Shank's Mare on the Tokaido (Tokaidochu Hizakurige)

Jippensha Ikku · 1802-1814

Overview

A comic novel describing the journey of Yajirobei and Kitahachi of Edo, who decide to make a pilgrimage to Ise to ward off bad luck, travel west along the Tokaido and go on from Ise to Kyoto and Osaka. The first part, published in 1802, was a hit, sequels followed, and the later Zoku Hizakurige carried the journey to Konpira, Miyajima, the Kisoji road, Zenkoji and beyond, running for more than twenty years. Its lively, dialogue-driven prose, the local specialties, dialects and inn customs of each place, and its comic kyoka verses make it a delight. "Hizakurige" means using your own knees in place of a chestnut horse; in other words, traveling on foot.

Background

In the early nineteenth century, the Ise pilgrimage was a commoner's dream of a lifetime; people formed associations and saved up for the journey. Highways and post towns were well developed, and many travel guides and illustrated guides to famous places were published. Jippensha Ikku came from Sunpu, wrote joruri in Osaka, then became a popular fiction writer in Edo; he is said to be one of the first writers to live on manuscript fees.

Highlights

  1. The Goemon bathAt an inn in Odawara, not knowing how to use the floorboard of the bath, they get in wearing wooden clogs and stamp through the bottom of the iron tub.Read “(place)” →
  2. Yam soup at MarikoTrying to eat the local specialty, they get caught up in the shopkeepers' marital quarrel.Read “(place)” →
  3. Grilled clams at KuwanaThe pair's banter over the famous delicacy behind the pun "sono te wa Kuwana no yakihamaguri" (I won't fall for that trick).Read “(place)” →
  4. Sightseeing in KyotoThe Edo men's bravado and blunders spin even more uselessly in the capital of the Kamigata region.Read “(place)” →