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浮世草子 (うきよぞうし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
ukiyo-zōshi ; Edo-period genre of literature depicting everyday life of the merchant class
historical term
Historical term for a popular literary genre in the Edo period, focusing on the lives and customs of townspeople, especially the merchant class. Often contrasted with earlier kana-zōshi and later sharebon or ninjōbon.
浮うき 世よ 草子ぞうし に は 当とう 時じ の 町ちょう 人にん の 生せい 活かつ が 生い き 生い き と 描えが か れ て いる 。
In ukiyo-zōshi, the lives of townspeople of that time are vividly depicted.
Written forms 浮うき 世よ 草ぞう 子し
Standard kanji spelling for this historical literary genre.
浮うき 世よ 草ぞう 紙し
Variant kanji spelling using 紙 instead of 子; both are encountered in historical contexts.
Kanji 浮 floating, float, rise to surface 世 generation, world, society 子 child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM Similar words 仮か 名な 草ぞう 子し Kana-zōshi is an earlier genre of popular literature from the early Edo period, written primarily in kana and often with didactic or entertaining content, while ukiyo-zōshi focuses more on realistic depictions of contemporary urban life.
洒落しゃれ 本ぼん Sharebon is a later Edo-period genre that humorously depicts the manners and language of the pleasure quarters, whereas ukiyo-zōshi covers a broader range of townspeople's lives.
Etymology From 浮世 (ukiyo, 'floating world', referring to the transient world of everyday pleasures) + 草子 (zōshi, 'bound book' or 'storybook'). The term emerged in the late 17th century to describe a new style of popular fiction.
