Chapter 7 Occupied by Play: Ludic Pleasures in Kusazōshi
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Abstract
In chapter 7, “Occupied by Play: Ludic Pleasures in Kusazōshi,” Laura Moretti positions kusazōshi within the complex ecology of playthings that developed in the early modern Japan. She studies one gōkan (combined booklets) and two kibyōshi (yellow-cover books) purposefully designed to invite readers to pause the act of reading a story and engage in several forms of ludic activities. Moretti shows how these graphic narratives appropriate contemporary games—with a focus on magic tricks, board games, and visual play—to generate books that double up as games, often confronting readers with cognitive conundrums. Overall, the chapter invites readers to make sense of every detail on the printed page, even those that at first sight appear inconsequential trivia. By reappraising the centrality of ludus in kusazōshi, Moretti also wishes to complicate our understanding of the act of reading—reading morphs into play. This chapter appeals to any reader interested in ludic literature, beyond graphic narratives.