Changes

Woodblocks were also better suited to the production of multiple editions, as a publisher could simply hold onto the blocks for a given book and reprint new copies later, never having to take apart the stereotype (the formatted, laid-out type blocks for a given page) and reassemble it for each page, or each work, as one would have to with moveable type. Finally, a third reason given for the popularity of woodblocks, and for the explosion of publishing in early modern Japan using woodblocks, was the relatively inexpensive entry cost for starting a publishing business. Rather than investing in a press (or multiple presses) and a collection of thousands of type blocks for individual characters, an entrepreneur could simply deal with one set of blocks at a time, hiring professional artisans (e.g. block-carvers and printers), or doing the work himself. The Japanese process of woodblock printing, furthermore, did not require any heavy, expensive, or technologically complex printing press, but rather was done largely by hand, using a tool called a ''[[baren]]'', made from [[lacquer]]ed disks covered in a thin sheet of bamboo,<ref>"Carving tools and baren for printing," Gallery labels at Santa Barbara Museum of Art, September 2012.</ref> to rub a piece of paper on top of an inked block.  

Woodblocks were also better suited to the production of multiple editions, as a publisher could simply hold onto the blocks for a given book and reprint new copies later, never having to take apart the stereotype (the formatted, laid-out type blocks for a given page) and reassemble it for each page, or each work, as one would have to with moveable type. Finally, a third reason given for the popularity of woodblocks, and for the explosion of publishing in early modern Japan using woodblocks, was the relatively inexpensive entry cost for starting a publishing business. Rather than investing in a press (or multiple presses) and a collection of thousands of type blocks for individual characters, an entrepreneur could simply deal with one set of blocks at a time, hiring professional artisans (e.g. block-carvers and printers), or doing the work himself. The Japanese process of woodblock printing, furthermore, did not require any heavy, expensive, or technologically complex printing press, but rather was done largely by hand, using a tool called a ''[[baren]]'', made from [[lacquer]]ed disks covered in a thin sheet of bamboo,<ref>"Carving tools and baren for printing," Gallery labels at Santa Barbara Museum of Art, September 2012.</ref> to rub a piece of paper on top of an inked block.  

[[Image:Ukiyoe-shop.jpg|right|thumb|450px|A recreation of an Edo period storefront selling ''ukiyo-e'' prints and books, at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.]]

[[Image:Ukiyoe-shop.jpg|right|thumb|450px|A recreation of an Edo period storefront selling ''ukiyo-e'' prints and books, at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.]]

The earliest publishing houses emerged in Kyoto around 1600; simply called ''hon'ya'' (bookstores) they engaged in both printing/publishing and retail.<ref name=ikegami286>Ikegami, 286.</ref> By around 1626, commercial publishing was more fully underway, woodblock printing had become definitively the predominant form, and use of moveable type had fallen away.<ref name=smith334/><ref name=ikegami292/> Publishing came to [[Osaka]] in the 1660s, and to Edo relatively late by comparison, but grew rapidly over the course of the 17th century, and by the year 1800 dramatically eclipsed the [[Kamigata|Kyoto-Osaka]] (combined) publishing industry. The first half of the 19th century saw the continued growth of publishing in the three major cities, as well as the emergence of commercial publishing operations in a number of provincial centers.<ref name=smith334/> Over the course of the entire Edo period, an estimated 3,757 publishing/bookstore operations were established in Japan, 1,530 of which went out of business before the end of the period.<ref>Ikegami, 295.</ref> The three major cities combined accounted for roughly 89% of publishing production; among the secondary or provincial centers of production, Nagoya was the most active, with roughly 104 independent publishers operating at one point or another (not simultaneously) in the Edo period. Other major publishing centers included Nagasaki, Wakayama, Ise, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Kanazawa.<ref>Over the course of the entire Edo period, it has been estimated there were 1,733 publishing firms in Kyoto, 1,652 in Edo, 1,253 in Osaka, 104 in Nagoya, 49 in Ise, 24 in Wakayama, 27 in Sendai, 24 in Kanazawa, 21 in Nagasaki, and 312 elsewhere. Smith. p342, citing Inoue Takaaki. ''Kinsei shorin hanmoto sôran'' 近世書林版元総覧. ''Nihon shoshigaku taikei 14'' 日本書誌学体系１４. Seishôdô Shoten, 1981. p6.</ref>

