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> 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 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/> By the 1660s, publishing was well-established in Kyoto, and had begun to emerge in Osaka. The number of publishers nearly doubled between 1670 and 1692, and commercial publishing really began to take off. Whereas the printing of Buddhist materials, Confucian texts, and other moral & educational materials were the dominant forms earlier in the 17th century, by the end of the century popular publishing had taken off. Moral, educational, and religious texts, including Confucian and other Chinese classics for samurai moral education and for the niche intellectual market continued to be published throughout the period, and into the modern era. However, books written largely in <i>kana</i> (with few <i>kanji</i>, and thus more accessible to the lower classes) experienced a considerable surge, rising by some 25-33% in the last decades of the 17th century. The rise of travel, trade networks across the realm, and of commercial & urban culture otherwise, brought increased interest and demand for guidebooks of various sorts, and so travel guides, guides to the city, and so forth emerged as a new and extremely popular & successful genre. ''[[Kashihonya]]'' (book lenders) emerged, as did a variety of very inexpensive formats, such as ''[[sharebon]]'', ''[[Hachimonji-ya|Hachimonji-ya-bon]]'', and ''[[ukiyo-zoshi|ukiyo-zôshi]]'', and before long popular literature - and not religious or classical texts - dominated the markets.

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.