular historical literary works, which are believed to be early examples of the yomihon genre. He studied calligraphy and seal engraving under Nioki Mosho (16871755), and medicine under Kagawa Shuan (1684-1755) and, probably, Ueda Akinari. The main area of interest of Tsuga Teisho was studying the information about China which was present in Japan during his time. Besides his literary and scholarly activities, he had medical practice in Osaka and was one of the first popularizers of sencha tea in Japan [Beerens 2006, p. 155].
The first joint work of Takayasu Rooku and Tsuga Teisho was Shimeizen, a collection of popular Japanese plays in the Chinese language, created in 1771. In the 1880s, Rooku creates hanshita for several yomihon by Tsuga Teisho. This is the book Yoshitsune Banjakuden (1783), on which Rooku worked with Shitomi Kangetsu, an artist and author of illustrations to many meisho zue. Rooku worked on the encyclopedia Tokai Setsuyo Hya.kka.tsu together with Kangetsu's disciple, Niwa Tokei. It is known that some works made by Niwa Tokei are signed by the name of his teacher, Shitomi Kangetsu. So, in this case, it is difficult to determine precisely who authored these illustrations.
The second book by Tsuga Teisho on which Rooku worked was Hitsujigusa (1786), a yomihon based on stories from Chinese history. Rooku also worked as a calligrapher with other yomihon authors. For example, in 1787 he creates the clean copy of a book by Ueda
Akinari's disciples, Morikawa Chikuso and (probably) Nagaike Hadara, Shodaichobunshu (based on stories from Chinese history). The foreword to this edition was written by Shinozaki Santo. In 1789, Rooku writes the clean copy of the manuscript for printing the book by Amenomori Hoshu (1668-1755), Tawaregusa, which was a commented rendering of Japanese and Chinese traditional historical plots.
Rooku's friendship and cooperation with Inaba Tsuryu played an important role in Rooku's life and work. Inaba Tsuryu (1736-1786) was a physician from Osaka, but he became a publisher in the 1780s. It is probable that he entered the publishing world due to Rooku [Konoe 2002, p. 61]. Inaba Tsuryu ran a printing shop named Shisuikan and used the signature Inaba Shin'uemon as a publisher. Besides the printing shop, he also ran a store for evaluating and selling accessories for swords. This is why books composed by Inaba Tsuryu were connected to swords. We know of two editions of this sort, where Rooku participated in the publication. These are re-editions of earlier catalogues of decorations for swords, Sokenkisho (1781) and Kohiseigi (1785). Both editions state that Rooku was hanshita, and Inaba Tsuryu - the compiler. Another joint book by Inaba Tsuryu and Rooku was a revised edition of the catalogue of printed patterns for textiles Sarasa Zufu (1785). We do not know in what form Inaba Tsuryu and Rooku cooperated. Probably, Inaba referred orders to Rooku, but Mori claims that, probably, Rooku came up with ideas, compiled books, while Inaba printed them [Mori 1989, p. 213214]. Besides the above-mentioned books, there were also other ones printed at Inaba Tsuryu's shop on which Rooku worked - zuihitsu and commentaries to classical works, where Rooku was hanshita.
Reference Books on Chinese Language and History and Other Editions
Chinese history and Chinese language were crucial areas of work for Rooku. In books on these topics, he is frequently not only the calligrapher, but also editor, author, or commentator.
In 1784, Rooku compiled a refence work on placing additional characters during composing kanbun texts, Yakubun Yoketsu, and in 1785, a revised version of Yakubun Yoketsu Furoku was published, its author believed to be either Rooku, or Minagawa Kien. Another book on studying the Chinese language the authorship of which is attributed to Rooku is Shosetsu Jii, published in 1791. However, there is some doubt as to whether Rooku was the author of the entire book, or just the foreword, as the book contains many inaccuracies and errors, and the author, most likely, was an ill-educated person, while Rooku, in other editions, showed himself to be an expert on Chinese language. Rooku also participates in publishing Chinese classical books as an editor. These are an index to the 12th century commentary by Kyo Jian on the historical work Spring and Autumn Annals, Sashishoran (1779), and a variant of the Four Books, Kentai Shisho.
In 1789, Rooku compiles the book Wakan Nenkei, which contained tables on Japanese and Chinese history. In was published posthumously in 1797. This book occupies a special place in the creative biography of Rooku. The book itself is not original and is a compilation of two earlier chronological tables [Mori 1989, p. 215]. However, it is this variant of a reference material on the history of China and Japan which gained great popularity and went through several editions until the Meiji era. For example, in the library of the Waseda University, there are presently 19 editions of this book from various years. Among them is a re-edition of Wakan Nenkei published by the printing shop of Matsumoto Gihei (1786-1867), Gengendo, in Osaka on copper plates.
