Genroku culture

Genroku culture (Japanese : 元禄文化 Genroku bunka) is the culture of the early Edo period (1603–1867), especially the Genroku era (1688–1704).[1][2] Known as a period of luxurious display when the arts were increasingly patronized by a growing and powerful merchant class.[3]

Irises screen by Ogata Kōrin

Overview
Beauty Looking Back, by Hishikawa Moronobu

Genroku culture was centered in mainly Kamigata (Osaka and Kyoto area).[4][5] As its characteristic, it was rather a culture of ordinary people, however, besides townsmen, samuraior worriers class also led Genroku culture.[6]

The cluture started in Kamigata and it developed Neo-Confucianism, natural science, and classical study. In fine art, Rinpa school by Korin Ogata and others, and Tosa school played active roles, and Ninsei Nonomura, Koetsu Honami and others developed ceramic art. In music, koto (a long Japanese zither with thirteen strings) music of Ikuta-ryu School, Jiuta (a genre of traditional songs with shamisen accompaniment) of Nogawa School, Shin-joruri (new ballad drama) such as Gidayu-bushi (musical narrative of the puppet theatre) and Icchu-bushi melody, and Nagauta (long epic song with shamisenaccompaniment) appeared.[6]

Arts
Red and White Plum Blossoms by Ogata Kōrin

It is generally felt that the Genroku era marks the high point of Edo period culture. Two representative artists of Genroku culture are Rimpa school artists Ogata Kōrin and Hishikawa Moronobu, who is regarded as the founder of Ukiyo-e. The term “Rimpa” (琳派) is an amalgamation of the last syllable of “Kōrin”. Torii Kiyonobu I was another Ukiyo-e artist.

Novels and poetry

The main elements of the emerging bourgeois culture were brought to their first flowering in Osaka and Kyoto, in the area called Kamigata. Examples are the jōruri and kabuki plays of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the Ukiyozōshi of Ihara Saikaku, and the poetic essays and haiku of Matsuo Bashō.

Kabuki

Aragoto-style actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I, wagoto-style actor Sakata Tōjūrō I, and onnagata actor Yoshizawa Ayame I are famous kabuki actors of the Genroku era.

See also

References
  1. "元禄文化". www2.odn.ne.jp. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  2. "【元禄文化】上方で町人中心に華やかに栄えた文化！代表的な人物と作品[簡単説明]". 日本文化をわかりやすく紹介する情報サイト|わつなぎ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  3. Inc, NetAdvance Inc NetAdvance. "元禄文化 日本大百科全書（ニッポニカ）｜小学館". JapanKnowledge. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  4. "げんろくぶんか【元禄文化】 | け | 辞典". 学研キッズネット (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  5. 三訂版,世界大百科事典内言及, ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典,百科事典マイペディア,日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ),旺文社日本史事典. "元禄文化とは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  6. Yu, A. C. "Genroku Culture - Japanese Wiki Corpus". japanese-wiki-corpus.github.io (This is CC-BY licence). Retrieved 2020-12-16.
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