KANAGAKI ROBUN

born Jan. 6, 1829, Edo [now Tokyo], Japan died Oct. 8, 1894, Tokyo original name Bunzo Nozaki Japanese writer of humorous light fiction who brought a traditional satirical art to bear on the peculiarities of Japanese society in the process of Westernization. Kanagaki began as an apprentice shop boy but became a disciple of Hanagasa Bunkyo, a writer in the gesaku tradition (light, witty writing intended for the entertainment of the merchant and working classes of Edo). Eventually Kanagaki was recognized as a leading gesaku writer, noted for such works as Kokkei Fuji mode (186061; A Comic Mount Fuji Pilgrimage), a satire of popular works on pilgrimages to famous places, and Aguranabe (1871; The Beefeater, 1956).