The earliest publishing houses emerged in Kyoto around 1600; simply called ''hon'ya'' (bookstores) they engaged in both printing/publishing and retail,<ref name=ikegami286>Ikegami, 286.</ref> and numbered over a hundred by the 1630s. By around 1626, commercial publishing was more fully underway, woodblock printing had become definitively the predominant form, and use of moveable type had fallen away.<ref name=smith334/><ref name=ikegami292/> Publishing came to [[Osaka]] in the 1660s, and to Edo relatively late by comparison, but grew rapidly over the course of the 17th century, and by the year 1800 dramatically eclipsed the [[Kamigata|Kyoto-Osaka]] (combined) publishing industry. The first half of the 19th century saw the continued growth of publishing in the three major cities, as well as the emergence of commercial publishing operations in a number of provincial centers.<ref name=smith334/> Over the course of the entire Edo period, an estimated 3,757 publishing/bookstore operations were established in Japan, 1,530 of which went out of business before the end of the period.<ref>Ikegami, 295.</ref> The three major cities combined accounted for roughly 89% of publishing production; among the secondary or provincial centers of production, Nagoya was the most active, with roughly 104 independent publishers operating at one point or another (not simultaneously) in the Edo period. Other major publishing centers included Nagasaki, Wakayama, Ise, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Kanazawa.<ref>Over the course of the entire Edo period, it has been estimated there were 1,733 publishing firms in Kyoto, 1,652 in Edo, 1,253 in Osaka, 104 in Nagoya, 49 in Ise, 24 in Wakayama, 27 in Sendai, 24 in Kanazawa, 21 in Nagasaki, and 312 elsewhere. Smith. p342, citing Inoue Takaaki. ''Kinsei shorin hanmoto sôran'' 近世書林版元総覧. ''Nihon shoshigaku taikei 14'' 日本書誌学体系１４. Seishôdô Shoten, 1981. p6.</ref>

The earliest trade catalog, ''wakan shoseki mokuroku'' ("Catalog of Chinese and Japanese Books in Print"), published in [[1666]], listed nearly 2,600 titles; this number leapt to over 3,800 only four years later, to nearly 6,000 in 1685, and to over 7,000 in 1692.<ref name=ikegami286/> Over the course of the entire period, according to one scholar, roughly 100,000 titles were published - 195,000 if we include renamed later editions of older titles; the same source estimates that roughly 236 new titles were published each year, on average, between 1600 and 1730, and approximately 510 new titles each year, on average, between 1730 and 1868.<ref>Smith. p335.</ref> Determining the average or typical print run is difficult, but some scholars estimate that it was not uncommon for books to be produced in first edition print runs of 1000-2000 copies.<ref>Smith. p343.</ref> Books were sold at retail storefronts (''hon'ya''), but also by ''[[kashihonya]]'', traveling booklenders who journeyed into the countryside, and to most of the [[provinces]], making books available far outside of just the cities; furthermore, samurai on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys to and from Edo also carried books to their home provinces. This circulation or distribution of published materials throughout the realm was a crucial element in the creation of an archipelago-wide popular discourse, popular culture, and proto-national conception of "Japan" and of "Japanese" identity.

The earliest trade catalog, ''wakan shoseki mokuroku'' ("Catalog of Chinese and Japanese Books in Print"), published in [[1666]], listed nearly 2,600 titles; this number leapt to over 3,800 only four years later, to nearly 6,000 in 1685, and to over 7,000 in 1692.<ref name=ikegami286/> Over the course of the entire period, according to one scholar, roughly 100,000 titles were published - 195,000 if we include renamed later editions of older titles; the same source estimates that roughly 236 new titles were published each year, on average, between 1600 and 1730, and approximately 510 new titles each year, on average, between 1730 and 1868.<ref>Smith. p335.</ref> Determining the average or typical print run is difficult, but some scholars estimate that it was not uncommon for books to be produced in first edition print runs of 1000-2000 copies.<ref>Smith. p343.</ref> Books were sold at retail storefronts (''hon'ya''), but also by ''[[kashihonya]]'', traveling booklenders who journeyed into the countryside, and to most of the [[provinces]], making books available far outside of just the cities; furthermore, samurai on ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' journeys to and from Edo also carried books to their home provinces. This circulation or distribution of published materials throughout the realm was a crucial element in the creation of an archipelago-wide popular discourse, popular culture, and proto-national conception of "Japan" and of "Japanese" identity.

All three of the major cities published the full range of types or themes of publications, but each also came to be known especially, or more strongly, for certain types of works. Kyoto remained the center of production of Buddhist and Confucian texts, as it had more or less always been, while Osaka publishers produced a great many more practical works, such as encyclopedias; popular literature, meanwhile, took off especially powerfully in Edo. Publishing in Kyoto and Osaka also tended to be more heavily directed towards smaller print runs of more expensive, high quality printed works commissioned by [[poetry circles]] or other relatively exclusive groups, while Edo publishing was more heavily directed towards high-volume production of less expensive, less high-quality popular materials.

