User:Henhen123/Jippensha Ikku

Jippensha Ikku's life story is hard to define, because most of what we know about him comes from his own literary works, and here say from his peers. Most of what we get from Ikku himself is ironic writing about himself and his process. Jippensha kesaku no tanehon is a story about Ikku's alter ego, and how its hard for him to come up with good plot in his stories, the direct translation meaning "Jippensha’s sourcebook for frivolous fiction". These obviously do not help us understand his life, but they do help us see into his writing process. What we do know about his actual upbringing, is that he was born into the high-middle class, his father being a police constable for the magistrate of Fuchu, and he lived in Edo until incense burning and plays took him elsewhere. He transitioned from plays to literature, and began producing them prolifically. One of the most impressive facts about Ikku was his talent for not only writing, but also drawing. Ikku illustrated most of the books that he wrote, making him a goldmine for publishers. He offered them a deal, since they did not have to pay two different people to write and illustrate, they could pay Ikku more than one person would be payed but less than two. This led to an exceptional amount of his work being published, not only for its quality, but also its cost efficiency. Ikku's success as a comic writer was dependent on his knowledge of current events, and his talent for parodying them in his comics. The travel boom in Japan that occurred in the early 1900s inspired him to write his famous "fictional guide books" or Hizakurige. This had to be done gracefully however, due to the strict censorship laws. Ikku was not simply a profit machine for his publishers, but occasionally proved to be a money drain. When Ikku was put on a fifty day house arrest for his inappropriate writing, his publishers were also fined heavily and had their woodblocks destroyed. Matthew Shores explains that Ikku was not just connected to comic storytelling, but forged his own fame, by expanding outside of just writing and illustrating, into storytelling and the social aspect of literature popularity. Despite all this talent for writing, illustrating, and drama, he was also known for his storytelling. He was not just the man behind the books, but also the face of them. Ikku was the life of the party, reading his books aloud, and just generally being a really nice person.