Author Description

In 'Recasting the Past: An Early Modern Tales of Ise for Children' Laura Moretti recreates in image and text the unresearched 1766 picture-book 'Ise furyu: Utagaruta no hajimari (The Fashionable Ise: The Origins of Utagaruta)'. The introduction analyses 'Utagaruta' through a discussion of the textual scholarship relating to chapbooks and kusazoshi. It also contextualizes this work to shed new light on the reception history of the canonical 'Tales of Ise' and to position 'Utagaruta' within the realm of children's literature. This is followed by the full transcription and translation of 'Utagaruta', with annotations to each image. Learned and visually rich, Moretti's study permits the reader to enjoy the inventiveness and beauty of early modern Japanese literature.