Sasama Yoshihiko. Fukugen Edo seikatsu zukan (An Illustrated Guide to the Reconstructed Life of Edo). — Tokyo: Kashiwashobō, 2011.

Author: Sasama Yoshihiko [笹間 良彦] (Japanese, 1916–2005)

Title: Fukugen Edo seikatsu zukan (復元 江戸生活図鑑) – An Illustrated Guide to the Reconstructed Life of Edo

Publisher: Kashiwashobō [柏書房] (Tokyo, publisher, est. 1972)

Publication date: March 15, 2011. (Seventh printing; first published March 1, 1995.)

Printing: Shinkyō Printing Co., Ltd. (新協印刷)

Binding: Kodaka Bookbinding Industry Co., Ltd. (小高製本工業)

ISBN: 4-7601-1137-9 (ISBN-13: 9784760111374)

Physical description: Hardcover 265 × 190 mm, beige cloth, silver lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket, brown obi. Two leaves of colour illustrations, other illustrations in black and white; Pagination in Western style, read from left to right: [2] 3–271 [272 blank] [273 colophon] [3p advert.].

Summary:
A richly illustrated encyclopaedia of Edo-period Japanese life, reconstructed from historical records, pictorial materials, and surviving artefacts. The work documents social structure, daily routines, clothing, crafts, commerce, seasonal events, and entertainment for both samurai and townspeople, with special attention to accuracy and educational use. Includes visual reconstructions, terminology explanations, and discussion of marginalized groups such as hinin (非人, non-persons or beggars/lepers) and eta (穢多, outcaste leatherworkers), with the aim of promoting understanding and overcoming historical prejudice. Intended to serve both as a historical reference and an aid in school history education.

Contents:
– Preface
– Acknowledgements and collaborators

Part 1 — Clothing and Hairstyles of Samurai and Commoners (illustrated)
• Samurai men’s clothing and hairstyles
• Samurai women’s clothing and hairstyles
• Commoner men’s clothing and hairstyles
• Commoner women’s clothing and hairstyles

Part 2 — Reconstructed Samurai Society and Life
• Organization of the Edo shogunate
• Annual events of the shogunate (New Year’s castle visit, presentation of swords and gifts, tea ceremonies, sumo, banquets, religious rites, etc.)
• Occasional events (shogunal succession ceremonies, visits from Korean envoys, etc.)
• Daimyō processions (series)
• Ceremonies before daimyō entering Edo Castle
• Roles of magistrates and subordinates
• Inspections of domain holdings
• Duties of various officials (temple magistrates, guards, inspectors, etc.)
• Firefighting units and their duties
• Town magistrates and constables: roles, rewards, and obligations
• Crime scenes and arrest methods, punishments
• Monthly events and seasonal duties of samurai
• Life stages of samurai (birth, coming of age, marriage, death)
• Martial arts training (kenjutsu, jūjutsu, archery, spearmanship, gunnery, horsemanship)
• Lives of samurai women (ōoku, domain ladies, upper and lower household staff)
• Economic foundations of samurai households

Part 3 — Reconstructed Commoner Society and Life
• Organization of commoners in Edo
• Firefighting brigades and duties
• Professions and trades (detailed illustrated lists of artisans and crafts)
• Women’s occupations (weaving, sewing, garment-making, etc.)
• Merchant shops and signage
• Restaurant and entertainment districts
• Backstreet tenements and everyday life
• Popular beliefs, superstitions, and festivals
• Leisure activities (theatre, seasonal outings, pilgrimages, etc.)
• Rural and fishing village life
• Annual itinerant vendors (extensive illustrated list)
• Street performers and popular entertainment (lion dances, puppet shows, street theatre, magicians, storytellers)
• Geisha and courtesan customs, licensed quarters of Edo
• Yoshiwara customs, etiquette, and spatial arrangements

Index
Author biography

Author:
Sasama Yoshihiko [笹間 良彦] (Japanese, 1916–2005) — Born in Shitaya Ward, Tokyo. Doctor of Letters, historian specialising in Japanese armour, samurai culture, and everyday life of historical Japan. Former member of the Japan Armour History Research Society. Author of numerous works including Nihon no katchū zukan, Buke seikatsu jiten, Edo bakufu yakuin banzuke, Bushi no keizoku seikatsu, and others.