Books, Writers and the Literary Trade

What was it like to make a living by words in Meiji Japan? Uchida Roan, critic and translator, answers with a mock sutra for would-be authors, three sharp essays on the writer's social standing, an eyewitness account of the burning of the Maruzen bookshop, and a long talk on Bakin's Hakkenden.

A New English Translation by Valentin Sarić. AI-assisted translation.