A pair of irrepressible scoundrels are the heroes of this madcap chronicle of adventure, full of earthy humor, along the great highway from Tokyo to Kyoto. The lusty tale of their disreputable doings is Japan's most celebrated comic novel. Shank's Mare was originally issued serially beginning in 1802, and was so successful that the author wrote numerous sequels, appearing year by year, until 1822. This novel portrays all the varied colors in Japan's Tokugawa era.
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Editorial Reviews
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“An outstanding comic novel and essential to a thorough understanding of Japanese literary history and culture.” -- The Bookwatch
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good silly fun,
By wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Shanks Mare: Japan's Great Comic Novel of Travel & Ribaldry (Paperback)
This book is over 200 years old and still popular. There's a good reason for that.It captures all that people love about slapstick, and doesn't worry about toning it down for the kids. The two heros drift from town to town, bordello to bordello, and bar to bar. They're petty grifters, always trying to pull another meager scam, and always getting the worst of it in the end. There's no real plot here, just a sequence of vignettes. They're all like enough in kind to create a rhythm, but different enough to stay entertaining. Lots of the humor is low - potty humor, not restricted just to human waste. As in some britcoms, our heroes suddenly appear in their underwear time and again - or out of it, or next to it, or looking up into a tree at it. The real fun is in their silly pranks and exaggerations, always found out in ways that make them look like total twits. Ikku Jippensha's work is still a good read, even today. Sometimes, though, English doesn't capture the flavor of the original. The translator just shouldn't have bothered with some of the puns, and a few turns of phrase probably sounded better back when this was translated. End-notes are scanty, and there appears to be a systematic error in page number references towards the end of the notes. None of that really interferes with a good read. Enjoy the prat-falls as much as the original readers did, 200 years ago and in Japan. //wiredweird
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding comic novel,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Shanks Mare: Japan's Great Comic Novel of Travel & Ribaldry (Paperback)
Students of Japanese literature will find Ikku Jippensha's Shank's Mare to be an outstanding comic novel and essential to a thorough study of Japanese literary history and culture: Thomas Satchell provides the English translation of this story of adventure and discovery. The original was issued serially in 1802: this will appeal to modern readers.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shank's Mare,
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This review is from: Shanks Mare: Japan's Great Comic Novel of Travel & Ribaldry (Paperback)
I loved this book.Totally entertaining. I had not previously know where the expression, "Shank's Mare" originated. A fun read. Hard to put it down.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"IT is not far between the barriers, since fifty-three stages are all our country." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
saki shop, inn tout, teahouse girls, wadded garment, saki cup, saki bottle, sixteen coppers, hundred coppers, fifty coppers, one sandal, three coppers, four coppers, two travellers, head clerk Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Namu Amida Butsu, Drum Chamber, Tambourine Chamber, Master Tarobei, Master Gombei, River Yodo, Master Yaji New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"IT is not far between the barriers, since fifty-three stages are all our country." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
saki shop, inn tout, teahouse girls, wadded garment, saki cup, saki bottle, sixteen coppers, hundred coppers, fifty coppers, one sandal, three coppers, four coppers, two travellers, head clerk Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Namu Amida Butsu, Drum Chamber, Tambourine Chamber, Master Tarobei, Master Gombei, River Yodo, Master Yaji New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 6
books:
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- Tales of Old Japan: Folklore, Fairy Tales, Ghost Stories and Legends of the Samurai by A. B. Mitford in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Things Japanese (Kegan Paul Japan Library) by Basil Hall Chamberlain in Front Matter
- The Garter Mission to Japan by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale in Back Matter
- The Pickwick Papers (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens in Front Matter
- A History of Japan by James Murdoch in Back Matter
See all 6 books this book cites
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