The Strategies in Yorozu no Fumihogo “O–urami o tsutae mairase sōrō” : A Study on the Modes and Discourses of Early Modern Courtesan Literature

This study examines Edo–period Yūkaku literature, focusing on Ihara Saikaku’s Yorozu no Fumihogo (1696), Book 5, Episode 3, O–urami o tsutae mairase sōrō (“I Submit My Grievance”), in order to explore the interrelation between Yūjo (courtesan) literature and the circulation of contemporary knowledge and information. Whereas previous scholarship has tended to evaluate this epistolary tale in abstract terms—emphasizing “universal love” or the indeterminacy of its ending— this paper reads the courtesan’s letter as a narrative practice deeply embedded in the knowledge and discursive frameworks of Yūkaku culture. In O–urami o tsutae mairase sōrō, Shirakumo’s letter unfolds around the central trope of kōsetsu (quarrel over jealousy), addressing the presence of provincial patrons, the reproaches of her regular client, the excessive enumeration of shinju–date (acts of proof of sincerity), and the refusal to seal the letter. These elements are shown to be reconstructions mediated by discourses shaped through the practical knowledge and information provided to Edo–period patrons and male readers, as well as through prior literary conventions. In particular, when the knowledge of practical guides such as Yūjo hyōbanki (courtesan critiques) intersects with the formation of narrative, the medium of the courtesan’s letter and the form of the epistolary novel function to represent Yūkaku culture as a “social self–portrait,” while simultaneously articulating the courtesan’s precarious existence and voice. Shirakumo’s rhetorical maneuvers sustain ambiguity rather than conveying sincerity transparently, thereby perpetuating the tension and conflict between courtesan and patron. The first–person epistolary mode thus emerges as a medium that foregrounds the intensity of courtesan life and the performative force of her voice.