shikakebon　仕掛本

KEY WORD :　painting

Also written 仕懸本. A type of book which flourished during the Bunsei 文政 and Tenpou 天保 eras (1818-1844) and contained shikake-e 仕掛絵; pictures which used various devices in order to introduce variety into the image. Shikake-e were found in woodblock printed books of the Edo and Meiji periods, and were also used in single sheet woodblock prints of actors. The devices employed, which were a reflection of the advancements in bookbinding technique and style prevalent in the late Edo period, included: a picture pasted to the illustration of a book and turned up to reveal another picture underneath (see *komochi nishiki-e 子持錦絵); the door of a toilet or a house opened to reveal what was inside; a mosquito net rolled up; a standing screen opened; or a two page spread in a book opened from the center to reveal a four page spread inside. Larger scale devices might include pictures which would appear as if on a revolving stage. Another example was a Meiji period woodblock printed triptych of the inside of a theater which contained a stage in the center. If one lifted up the picture of the stage, a stage curtain was revealed underneath. Beneath that curtain were three different scenes in succession. Many books with shikake-e were *shunga 春画 or erotic books. A shikake-e for a novel was first used as the frontispiece *kuchi-e 口絵 in HONCHOUSUIBODAI 本朝酔菩提 by Santou Kyoden 山東京伝 (1761-1816). This was a reading book *yomihon 読本 published in 1809 with illustrations by Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国 (1769-1825).

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