Tsutaya Jūzaburō, a key figure of Edo publishing culture, played a central role in the careers of influential masters such as Kyōden, Utamaro, Sharaku, and Hokusai. This article explores how Tsutaya has been portrayed in contemporary media, focusin...
Tsutaya Jūzaburō, a key figure of Edo publishing culture, played a central role in the careers of influential masters such as Kyōden, Utamaro, Sharaku, and Hokusai. This article explores how Tsutaya has been portrayed in contemporary media, focusing on his rise as an important cultural icon. In the novel Tegusarishinjū, he is depicted as a crucial mediator within Edo’s publishing scene. Similarly, the film Sharaku emphasizes the vibrant popular culture of Edo through Tsutaya, using him as a conduit to explore Edo culture. Finally, in the recent movie HOKUSAI, Tsutaya is portrayed as a determined yet inspirational leader, devoid of the wit and humor typically associated with Edo. This portrayal aims to frame him from a modern perspective. It appears that Japan seeks to present Tsutaya as a representative of Japanese culture to the world, opening a window into the stories of writers and artists who drove the development of revolutionary visual media. Once a content producer in Edo, Tsutaya Jūzaburō has now become a cultural entity in his own right, increasingly featured in modern media.