| Though scholars generally assume publishers to have obtained the necessary information from the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] itself, [[Peter Kornicki]] points out that in [[1844]], the shogunate asked two publishers what their sources were - a strong indication that their sources were not, in fact, the shogunate. The two publishers, [[Subaraya Mohei]] and [[Izumoji Bunjiro|Izumoji Bunjirô]], revealed that observing comings & goings at the gates to [[Edo castle]] played a large role in their collection of information. ''[[Daimyo|Daimyô]]'' households are, further, known to have occasionally paid publishers to be included in a more prominent place in these guides, i.e. earlier in the order of the listing of houses. | | Though scholars generally assume publishers to have obtained the necessary information from the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] itself, [[Peter Kornicki]] points out that in [[1844]], the shogunate asked two publishers what their sources were - a strong indication that their sources were not, in fact, the shogunate. The two publishers, [[Subaraya Mohei]] and [[Izumoji Bunjiro|Izumoji Bunjirô]], revealed that observing comings & goings at the gates to [[Edo castle]] played a large role in their collection of information. ''[[Daimyo|Daimyô]]'' households are, further, known to have occasionally paid publishers to be included in a more prominent place in these guides, i.e. earlier in the order of the listing of houses. |
| + | As with maps, the purchase and use of ''bukan'' by foreigners, and most especially their export, was forbidden, as the contents were considered sensitive information. |