Hizakurige on the TokaidoA great bestseller from the Edo period

In the late Edo period, pilgrimages to Ise Shrine, known as "Oise Mairi," became popular, and travel became commonplace among the common people. Various travel guides and travelogues were published, but the famous book that sparked the travel boom was Jippensha Ikku's humorous book "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige." In this article, we will take a detailed look at the contents and background of "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige," which is said to be the origin of modern guidebooks.

What is "Tōkaidō Chu Hizakurige"?

"Tōkaidō Chu Hizakurige" is a humorous book written by the comic writer and artist Jippensha Ikku. It depicts the journey of the two main characters, Yajirobei and Kitahachi, commonly known as Yaji-san and Kita-san, as they leave Edo, travel along the Tōkaidō, make a pilgrimage to Ise, and travel to Kyoto and Osaka. The unusual journey, which incorporates material from jōruri, kabuki, kyogen, rakugo, and senryū, was a big hit with people at the time. Another factor in its success seems to be that it is not simply a travelogue, but focuses on tales of mishaps on the road and the lives of ordinary people.

The series, consisting of eight stories and 17 volumes, was published between 1802 (Kyowa 2) and 1814 (Bunka 11). Furthermore, a sequel, "Zoku Hizakurige," consisting of 12 stories and 25 volumes, was published between 1810 (Bunka 7) and 1822 (Bunka 5). The reason the publication dates of the main story and the sequels overlap is because the final book, "Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige: Hadan," which is a sort of spinoff of the main story, was published after the first story of "Zoku Hizakurige."

The title "Knee Chestnut" refers to traveling on foot, using one's own knees instead of a chestnut horse. However, in the story, the main characters ride horses and palanquins...

You might be thinking, "Isn't 'Tōkaidō Chu Hizakurige' a book from the Edo period? Is it still famous today?", but up until now it has been the subject of homage in various works, including novels, manga, games, movies, and stage plays. For example, in the game "Monster Strike (Monsuto)," there is a character named "Tōkaidō Chu Hizakurige" as one of the Monster Bookmen.

Who is Jippensha Ikku, the author of "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige"?

The author of "Tōkaidō Chu Hizakurige" is Jippensha Ikku. Originally the son of a low-ranking samurai from Fuchū, Suruga Province (present-day Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture), he went to Edo in his youth to serve Tosa-no-kami Odagiri, and in 1783 (Tenmei 3), he was transferred to Osaka. He later became a ronin (masterless samurai) and became a Jōruri writer in Osaka. At this time, he married into a lumber merchant's family, but they divorced. In 1794 (Kansei 6), he returned to Edo and became a boarder at the house of Tsutaya Juzaburo, commonly known as Tsutaju, a major publisher, and published a series of kibōshi and sharebon novels.

However, sales were not very good, and the first of the "Tōkaidō Chū Hizakurige" series, "Ukiyodō Chū Hizakurige," was published by Murataya Jirobei (Eiyūdō) rather than Tsutaya. Furthermore, the illustrations and the final copy of the book were both done by Jippensha Ikku.

However, this was a huge hit! Although it was supposed to end with eight stories, the sequel series "Zoku Hizakurige" was written, and Jippensha Ikku became a bestselling author. In addition to researching and writing the Hizakurige series, Jippensha Ikku continued to write other works at the same time, and wrote more than 580 books in his lifetime. He is said to be Japan's first professional author, as he was able to make a living solely from his pen.

In his later years, Jippensha Ikku struggled with poor health due to drinking, but his witty style remained unchanged until the very end. He passed away on August 7, 1831 (2nd year of the Tenpo era) at the age of 66 (67 years old in actuality), and his death poem was "Kono yo ba dori ya oi to ma ni senko to to tomoni tsuhi ni (or kamo to tomoni) hai so nara (If I leave this world, I will die)." It is a witty poem that plays on "oi to ma ni" (I will not leave this world), "senko" (incense), "hai" (ash) from incense sticks and his own ashes, and "hai" (Yes, goodbye) from "hai, saybye."

In Jippensha Ikku's time, temple schools were widespread and literacy rates were on the rise. In reaction to the end of the Kansei Reforms (1787-1793), which emphasized austerity and frugality, the "Kasei culture" of townspeople flourished during the Bunka and Bunsei periods (1801-1830), and literature, painting, and the performing arts flourished. In the literary field, humorous books and yellow-covered books were in vogue, and this background appears to have been one of the reasons for the huge success of "Tōkaidō-chū Hizakurige."

