Differences and characteristics between the two major cultures of the Edo period, Genroku culture and Kasei culture

In the Edo period, 1688-1704 Genroku Year And 1804-1830 Cultural / Bunsei Year In addition, each unique culture has blossomed.

These cultures are Genroku culture and Kasei culture Is called, and it will be the two major cultures of the Edo period.

These two cultures have different places and characteristics in different ages.

The culture of the Edo period will be learned in detail at school, so this time we will introduce the two major cultures of Edo.

Difference between Genroku culture and Kasei culture

The time and place of the center of Genroku culture and Kasei culture are different.

• Culture of the early Edo period centered on the Genroku period.
• It bloomed mainly in the upper part (Kyoto and Osaka).
• Characterized by a culture that emphasizes brilliance and humanity, with the leaders of the upper wealthy merchants and samurai.

• Culture The culture of the late Edo period centered on the cultural era.
• It blossomed mainly in Edo.
• Characterized by a culture that dislikes flashiness that even ordinary people can participate in.

The major classifications are by time, place, and characteristics.

Especially if you remember the characteristics of culture, it will be easier to tell whether it is from the Genroku period or the Kasei period just by listening to the works of that time.

Now, I will introduce each of the Genroku culture and Kasei culture in detail.

Background and characteristics of Genroku culture

Genroku culture is a culture that prospered mainly during the Genroku era from the latter half of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century.

This culture has developed especially in the upper part (Kyoto / Osaka) against the background of economic development. It has a flashy side because it was carried by relatively wealthy wealthy merchants and samurai, and it is said that there are many works that emphasize humanity.

In the Edo Shogunate around this time, Bunji politics Under the circumstances, the monetary economy permeated, and due to the activation of economic activities, Edo became a city of 1 million people, and Kyoto and Osaka developed into cities of 300,000 people.

Not only that, the castle towns in each area will prosper, and the number of tradesmen who can afford it will increase. People are creatures that make you want to take a break when you have enough money. The merchants in the city set up entertainment facilities such as Yukaku and theaters, and built a flashy culture against the backdrop of the development of the monetary economy.

Paintings of the main Genroku culture

Japan's original work of art [ Ukiyo-e ] Was established in this era.

Buddhistly [ life is full of misery This world feels like [ Sorrowful world ], But in the Edo period, it was added to other words to mean modern or modern, and ukiyo-e and ukiyo-e were born.

The real world [ from a sad world to a floating world ], I drew the figures of living people in literary works and paintings in order to affirm the reality, enjoy it, and spend the difficult world in a floating mood.

Originally in Japan before the Edo period, Yamato-e from the Heian period Many works have been born in the style of painting.

[ Genji Monogatari Emaki as shown below ] Is also one of such Yamato-e.

Korin Ogata opened up a new style of painting while inheriting Yamato-e, a painting unique to Japan. So, we will incorporate innovative compositions and screen developments into the Yamato-e-like depictions to establish a distinctive and innovative style that is clear and decorative.

It is a general term for Confucianism unique to Japan, and is further classified into several schools such as the Holy School, the Kobunji School, and the Kobunji School. It is characterized by having a retrospective character with an emphasis on classical research. Jinsai) Was a representative scholar.

It was a Genroku culture that saw remarkable development in a wide range of fields, but the 1703 Genroku earthquake will come to an end with a kick.

Characteristics and background of Kasei culture

Kasei Culture Is the cultural and cultural era of the late Edo period ( 1804-1830 ) Was the heyday of Edo-centered tradesman culture Points to. Ukiyo-e, Kokkeibon, Kabuki, Senryu It is also the time when the generally known tradesman culture of the Edo period reached its heyday, and Kokugaku and Dutch studies were completed.

Until now, things belonging to the Horeki-Tenmei period of the Tanuma period have also been regarded as Kasei culture, but in recent years, Horeki / Tenmei culture has been newly added. A new division of is defined, Genpaku Sugita, Norinaga Motoori, Yosa Buson Etc. are said to have changed at this time. * This time, we will incorporate it into Kasei culture.

The culture of the Genroku period originated mainly in the upper part, but the Kasei culture is characterized by the fact that the center of the culture gradually shifts to Edo, and the townspeople of Edo are economical from the latter half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century. It will develop and a new culture will flourish.