Besides reference editions focusing on the Chinese language and history, Rooku also worked on other reference materials, definition and character dictionaries, schemes for money conversion, which were published in great volume at the time.
Takayasu Rooku compiled by himself and published in 1782 a character dictionary Taiseiseijitsu. In 1789, he wrote the foreword to the reference book Kenpochohoki. The author of this reference book was a friend of Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848), Tamiya Chusen (17531815). He came from a merchant family in Kyoto, but led a debauched
life, moved to Osaka and started to make a living by writing gesaku. In 1794, the dictionary Tama-no Kotoba was published, the clean copy of the manuscript of which was prepared by Rooku. The foreword and the afterword to the dictionary were written by Tsuga Teisho. In 1794, Rooku made hanshita for a thematic dictionary Imyo Bunruisho by Irie Masayoshi. This dictionary probably became one of the last works of Rooku. In 1796 (according to Konoe Noriko's version), Rooku was working on the dictionary Tokai Setsuyo Hyakkatsu, but does not manage to finish it [Konoe 2002, p. 60].
There are several other books of various genres, in the creation of which Takayasu Rooku participated. In 1785, Yuhosai Zatsu Ga, a collection of humorous pictures by Tachibana Kunio (years of life unknown) with commentaries, was published. Tachibana Kunio was a disciple of Tachibana Morikuni (1679-1748), not very successful as an artist, as only three books by him are known. Mori Senzo and Konoe Noriko believe that Rooku added the foreword and the captions to pictures. A detailed analysis of the book and its transcription are provided in the work [Konoe 2003]. In 1789 and 1791, collections of melodies for koto compiled by Rooku were published. In 1798, Journey to the West. The Continuation (Saiyuki Zokuhen) by Tachibana Nankei (1754-1806), for which Rooku created the clean copy of the manuscript, was published.
While the information we have about Takayasu Rooku is rather scarce, his short biographical descriptions create the image of a "man of arts and sciences," bunjin. Rooku's contemporaries considered him an educated man and a skillful calligrapher; he was part of poetic circles and maintained relations with writers, artists, and scholars of his time. His main creative interests were calligraphy, kanshi, waka, Chinese history. We do not know how long it took Rooku to compile the Tokai Setsuyo Hyakkatsu encyclopedia, but, given that it was one of his last works, we can conclude that, by this time, he had sufficient experience in compiling, editing, and commenting reference editions. Personal interests and professional experience of Rooku could not but be reflected in the contents of the encyclopedia. Even though all encyclopedias are
similar in contents, one can distinguish some specific features in each of them. For example, in Tokai Setsuyo Hyakkatsü, there is a separate section focusing on Chinese calligraphers.
References
Beerens, A. (2006). Friends, Acquaintances, Pupils and Patrons. Japanese Intellectual Life in the Late Eighteenth Century: A Prosopographical Approach. Leiden: Leiden University Press. Konoe, Noriko. (2002). Takayasu Röoku wo meguru shomondai [Disputed Issues Regarding Takayasu Röoku]. Komazawa Kokubun, 39, 51-68. (In Japanese).
Konoe, Noriko. (2003). Takayasu Röoku hitsu Tachibana Kunio kaku "Yühozai zatsuga" eiin to honkoku ["Yühözai zatsuga": Calligraphy by Takayasu Röoku, Illustrations by Tachibana Kunio. Transcription and Translation]. Komazawa Kokubun, 40, 187-216. (In Japanese). Mori, Senzo. (1989). Takayasu Röoku iji [About Takayasu Röoku]. In Mori Senzo
Chosakushü, Vol. 4. Tokyo: Chüököronsha. (In Japanese). Takanashi, Nobuo. (2004). Kinsei setsuyöshü no jo batsu hanrei [Foreword, Conclusion, and Explanatory Notes in Modern Era Setsuyöshü]. Nihongogaku, 23 (12), 23-241. (In Japanese).
Takayasu Röoku, Matsuni Döjin, Niwa Tokei. (1819). Tokai Setsuyo Hyakkatsü [Complete Compendium of Urban Knowledge]. Osaka. (In Japanese).
KIKTEVA Maria Maksimovna - Researcher, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts:
12, Volkhonka, Moscow, 119019, Russian Federation
This article was originally published in Russian. The reference for primary publication is: Kikteva M. M. Calligraph Takayasu Rooku i voprosy avtorstva entsiklopedii "Tokai setsuyo hyakkatsu" [Calligrapher Takayasu Rooku and Tokai setsuyo hyakkatsü Authorship Problem]. In History and Culture of Japan. Issue 15. (Orientalia et Classica. VII (LXXVIII). Moscow: HSE University. Pp. 115-125.
