JAPANESE POETRY - SHIME, Chosai.

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Banka jinmeiroku ("A Record of 10,000 Poets"). First edition of this illustrated directory, introducing over 600 early modern poets with their names, pseudonyms, and addresses, and examples of their verse. It was published at a time of great expansion for the art form and remains a valuable source of information on both major and minor literary figures of its time.Shime Chosai (1757-1824) was a haikai poet and warehouse owner based in Osaka. He is best known for his large circle of artistic friends and acquaintances with whom he regularly corresponded in person and by letter. When it came to compiling this directory, Chosai's social circle allowed him to include not just those living in the social capitals of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka, but also those in places like Nagano, Tokushima, and Himeji. Many would likely have been forgotten if he had not recorded them in this work.The poets profiled in these volumes include Kokan Shoroku (d.1813), a close friend of the famous poet Kobayashi Issa; Futoda Banri, who could trace his poetic lineage to Basho's disciple Sugiyama Sanpu; and a number of women. Some are only represented by their portrait and their poem, such as the otherwise unidentified young woman Rieko (vol. 5, f. 45r), while others are complete with full records. For example, Shujo (vol. 1, f. 26v) is listed as living in Omi province (near Kyoto) with the real name Mimatsu, and being a particularly talented waka poet.As noted by Ito Yoshitaka (in Japanese): "Banka jinmeiroku

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