Asataro Miyamori

“ Nobody can deny the epical dramas and their chanters the honour of having been important agents of social education.
Gidayū chanters, both professional and amateur, when they chant in public, wear kataginu (a sort of cape) and hakama (like a pair of loose trousers) , and sit in a respectful attitude before a kendai, or bookstand, on which a book containing the text printed in large characters is placed. Then, with their hands on their laps, and with all their energy concentrated on their abdomens, they chant forth loudly and musically to the accompaniment of the samisen. ”

“ The performance of this historical play raised the fame of both its author and chanter to great prominence. At that time a new epoch in the literary and chanters' world began. Four years later Monzayemon took up his residence in Ōsaka as playwright for the Takemoto Za. From this time until his death in 1724 he produced, in rapid succession, about a hundred pieces. His acquaintance with the Chinese and the Japanese classics, and with the Buddhist and Shinto religions, his good knowledge of the world, and his fertile and inventive genius, combined to make him a writer of unique merits. ”

“ Nowadays, in Osaka and Kyoto, as well as in Tokyo, musumé-gidayū or girl chanters, as they are generally called, are far more numerous than male chanters. It must be remarked in passing, that every geisha can chant one or two acts of some famous drama or other.
Besides professional chanters, there are numerous amateur chanters throughout Japan. Among various circles of people, the chanting of the epical dramas has been popular from of old. They assiduously take lessons in the art from professional chanters. ”

“ In the case of the theatre proper, the actors carry on all the dialogue, except a part of it just mentioned, and act and dance to the recitation of the narrative part, in a similar manner to the puppets. The narrative part not only supplies the thread of the story, in order to connect the scenes represented by the puppet actors, or the living actors on the stage, but aids the imagination of the audience by describing expressions of countenance, scenery, and many other details that the resources of a theatre cannot but fail to convey. ”

“ Chikamatsu Hanji, who called himself Chikamatsu on account of his being a writer of the Monzayemon school, wrote fifty-four pieces for the Takemoto Za, in collaboration with two or three writers. His best works are the Honchō Nijūshikō, the Sekitari Senryō Nobori and the Shimpan Uta Zaimon, from the last of which the present author has adapted "O-Somé and Hisamatsu," or a Japanese Romeo and Juliet. This drama is so popular, that it is performed all the year round at some theatre or other. ”

“ Then in Yedo, Ōsaka, and Kyōto, actresses increased in number and some of them attained great skill. Theatre-going became fashionable among the townsfolk, and as the actresses' theatre developed it exerted evil influences on public morals. Therefore, in 1629, actresses' performances were stopped by the authorities. Then actors' theatres, which had recently been established, became popular and some of the actors were obliged to play women's rôles. ”

“ He was gifted with a loud, musical voice, and originated a new style of recitation. In 1685 he established a marionette theatre called the Takemoto Za in Dōtombori, Ōsaka. The following year he began to chant pieces written at his request by Chikamatsu Monzayemon, the founder of the epical drama. Now that an era of peace and refinement had prevailed for many long years under the Tokugawa régime, the public was tired of primitive stories, such as "Kimpira-Bon" and the "Story of Lady Jōruri," chanted in a simple and monotonous manner. The people craved for something novel and exhilarating. ”

“ Fumiryū, a drama chantress
is as old as that of chanters. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, there was in Yedo a great chantress named Rokuji Namuyemon. As time went on chantresses increased in number and popularity, until in the beginning of the nineteenth century there were in Yedo a hundred halls exclusively used for their recitations. ”

“ Shinjū, it must be remarked en passant, often takes place in Japan. When a pair of passionate young lovers despair of obtaining their parents' permission for their marriage, or when any other circumstance prevents them from attaining their purpose, they, instead of eloping, often commit suicide together. ”

“ Yet, in spite of such poor means of education, the people at large were alive with patriotic sentiments, and fully understood the duties of loyalty and filial piety, and the other moral principles of bushidō. ”

“ This unnatural art of the onna-gata (oyama) , or "actors in women's rôles," gradually developed, until we hear of great onna-gata in different eras. Some famous onna-gata took great pains, even in their daily lives, to train themselves for women's rôles. They usually wore women's garments and used women's instruments and articles. They even spoke and behaved like women. ”

“ Tradition says that its author was a maid of honour to Oda Nobunaga, named Ono no Otsū, but there is no authenticity for this belief. The following is the gist of the story:
A high-ranked samurai in the post-town of Yahagi, in Mikawa Province, prays the God Jōruri Kō to bless him with a child. In response to his earnest prayers, a beautiful girl is born to
A marionette performance given at the Horiyeza, Ōsaka
his wife. ”