Page 40 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

fig. 8
Fiue beggars studying
Confucian texts by Santô Kyôden,
(1789). Illustration from Kibyôshi,
sharebon-shu (Tokyo, 1958)

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cat. 88 grimacing in the manner of famous people, gesturing, mime plays), six kinds of dance, twelve narrative
Occupations and Activities 61
of Each Month, arts, and ten kinds of theatricals and balladeers.
mid-eighteenth century, Puns, spoofs, and satire were important components of the humorous performances that took
detail from a pair of
six-panel screens; place, first on the street corners, then in small variety halls (yose) or within flimsy, shaded enclosures
ink, color, and gold on paper,
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each 79.4 x 235.8 (31'A x 92 /s), erected for the occasion in the last decades of the eighteenth century. The popularity of the yose grew
The Sakai Museum, Osaka fast. According to one study, the number of such halls in the city of Edo jumped from seventy-five
in 1815 to more than seven hundred by 1845, even though the Tenpó Reforms of 1842 had reduced the
number of licenses for such spots to a mere fifteen. 62

Burlesque, the derisive imitation and grotesque confounding of form, was the ultimate satirical
genre that could make fun of any social convention. Burlesque also had a specular effect, but the total
opposite from the daimyo marches. Through absurd exaggeration, juxtaposition, or contrast, burlesque
mirrored social practices in a distorting way
Nothing seemed sacred. Political satire was given free reign in the "yellow covers" genre of
small booklets (kibyóshi), and the authorities responded by punishing only some of the satirists here
and there, almost pro forma. One of those who was manacled and thrown into jail for a short while
was Santo Kyôden (1761 -1816), a professional satirist whose targets included preachy Confucianism
and any illusions that Confucians might have had about relevance of their teachings for society. One
short work by Kyóden (both text and illustrations) presents a mock discussion of Confucian passages,
again and again misunderstood by five beggars. Their tense, probing faces betraying deep thought,
they try to make sense of hallowed passages, but from their down-to-earth perspective (fig. 8).
Matter or the physical here leaves no room for the moral; the serious and the lofty are pulverized
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by the vulgar and scatological. In Kyóden's spoof the famous, cryptic last line of the Chinese classic