Gidayu-Kyogen
【義太夫狂言】
【GIDAYUKYOGEN】
Lines spoken to the Shamisen performed by Takemoto in “Meiboku Sendaihagi”. Nakamura Ganjiro 3rd (Sakata Tojuro 4th）as Masaoka. November, 1998 at the National Theatre.
Kabuki plays can be roughly divided into Gidayu-Kyogen and Jun-Kabuki (authentic Kabuki) Kyogen. The former refers to works originally written for Ningyo-Joruri (puppet play) and revised for Kabuki afterwards. On the other hand, Jun-Kabuki Kyogen stands for the works written for Kabuki in the first place. Among the Kabuki repertoire performed on stage today are included a considerable number of Gidayu-Kyogen plays. In the middle of the 18th century, there was a time when the Ningyo-Joruri gained more popularity than Kabuki. So, it is plausible to say that the people in the Kabuki society thought of drawing more attention to Kabuki by human actors performing the Ningyo-Joruri repertoire, one example of which is the famous play “Kanadehon Chushingura”. In most Gidayu-Kyogen plays, the characters suffer from the troubles of loyalty, sympathy, and humanity, all developing into a tragedy.
In Ningyo-Joruri, the characters’ lines and the situations are all recited in a story-telling form called Gidayu-bushi. In Gidayu-Kyogen, on the other hand, the characters’ lines are spoken by the actors, while many of explanatory parts are told by a narrator called Takemoto. Moreover, an actor sometimes performs or speaks his lines to the rhythm of the Shamisen played by Takemoto, which has the effect of making the stage musically exciting. The video is a scene from “Meiboku Sendaihagi”, presenting a pleasure of hearing the lines spoken to the sound of the Takemoto’s Shamisen.
In Ningyo-Joruri, the characters’ lines and the situations are all recited in a story-telling form called Gidayu-bushi. In Gidayu-Kyogen, on the other hand, the characters’ lines are spoken by the actors, while many of explanatory parts are told by a narrator called Takemoto. Moreover, an actor sometimes performs or speaks his lines to the rhythm of the Shamisen played by Takemoto, which has the effect of making the stage musically exciting. The video is a scene from “Meiboku Sendaihagi”, presenting a pleasure of hearing the lines spoken to the sound of the Takemoto’s Shamisen.
