Abstract: Set in the early Edo period in Japan,“Tyoninmono” of Ihara Saikaku, the economic novels which reveal the experience of acquiring wealth relying on diligence and wisdom and the lesson of becoming impoverished through luxury and extravagance, demonstrate deep sympathy for the poverty of the merchant families from lowermiddle class and a certain recognition of the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor. Ihara Saikaku’s gradual process in understanding the almightiness of money and richpoor division results in his initial enthusiastic compliment, then contradictory confusion and sceptical ridicule in the end. Although his scepticism has not been developed into a systematic theoretical framework, it is still of indispensable significance for the research on the history of that period.

Key words: Ihara Saikaku, experience, lesson, almighty money, scepticism