Sentakusho yori Nomishirami Kadomo he Onmōshi-idashi no Koto narabi ni Mushi Sanka Nakama yori Sentakujo he Negai Izuru Koto (A Formal Statement from a Laundry to Fleas, Lice, and Mosquitoes, together with a Humble Request from the Three Groups of Insects

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Sentakusho yori Nomishirami Kadomo he Onmōshi-idashi no Koto narabi ni Mushi Sanka Nakama yori Sentakujo he Negai Izuru Koto ["A Formal Statement from a Laundry to Fleas, Lice, and Mosquitoes, together with a Humble Request from the Three Groups of Insects to the Laundry"] 

[Matsuda, Yasuke (original text by)]. 

Hacchōbori, [Edo (Tōkyō)]: Kyōya Sōbē, [ca. late Edo period (1840-50s?)].

A humorous fictional exchange of letters between a laundry-house representative and insects, based on storyteller Matsuda Yasuke's tale Sentakujo no Uttaegaki ("Laundry Lawsuits"). Matthew Shores provides a translation of the work in The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo (p. 66) and describes Matsuda's work as "essentially a mock formal statement filed by a fictional launderer against a group of parasitic insects– fleas, lice, and mosquitoes– and their rebuttal. Written in the formal language that official documents called for, it humorously presents the tiny insects not as pests that are better off dead, but as legitimate groups entitled to protection under the law." The "formal statement" by the launderer is presented together with a response from the insect representatives titled "Humble Request in a Verbal Document from Three Groups [of Insects]" (Shores, 66). A text of the same title is featured in Ōyose Hanashi no Shiriuma. 

One stab-bound (musubitoji) volume, complete, on double leaves, traditional East Asian binding style (fukurotoji).  Original wrappers lightly creased, with a few small wormholes. Ink mark to opening edge of last leaf, not affecting text. 3 leaves, including original wrappers. 21 x 14.4 cm.

Sentakusho yori Nomishirami Kadomo he Onmōshi-idashi no Koto narabi ni Mushi Sanka Nakama yori Sentakujo he Negai Izuru Koto (A Formal Statement from a Laundry to Fleas, Lice, and Mosquitoes, together with a Humble Request from the Three Groups of Insects
Price: $580.00 (USD)