Yaji and Kita, the main characters of "Tokaidochu Hizakurige"

Now, let's get into the story of "Tōkaidō-chū Hizakurige". The main characters are Yajirobei and Kitahachi (also known as Kitahachi), commonly known as Yaji-san and Kita-san, who live in Hatchōbori, Edo (Chuo-ku, Tokyo). Later, "Yajikita" came to mean a casual wandering or two playful guys, and the two became so well-known that they became a noun.

According to the final book in the series, "Tokaidochu Hizakurige: The Beginning," Yaji-san was from Fuchu, Suruga Province, just like the author. He was born into a merchant family and was a rich kid who fell in love with a traveling young actor, Hananosuke (later known as Kita-san), and after spending all his money on him, the two of them ran away to Edo in the middle of the night.

In other words, the two were originally in love, which is why "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige" is called a boys' love story. In the Edo period, male homosexuality was considered common, and men engaged in prostitution just like women.

After that, Hananosuke came of age, changed his name to Kitahachi, and began working for a merchant family. Meanwhile, Yaji continued to live a lazy life, and although he started a family, they eventually separated. At the same time, Kita was fired from his job for embezzling money and flirting with women. Both of them were fed up with their boring lives, and decided to go on a pilgrimage to Ise Shrine to ward off bad luck, and thus began Tokaido Chu Hizakurige. At this point, Yaji was 50 years old (49 years old in actuality) and Kita was 30 years old (29 years old in actuality).

The route of the journey in "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige" ①Tokyo and Kanagawa

The purpose of "Tōkaidō-chū Hizakurige" is to travel around the country and accumulate tea-drinking stories in his head. To that end, over the course of eight chapters, he travels to various places and interacts with people.

The main route was the Tokaido, one of the five main roads. It stretched from Nihonbashi in Edo to Sanjo Ohashi in Kyoto, and had 53 inns. They are known as the "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" in the ukiyo-e of Utagawa Hiroshige. There were also checkpoints at Hakone (Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture) and Arai (Arai-machi, Kosai City, Shizuoka Prefecture).

Yaji and Kita also start from Nihonbashi in "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige". They encounter a feudal lord's procession along the way, stay at Totsuka and Odawara, and pass through Hakone. This is the first part.

One famous episode from his stay at Odawara-juku is the incident where he got burned in a Goemon bath. A Goemon bath is a bathtub heated by an open flame, with an iron bathtub placed on top of a hearth. There are two types: one made entirely of iron, and one with a large wooden water tub attached to the top of the bathtub. The one depicted in "Tokaido Chu Hizakurige" is the latter.

When entering the bath, the bottom is hot, so you sink the floating bottom board and stand on it to enter. At the time, it was popular in Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka), but Yaji, who lived in Edo, did not know how to enter a Goemon bath. He removed the bottom board thinking it was a double board, plunged one foot in, and suffered severe burns. In the end, he put on a pair of geta that he found near the toilet and entered the bath.

Next, Kita doesn't know how to get in either, and when he asks Yaji, he doesn't tell him, so he's at a loss. But then he finds some geta and goes into the bath wearing them. But as he stomps his geta against the bottom of the pot, he ends up stepping through the bottom, and the innkeeper laughs at him and asks him to pay for the repairs...

"Tokaido Chu Hizakurige" Travel Route 2: Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie

After crossing Hakone, Yaji and Kita head for Araijuku, where there is a checkpoint. The second and third stories are from Hakonejuku to Araijuku, and the fourth story is from Araijuku to Kuwanajuku (Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture). They enjoy the local specialty, grilled clams, but many other local dishes also appear in the story, making it seem like a guidebook.

On the seventh day of their journey, they stayed at Hizaka-juku (Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture), where they experienced the following episode. When they arrived at an inn in the rain, they met an old woman and her daughter who helped them summon the spirits of their mother and wife. That night, the two men tried to sneak into the daughter's shrine maiden home.

First, Kita sneaks into the shrine maiden's futon and they make a vow. Meanwhile, Yaji goes to the shrine maiden after sleeping for a while. He mistakes Kita for the shrine maiden, licks her lips, and bites her openly.

Kita was shocked by this! What's more, the sleeping shrine maiden woke up and cried out, "You're making too much noise, be quiet! You'll wake up my daughter!" So, Kita had mistaken the girl for the old woman. Kita sneaks away. Yaji then tries to escape, but is caught by the old woman who mistakes him for Yaji.

These so-called dirty episodes, including womanizing at inns and brothels, are actually quite numerous in "Tokaido Chugen Hizakurige," and appear in a variety of places.