The content is characterized by the fact that new cultures and scholarships will blossom while drawing on the flow of Genroku culture.

Like the Genroku culture, it has become less flashy, and the Kasei culture is a culture in which popular culture has blossomed, and ordinary people can also participate. Also, because it was a time when people were moving a lot, culture was sometimes brought to rural areas.

After the Kansei Reforms were over, Japan continued to be in peace and good crops for a while. If such a peaceful world continues, people can afford to spend on entertainment. Moreover, since financial power was not a culture that was important, popular culture spread among the common people at once.

In addition, the monetary economy has penetrated into rural areas, castle towns and port towns all over the country have developed, and the culture is open to anyone, so it has spread to rural areas. It was also during this period that foreign studies approached Japan from around this time, and Western studies began to flow in, and scholarship that was repulsive to the existing Cheng-Zhu school and the system of the Shogunate began to emerge.

Famous culture of Kasei culture

Famous for this culture is [ Kabuki ] So, Kabuki, which was not originally intended for the common people, became popular with the general public during the Kasei culture period because it was in a price range that even the common people could appreciate.

" Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan by screenwriter Nanboku Tsuruya Became famous, and Keijuro Ichikawa, Kikugoro Onoe Such famous actors were also born.

In addition, humorous books on the theme of humorous life of the common people, humanity books on the theme of love affairs, historical literature on the theme of poetic justice, and children can read on the theme of poetic justice and love. Reading materials such as the contents of the volume are popular.

Ukiyo-e has become popular in Kasei culture, but the major difference from the Genroku period is the development of multicolor woodblock printing technology.

Woodblock prints are modern copy technology, and multicolor printing has become possible, so to speak, color copying.

Thanks to this technique, ukiyo-e has spread explosively.

The above Hiroshige Ando " Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido ] And Katsushika Hokusai in the figure on the right. " Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji ] Has become a familiar work.

In addition, some of the townspeople who could afford to study painting from the Kano school and Tosa school and became painters themselves. The paintings of such people are called literary paintings.

Traveling like a pilgrimage to the sacred place has become popular for the people who have become aware of the situation in each area due to the spread of publishing technology. This is thanks to you, 33 places in Saigoku, 88 places in Shikoku It still remains as a culture.

And it can be said that the characteristic of this Kasei culture is that if the people of Edo go around the region, the culture of Edo will be transmitted to the region.

There is no time to mention the names of works and writers of each culture, so I picked up the famous ones that you will learn at school. Those who are interested in other writers should refer to historical materials.

How to remember celebrities of Genroku culture

There is a famous pun in Genroku culture and Kasei culture.

Genroku culture celebrity

"Genroku waits for the near day"

• Near ... Chikamatsu Monzaemon ⇒ Joruri / Kabuki screenwriter [ Sonezaki Shinchu ]
• I ... Saikaku Ihara ⇒ Haiku master / writer [ Ukiyo-zoshi ]
• Sun ... Hishikawa Moronobu ⇒ Ukiyo-e [ Beauty Looking Back ] * Also known as the ancestor of Ukiyo-e
• ... Korin Ogata ⇒ Yamato painter [ Irises screen ]
• Matsu ... Basho Matsuo ⇒ Haiku [ Oku no Hosomichi ] * It is called [Haiku] because of its highly artistic haiku.

Celebrities and major works of Kasei culture

"Housekeeper Kiyoko, I like housework and songs"

• ki → Utamaro Kitagawa ... Ukiyo-e artist [ Young Lady Blowing Poppin ] [ Three Beauties of the Kansei ]
• yo → Yosa Buson ... One of the three major poets in Edo, along with Issa Kobayashi and Basho Matsuo.
• this → Issa Kobayashi ... A poet who predominated the world in the Edo period, but now there are pros and cons ...
• or → Katsushika Hokusai ... Ukiyo-e artist [ Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji ]
• ji → Jippensha Ikku ... Gesaku author [ Tokaido Nakagiri Kurige ]
• song → Hiroshige Utagawa (Hiroshige Ando) ... Ukiyo-e artist [ Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido ]
• ta → Bakin Takizawa ... Gesaku author [ Nanso Satomi Hakkenden ] The first writer in Japan to make a living from the manuscript fee