“Yomihon” Novels and True Stories in the Bunsei Period

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  • 文政期読本と実録
  • ブンセイキ トクホン ト ジツロク

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Abstract

<p>Some “yomihon” novels of the Bunsei Period are adaptations of true stories. For example, Yōfu-kōgiroku is based on a true story called Saikoku-junrei-onna-katakiuchi, but it is dramatically reworked with the additional depictions of complicated relations between parties concerned and the background against which the event happened. Chiyo-monogatari more explicitly foregrounds the narrative elements of Sanyō-kidan, a fiction-like true story with the concept of a fatalistic correspondence between individuals and history. Although those adaptations are often regarded as hackwork, they show not only a formal similarity between “yomihon” novels and true stories but also the authors' efforts to create narrative dynamism.</p>

Journal

  • Japanese Literature

    Japanese Literature 64 (10), 25-35, 2015-10-10

    Japanese Literature Association

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