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「都之錦」 「義太夫」 / 立命館ARC

Joruri

Joruri is a type of narrative music. In the Edo era, various schools appeared and by adding puppets to the show, it evolved into a new performing art, Ningyo Joruri (Japanese puppet drama).

Joruri is a type of narrative music. It is thought that today's Joruri, or Japanese ballad drama, originated in the Muromachi era with the fairytale Joruri-hime Monogatari (Junidan Soshi), a love story of Joruri-gozen and Ushiwakamaru. Due to the popularity of the melodic Katari (chanting) with which the story is told, Joruri became very successful and various schools of Joruri appeared across Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo. After that, some chanters added Shamisen accompaniment and puppets to their shows, evolving Joruri into a new performing art, Ningyo Joruri (Japanese puppet drama). In 1684, a Joruri-chanter, Gidayu Takemoto, launched the Takemoto-za Theater in Dotonbori, Osaka. The distinct combination of Takemoto’s unique chanting style and Monzaemon Chikamatsu’s scripts became hugely popular with audiences. Joruri has two types of stories: Jidaimono, which features historical characters like nobles and samurai from the past; and Sewamono, which tells stories of commoners who live in the same period. Jidaimono is generally configured with five sections as established by Chikamatsu. Joruri was a day-long performance with a five-section Jidaimono combined with one section of either Jidaimono or Sewamono. Shusse Kagekiyo, the first script that Chikamatsu wrote for Takemoto, is considered to be the first work of Shin-Joruri (New Joruri) and the works by other schools before Shusse Kagekiyo are referred to as Ko-Joruri (Old Joruri). Throughout the Edo period, Joruri was immensely popular among ordinary people and many even took lessons in Gidayu-bushi, the chanting style of Gidayu Takemoto.

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土門拳記念館2006/7/122006/9/24

Institutions Holding Related Materials

  • 大阪府大阪市中央区に所在。人形浄瑠璃・文楽の公演を中心に演劇や舞踊などが行われるほか、図書閲覧室、資料展示室がある。

External Links

  • 近松門左衛門文楽作品の解説サイト。

References