All three of the major cities published the full range of types or themes of publications, but each also came to be known especially, or more strongly, for certain types of works. Kyoto remained the center of production of Buddhist and Confucian texts, as it had more or less always been, while Osaka publishers produced a great many more practical works, such as encyclopedias; popular literature, meanwhile, took off especially powerfully in Edo. Publishing in Kyoto and Osaka also tended to be more heavily directed towards smaller print runs of more expensive, high quality printed works commissioned by [[poetry circles]] or other relatively exclusive groups, while Edo publishing was more heavily directed towards high-volume production of less expensive, less high-quality popular materials.

The works of [[Genroku period]] novelist [[Ihara Saikaku]] are considered to have been of particular significance in stimulating the first bridging of the Kamigata-Edo divide in publishing, and the formation of a three-city (''santo'') or nationwide book circulation. His works, ''Kôshoku ichidai otoko'' ("The Life of an Amorous Man," [[1682]]) in particular, were so popular that they were pirated by Edo-based publishers within a year of their initial publication in Kamigata. Before long, publishers in Kamigata and Edo began to form agreements, arranging permissions to produce or distribute one another's works, and to share the profits. The shogunate officially banned this sort of piracy in [[1698]], and required all publishers to join officially-recognized publishing guilds, called ''shorin [[nakama]]'', beginning in [[1722]]. Anyone outside of the guilds was banned from legally operating as publishers, and enforcement was handled primarily by the guilds, not by the samurai authorities.

The works of [[Genroku period]] novelist [[Ihara Saikaku]] are considered to have been of particular significance in stimulating the first bridging of the Kamigata-Edo divide in publishing, and the formation of a three-city (''santo'') or nationwide book circulation. His works, ''Kôshoku ichidai otoko'' ("The Life of an Amorous Man," [[1682]]) in particular, were so popular that they were pirated by Edo-based publishers within a year of their initial publication in Kamigata. Indeed, many of the earliest Edo publications were copies of Kamigata publications, with new titles, different illustrated inserts (''sashi-e''), and/or other internal changes to the content or organization of the book. Before long, publishers in Kamigata and Edo began to form agreements, arranging permissions to produce or distribute one another's works, and to share the profits. Many Kamigata publishers also opened branches in Edo, or arranged to have Edo-based merchants act as their proxies; many did not have their books published in Edo, but merely printed copies in Kamigata and shipped them to Edo for sale.

 

The shogunate officially banned piracy of published materials in [[1698]], and required all publishers to join officially-recognized publishing guilds, called ''shorin [[nakama]]'', beginning in [[1722]]. Anyone outside of the guilds was banned from legally operating as publishers, and enforcement was handled primarily by the guilds, not by the samurai authorities.

Publishing in Japan was dominated chiefly by the ''[[chonin|chônin]]'' commoner class, and by commercial interests. This was in stark contrast to the situation in certain places elsewhere in the world, such as in [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, where the court maintained control over nearly all publishing. In Japan, certain publishers enjoyed exclusive rights granted them by the shogunate to publish ''daimyô'' directories called ''[[bukan]]'', calendars (the publishing of which was restricted otherwise), and city maps, but outside of this, and the occasional commissions from the shogunate for the production of given publications, for the most part the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] was relatively uninvolved in publishing. Censorship activities were delegated to the publishers' guilds, and were not performed by shogunate officials.<ref>Ikegami, 308.</ref> Formal edicts continued to be issued in manuscript form.<ref>Smith. p342.</ref>

Publishing in Japan was dominated chiefly by the ''[[chonin|chônin]]'' commoner class, and by commercial interests. This was in stark contrast to the situation in certain places elsewhere in the world, such as in [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, where the court maintained control over nearly all publishing. In Japan, certain publishers enjoyed exclusive rights granted them by the shogunate to publish ''daimyô'' directories called ''[[bukan]]'', calendars (the publishing of which was restricted otherwise), and city maps, but outside of this, and the occasional commissions from the shogunate for the production of given publications, for the most part the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] was relatively uninvolved in publishing. Censorship activities were delegated to the publishers' guilds, and were not performed by shogunate officials.<ref>Ikegami, 308.</ref> Formal edicts continued to be issued in manuscript form.<ref>Smith. p342.</ref>