Nise Monogatari

Nise Monogatari (仁勢物語, occasionally 似勢物語) is a Japanese kana-zōshi written in the early Edo period by an unknown author.

Genre

Nise Monogatari is a work of the kana-zōshi genre.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

It was written as a parody of the famous Heian period romantic poem tale the Ise Monogatari,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} specifically the rufubon (popular) text containing 125 short episodes.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

Authorship and date

The author of Nise Monogatari is unknown.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} The late-Edo period author {{illm|Ryūtei Tanehiko|ja|柳亭種彦}} speculated that it was the early Edo waka poet and Noh playwright {{illm|Karasumaru Mitsuhiro|ja|烏丸光広}},{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} but modern scholars reject this theory.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

It was written around 1639 (Kan'ei 16),{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} and first printed around the end of the Kan'ei era in 1644.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} The illustrations included in the first printed edition are based on the Kan'ei 6 (1629) edition of the Ise Monogatari.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

Content

Unlike other parodies of classical works, such as Inu Makura (犬枕) and Inu Tsurezure (犬徒然), Nise Monogatari is a beat-for-beat parody of the content of Ise,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} with the setting changed from the sophisticated courtly world of the Heian aristocracy to the vulgar society of early modern Japan.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

This work stands out from the other parodies specifically of Ise that appeared later (such as Okashi Otoko [おかし男], Kōshoku Ise Monogatari [好色伊勢物語], Shinjitsu Ise Monogatari [真実伊勢物語] and Nise Monogatari Tsūho-shō [仁勢物語通補抄]) in terms of the consistency of its humour.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

It is centered around puns and humour,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} with the plot itself unremarkable and apparently not having been a concern for the author.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

Given the stern reverence afforded the classics in the early Edo period, this work is of interest for the commoner's sensibility it applies to a particularly important literary classic.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}

Textual tradition

The first edition was published around 1644{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} in two volumes,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} and saw several reprints{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} in addition to new editions of the work being produced.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}}

The work was also copied in manuscript form,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} such as the {{illm|National Diet Archives|ja|内閣文庫}} copy in one volume,{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}} which provides useful historical data on the era in which manuscripts were still being copied by hand in Japan.{{sfnm|1a1=Ogami|1y=1983|1p=601}}