1999 Volume 50 Issue 1 Pages 69-77
“Keizaishogaku Kaseiyoshi” is the translation of books on home management which spread most widely in the early Meiji Era. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of the publisher, i.e., what role Naito Den'emon played in the process of spread as well as the circumstances on publication of “Kaseiyoshi.”
The conclusions are as follows :
1) Ten editions of “Kaseiyoshi Zenpen (the first part)” and three editions of “Kaseiyoshi Kohen (the latter part)” were confirmed. 2) The popular edition published by Naito Den'emon in which kana phonetic syllabary was provided alongside Chinese characters for easy reading contributed a great deal to the spread of “Kaseiyoshi.” Also contributed were Naito Den'emon's energetic sales activities coupled with excellent translation by Nagamine Hideki. It goes without saying that the excellent quality of the original played a major role in the wide spread of the popular edition. 3) In order to increase funds for his newspaper business, Naito Den'emon energetically continued to publish varieties of textbooks. 4) It is evident that he contributed to the enhancement of school education through the publication and sales of textbooks.
In this paper, it is clarified that the Naito Den'emon as publisher endowed with enterprising spirit contributed to the spread of “Kaseiyoshi” along with Western concept of household management.
