Abstract
In pre-modern Japan, a variety of calendar notes were written on calendars and had an influence on people's lives. In the early modern period in particular, numerous guidebooks of calendar notes were published. They formed the basis of people's knowledge of the calendar. It is important to clarify the development of the publication of guidebooks of calendar notes in order to consider the evolution of people's perception of the calendar in the early modern period. This paper provides its overview and points to two turning points. First, the Jokyo Calendar Reform of 1685, when Buddhists, who had led publishing guidebooks of calendar notes in the first half of the 17th century, gradually lost their presence. They were replaced by a diverse group of people. Second, around 1800. The publication of guidebooks of calendar notes reached its height in the 18th century, but the number of new openings declined in the 19th century. This paper takes up Tousho Chōreki (1688) and Koyomi Shinan (1800) as representative guidebooks from both periods, and reveals the following: (1) With the Jokyo Calendar Reform, the greatest criterion of value in guidebooks of calendar notes became whether or not they were in agreement with the actual calendar. (2) As a result, the presence of Buddhists in the publication of guidebooks waned. (3) In the 19th century, the decline in the influence of calendar divination and the saturation of guidebooks led to a decline in the number of new guidebooks. (4) In this context, some guidebooks that responded to social demand by including information on weather forecasts based on the calendar and how to avoid bad events were able to maintain their popularity.
