Kanazōshi

Kanazōshi (仮名草子^?) describes a type of printed Japanese book that was produced primarily in Kyoto between 1600 and 1680. The term literally means “books written in kana” (kana being the phonetic Japanese syllabary that is simpler to read and write than kanji, or Chinese ideographs). The designation thus derives from the fact that the text of these books was written either entirely in kana or in a mixture of kana and kanji. Kanazōshi are considered to be a transitional genre, bridging the gap between medieval romances and the first high point of Edo period (1600-1868) literature, the ukiyozōshi composed by Ihara Saikaku (1642–93). The genre comprises an unlikely assortment of essays, stories, travel guides for famous places, military chronicles, religious writings, and critical pieces. Despite the lack of uniformity in content, kanazōshi are classified as a distinct genre primarily based on the fact that they were the first literary works to be printed and widely circulated in Japan. Scholars also maintain that kanazōshi are generally of higher literary quality and more realistic than medieval forms, such as the otogizōshi, that preceded them.

Before the 1620s, the only books available in Japan were handwritten manuscripts. The printed kanazōshi were less expensive and more widely available than these earlier manuscripts. They are thus considered the first example of commercial literature produced in Japan. One should keep in mind, however, the comparatively limited nature of their popularity. The cost of a single volume was still prohibitive, costing roughly the equivalent of what a laborer could earn for two or three days of work (4000 of Japanese currency). Moreover, the books, because of their small print runs (often only a few hundred copies), rarely circulated beyond Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, the publishing centers in premodern Japan.

...
Wikipedia