Zenken Kojitsu

The Zenken Kojitsu (前賢故実^?) is a collection of biographies of Japanese historical figures by Kikuchi Yōsai, first published from the late Edo period into the Meiji period. It consists of ten volumes and twenty books in total. Moving through time from antiquity through the Nanboku-chō period, it contains portraits and rough biographies in kanbun of 585 Imperial family members, loyal retainers, and historical heroines. It was groundbreaking for its visualizations of Japanese historical figures and has been treasured as a bible for historical art since the rise in national consciousness of the middle Meiji period.

According to a postscript by Yōsai's grandson Kikuchi Takeku, Yōsai began writing the series in 1818 and finished in 1868. Meanwhile, a foreword by the Confucian scholar Matsuda Nobuyuki noted that the manuscript had been completed, so it may be assumed that an initial draft was complete by that time. Additionally, the first edition of Volume 2, Book 4 was released in 1843, but after that publication stalled, perhaps for business reasons. The series was likely not released in complete form until the beginning of the Meiji Era in 1868. According to the introduction of the series, it seems that Yōsai had intended to create an additional volume of historical investigations. In 1903, Takeku and the editor Yamashita Shigetani released a version called the Kōshō Zenken Kojitsu (考証前賢故実^?), which contained an additional volume of investigations into the systems and customs of old Japan for a total of 11 volumes.

The style of the work is based on the biographical portraits of Chinese artists such as Shangguan Zhou (上官周). In the creation of the sketches, Yōsai also borrowed from the patterns of the Shūko Jisshu (集古十種^?) and emulated respected artists of the past, such as Ariwara no Narihira and Ono no Michikaze. However, some of his sketches held by the Tokyo National Museum show that he also used models to capture poses. In addition, a bibliography at the end of Volume 10 lists 264 different texts used for background research, including history books including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki and literature including the Kokin Wakashū and The Tale of Genji. Additionally, the Tokyo National Museum possesses a version of the Zenken Kojitsu that includes sketches of the references used on each page, providing the sources for the costumes and possessions of the illustrated figures.

...
Wikipedia