Chikushiji, a Lyrical Lingua Franca of the Late-Edo Period

This chapter examines the late-Edo vogue for chikushiji ( zhuzhici , or ‘bamboo branch lyrics’) as evidence of Japan&s;s place within the wider Sinographic cosmopolis. Originating in Tang China and flourishing across Qing domains, Vietnam, Korea, and Lūchū , the genre conveyed local customs in cosmopolitan verse. Transmitted to Japan mainly through Chinese merchants at Nagasaki, chikushiji inspired poets such as Kominami Rissai, Yanagawa Seigan, and Rai San&s;yō to map Edo, Nagasaki, and Kyoto&s;s pleasure quarters onto continental literary geographies. In doing so, their poems functioned as a lyrical lingua franca that connected Japan to wider regional networks of cultural and literary exchange.