In the seventeenth century, Japanese popular prose flourished as
waves of newly literate readers gained access to the printed word.
Commercial publishers released vast numbers of titles in response
to readers’ hunger for books that promised them potent knowledge.
However, traditional literary histories of this period position the
writings of Ihara Saikaku at center stage, largely neglecting the
breadth of popular prose. In the first comprehensive study of the
birth of Japanese commercial publishing, Laura Moretti investigates
the vibrant world of vernacular popular literature. She marshals
new data on the magnitude of the seventeenth-century publishing
business and highlights the diversity and porosity of its
publishing genres. Moretti explores how booksellers sparked
interest among readers across the spectrum of literacies and
demonstrates how they tantalized consumers with vital ethical,
religious, societal, and interpersonal knowledge. She recasts books
as tools for knowledge making, arguing that popular prose engaged
its audience cognitively as well as aesthetically and emotionally
to satisfy a burgeoning curiosity about the world. Crucially,
Moretti shows, readers experienced entertainment within the
didactic, finding pleasure in the profit gained from acquiring
knowledge by interacting with transformative literature. Drawing on
a rich variety of archival materials to present a vivid portrait of
seventeenth-century Japanese publishing, Pleasure in Profit also
speaks to broader conversations about the category of the literary
by offering a new view of popular prose that celebrates plurality.
General
| Imprint: |
Columbia University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
December 2020 |
| First published: |
2021 |
| Authors: |
Laura Moretti
|
| Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 26mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback
|
| Pages: |
432 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-231-19723-6 |
| Categories: |
Books
|
| LSN: |
0-231-19723-3 |
| Barcode: |
9780231197236 |
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