Another point to note is the poem that Yaji and Kita recite in each episode. This time, they recited the following: "Ichiko, I thought, and secretly approached Kitahachi with my mouth, and I was so jealous." The poem uses a play on the words "Kitahachi," or Kita-san, and "speech-pulling," showing the highly educated author, Jippensha Ikku.

"Tokaido Chu Hizakurige" Travel Route 3: Pilgrimage to Ise Shrine

The five stories are divided into three volumes, and the two travel from Kuwana to the 43rd post town, Yokkaichi (Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture). From there, they pass through Oiwake, where the Tokaido and Ise Kaido roads branch off, and enter the Ise Kaido road.

Afterwards, on the way he heads to Ise Shrine with a kindred spirit from Kamigata, but in Yamada-cho (Ise City, Mie Prefecture) he encounters Tarobei, a rice merchant from Edo. When Yaji leaves, he feels awkward because he hasn't paid the rice merchant's bill, but in the end they get excited as fellow townspeople, and he decides to join the Tarobei group, a Taitako (Ise ko) religious group.

The Taitaiko were a religious group that made the pilgrimage to Ise Shrine. They pooled together travel funds, drew lots to choose a representative, and took turns visiting the shrine. They are also known for making offerings of Taitaiko music. Yaji, Kita, and the others were having a great time drinking with Tarobei, but there was actually another group of people next door, and in the rush to depart, Yaji, who was in a palanquin, ended up moving over to the other group, and was accused of being a thief.

They somehow manage to meet up at Fujiya in Myoken-cho (Onoue-cho, Ise City, Mie Prefecture), and then enjoy some fun with the ladies at Senzokuya, a brothel in Furuichi, but Yaji, being a show-off, throws his dirty loincloth in the garden to hide it. The next morning, the loincloth is discovered, and Yaji is found out, making it a terrible day for Yaji.

Although the group embarks on such an unusual journey, the book describes their earnest and sincere visit to the Inner and Outer Shrines of Ise Grand Shrine. And here is the end of "Tokaidochu Hizakurige." The author, Jippensha Ikku, says he is "putting down his pen," but in the afterword, the publisher, Eiyuudo, immediately advertises, "There will be a sequel." However, it seems that a Kyoto/Osaka edition was originally planned, so this may have been part of the sales promotion.

The route of the journey of "Hizakurige on the Tokaido Road" Part 4: Kyoto and Osaka

Chapters 6 to 8 are about traveling around Kyoto and Osaka. After visiting Ise Shrine, Yaji and Kita leave Ise and head to Yamatoji, then travel along the Nara Highway to Uji (Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture), and finally to Fushimi. This part only explains the route.

The two were supposed to go to Osaka by boat, but they got on the wrong boat and ended up seeing the sights from Kyoto. They saw the Great Buddha at Hoko-ji Temple, visited tourist spots such as Sanjusangendo and Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and enjoyed a night at the Gojo Shinchi red-light district (as usual, they caused a scene and were tied up in tangles...). After that, they went to see a play in Gion, visited Yasaka Shrine and Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, and then moved from Fushimi to Osaka.

In Osaka, they visited Nihonbashi, Tenmabashi, Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, and Dotonbori. The book describes how they enjoyed themselves at the Shinmachi red-light district, and visited Shitennoji Temple and Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. The book then briefly describes their route, explaining that they followed the Kisoji road, enjoyed themselves in Kusatsu, and then visited Zenkoji Temple and Mt. Myogi before returning to Edo.

And now to "Zoku Hizakurige"

"Hizakurige Along the Tokaido" ended with the eighth chapter, but the publisher would like to see a sequel to this hugely successful work. In the preface to the eighth chapter, Jippensha Ikku declares, "After these eight chapters, I have given up on my writing and will put down my pen for the next chapter," and in the "Postscript" on the next page, the publisher Murataya Jirobei comments, "Although the author has requested that he continue writing about the Kiso Road, he has firmly refused. His wish is that he will wait for the urging of the gentlemen (readers) before writing..." In other words, he is trying to get the readers to urge him to continue.

In the end, Jippensha Ikku wrote the sequel "Zoku Hizakurige" in 12 chapters and 25 books over a period of about 12 years, from 1810 to 1822. Yaji and Kita enjoyed a pilgrimage to Kotohira Shrine in Kagawa Prefecture, visited Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, traveled along the Kiso Kaido, passed through Zenkoji Temple, and took a break in Kusatsu. Then, they were finally able to return to Edo.