Lust, Commerce, and Corruption in Edo Japan: A Samurai Indictment

The book is one of the best known works of social critique from the final decades of Japan's so-called "early modern" era. It is one of the Edo period's (1600-1868) most sustained attempts to examine society critically in its entirety, from shogunal worth ies at the top to outcasts of various kinds at the bottom. The anecdotes and descriptions of social practices often show a moralistic, even reactionary, perspective on the social dynamics of Edo. Buyo's sharp delineation of the social and economic contrad ictions of late Edo life remains compelling, as do the vivid details he provides of financial and legal doings. The work is extremely important for understanding the state of the country on the eve of its dramatic transformation into a major world power. Academic as well as more popular studies continue to cite it widely. The book opens with a long essay that offers a detailed analysis of the social and intellectual context within which Seji kenbunroku was written. This introductory essay, authored by Mark Teeuwen and Kate Wildman Nakai, offers an overview of the larger structures of Edo society, which are reflected directly in the structure of Seji kenbunroku. The translation is richly annotated, and offers fresh interpretations of many passages that have been ill understood. It is based on a philological comparison of different editions and manuscripts. The volume includes a list of Japanese terms and their translations, offering new and more accurate renderings of the titles, functions, financial a rrangements and social practices that occur in the volume. It also carries a bibliography, including a list of editions, and an analytical index. In the conclusion, the authors discuss the value of Buyo's work as a corrective to received understandings o f Edo-period social discourse.