Sharebon

The sharebon (洒落本^?) was a pre-modern Japanese literary genre. Plots revolved around humor and entertainment at the pleasure quarters. It is a subgenre of gesaku.

As a subgenre of gesaku, humor was a major aspect to each story. "The sharebon described the manners, language, and clothes of the men who frequented the licensed quarters and were adept in their ritualized etiquette." Often these men would attempt to flaunt their knowledge, only to be wrong and ridiculed by the courtesans.

The sharebon genre existed between the 1720s and 1840s, lasting more than a hundred years. This interval is commonly divided into three stages: early, middle and late.

The early period existed between the 1720s and the 1760s.

The earliest text belonging to the genre is identified as Ryōha Shigen (両巴巵言^?), which was written Gekishō Sensei (撃鉦先生^?) in 1728. It establishes the traditional form and style of the genre.

A number of important texts were published in the following decades, developing the genre:

Yūshi Hōgen became the basic model for future novels.

The middle period existed between the 1770s and the 1780s.

The genre reached peak popularity. Authors experimented with new locations, characters, and types of humor.

Santō Kyōden, "the leading writer of fiction at the end of the eighteenth century", wrote the "best sharebon". He wrote a number of important novels, including:

In 1790, the Kansei Reforms, led by Matsudaira Sadanobu, introduced strict censorship and penalties for "frivolous books". Both Santō Kyōden and Tsutaya Jūzaburō, the leading publisher of the time, were punished for their work on sharebon.

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