Laugh-out-loud! Yellow-covered bestseller: Ugly-cute Tsuyujiro aims to become a ladies’ man

"Edo Nama Eteki Kabayaki" is one of Sankyoden's masterpieces and was his biggest hit in his twenties. The Ukiyo-e Cafe always has original Edo period works on display.

The most famous illustration in the yellow cover novel is that of Tsuyajiro, the only son of Adakiya (a merchant).

He calls his pig nose a Kyoden nose. Kyoden was a playboy, but when drawing himself, he deliberately portrayed himself as ugly.

The protagonist is 19-year-old Tsuyajiro, the only son of Adakiya (a merchant) with a million-ryo (1 million-ryo) budget. As a young Edo master, he is a typical flirt, with a naturally strong desire for lustful approval and a shallow mind, typical of young men of the Edo period. He aspires to be as famous as the playboys and kabuki actors of Shinnai-bushi, who are popular with women in the pleasure quarters.

Though ugly, Tsuyajiro is also vain, and he plots to build a reputation as a playboy by inviting his bad friend, the playboy son of Kitasato Kinosuke, and the drummer doctor Warui Shian. He tattoos the name of a fictitious lover on his arm, pays a geisha to run into his house, and buys a prostitute and stages a farce of them running away. The maids at Tsuyujiro’s house, unaware that he is paying a prostitute to act, whisper behind his back, saying, “What a strange, eccentric girl to fall in love with such an ugly young master.” The story ends with a punchline that shows the limits and foolishness of play, and moralizes the “consequences of excessive play.”

Tsuyujiro wanted to be a playboy, but his extreme behavior caused trouble.

His comical, eccentric behavior and ugly, peony-like nose earned him the nicknames “Kyodenbana” and “Tsuyujirobana.” Due to the popularity of this work, the name Tsuyujiro became synonymous with a deluded man.

This work is considered one of the three great works of the kibyōshi (satirical illustrated literature of the Edo period). These three, along with “Edo Nama Enki Kabayaki” (Sankyōden), “Kaneka Sensei Eiga Yume” (Koigawa Harumachi), and “Gozen Shobaimono” (Sankyōden), were extremely popular.

These works reflect townspeople’s culture and social customs, and use humor and satire to entertainingly depict pleasure quarters culture. Reading them together will help you gain a deeper understanding of Edo culture.

“Edo Nama Uwaki Kabayaki”
Author: Santo Kyoden
Illustration: Kitao Masanobu
Publisher: Tsutaya Juzaburo and Koshodo
Year of Publication: 1785 (Tenmei 5). The Ukiyo-e Cafe’s collection is an original Koshodo copy. The title label reads “Edo Nama Uwaki Kabayaki” (Flirtatious Eggs), and the colophon differs from the first printing, suggesting this is the second printing.
Selling Price: Based on the going rate for yellow-covered books at the time, it is estimated to have cost around 3-4 bu of silver (approximately 200-400 mon).
It has been reprinted more than four times. From the third printing onwards, the title label changed to “Uwaki Kabayaki” (Flirtatious Eggs).