Chapter 4 Multimodality at Work in Kibyōshi
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Abstract
In chapter 4, “Multimodality at Work in Kibyōshi,” Tsuda Mayumi studies the multimodal nature of kibyōshi (yellow-cover books), with a focus on four aspects. First, the chapter delves into the illustrations in kibyōshi and how they differ from what preceded them. Second, it analyzes the verbal text: how it is positioned on the page, what text typologies we find, and how we are meant to read it. Third, it investigates how the verbal and the visual modes are much more than an explanation of each other, often presenting us with intriguing fractures. Finally, it shows how kibyōshi are often constructed as collections of discrete sections to be enjoyed independently, and how this feature allowed for exciting cross-pollinations with books that we usually ascribe to other genres, in particular jestbooks (hanashibon). A must-read for anyone interested in understanding how to navigate the pages of an early modern Japanese graphic narrative, with a focus on the more mature yellow-cover books.