Kokkeibon

From Otsuriki by Jippensha Ikku, the book about how to make shadow pictures, 1810

The kokkeibon (滑稽本, literally "comical book") was a genre and type of early modern Japanese novel. It came into being late in the Edo period during the 19th century. As a genre, it depicted the comical behavior occurring in daily life of the commoners.

The kokkeibon genre is the successor of the dangibon genre. Jippensha Ikku's Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige (1802–1822) is identified as the first representative novel. A less strict definition includes the dangibon as an "early kokkeibon".

Kokkeibon generally consists of dialogue between the main characters and includes illustrations. The genre was most popular between 1804 and 1830 and is most representative by the works of Jippensha Ikku and Shikitei Sanba.

See also

• Gesaku

References

• Kubota, Jun (2007). Iwanami Nihon Koten Bungaku Jiten [Iwanami dictionary of Japanese classical literature] (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 978-4-00-080310-6.
• Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten: Kan'yakuban [A Comprehensive Dictionary of Classical Japanese Literature: Concise Edition]. Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. 1986. ISBN 4-00-080067-1.