was a ''
jōruri''
[Though Japan's puppet theatre is more commonly known as "bunraku" in English, that term refers to a specific school of performance established nearly 200 years after Gidayū's time.] chanter and the creator of a style of chanted narration for
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
's
puppet theatre
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performa ...
which has been used ever since. The name "''gidayū''" has since become the term for all ''jōruri'' chanters. He was a close colleague of the famous playwright
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Japanese dramatis ...
, and founder and manager of the
Takemoto-za
The Takemoto-za (竹本座) was a ''bunraku'' theatre in Osaka, founded in 1684 by Takemoto Gidayū. Plays by many famous playwrights were performed there, including works by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sōsuke, and Takeda Izumo I. Many of the pla ...
puppet theatre.
Originally known as Kiyomizu Gorōbei, he took on the name Takemoto Gidayū no Jō in 1701.
Life and career
Gidayū was originally from the
Tennōji neighborhood of
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, performed originally in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, as apprentice to Uji Kaganojō. In 1684, he left Kaganojō and Kyoto, returning to Osaka and founding the
Takemoto-za theatre. The year after his arrival saw a competition between Gidayū and Kaganojō for audiences in Osaka, as well as number of failed countryside tours, but also marked the beginning of Gidayū's collaborations with
Chikamatsu
was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Japanese dramatis ...
, who he had met in Kyoto. Together, the pair overhauled the traditional elements of ''jōruri'' and reinvented the form, transforming it into the form which would be popular through much of the Edo period, and which it retains today.
The ''Chihiroshū'' ("A Collection a Thousand Fathoms Deep"), Gidayū's first work to be published, was produced in 1686, though his most important treatise would come the following year. The ''Jōkyō yonen Gidayū danmonoshū'' ("Collection of Jōruri Scenes of the Fourth Year of
Jōkyō
was a after ''Tenna'' and before ''Genroku.'' This period spanned the years from February 1684 through September 1688. The reigning emperors were and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'' p. 415./ref>
Change of era
* 1 ...
"), like his other works, contained a lengthy preface containing elements of Gidayū's theories and attitudes regarding the theatre and performance. This text would remain a foundational one for ''jōruri'' performers up through the end of the 19th century.
Though Gidayū fully acknowledged the older traditional forms which ''jōruri'' drew upon, he thought of his art as a contemporary creation, and was known to poke fun at those who valued lineage and tradition over skill and beautiful performance. His writings also established frameworks for the structure of ''jōruri'' plays, based upon those described by
Zeami Motokiyo
(c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright.
His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skill ...
for the
Noh
is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
theatre. A play constructed according to Gidayū's framework has five acts, performed over the course of a whole day. The first act is an auspicious opening, the second characterized by conflict, the third, the climax of the play, by tragedy and pathos, the fourth a light ''
michiyuki
is the term for a journey scene in Japanese theatre, which shows the characters dancing or conversing while travelling.
The term , in its generic sense of ''michi wo yuku'' "to go on a road", is used in lyrical descriptions of journeys from th ...
'' (travel scene), and the fifth a quick and auspicious conclusion.
Gidayū, along with all ''jōruri'' chanters in the tradition after him, chanted the narration of a play alone, along with all the spoken (or sung) lines of every character. The chanting style shifts dramatically between speaking and singing, and is based on a notation exclusive to ''jōruri'', inscribed into the chanter's copy of the script. Chanters may not perform an entire play, changing places with another chanter after an act or two or three, but they only very rarely perform simultaneously alongside another chanter. These, and many others, are all traditions and form established, or significantly altered, by Gidayū.
His son Takemoto Seidayū followed him as director of the Takemoto-za and continued the style and forms established by Gidayū.
Notes
References
*Gerstle, Drew. ''Chikamatsu: Five Late Plays''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. pp10–18.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gidayu, Takemoto
Bunraku
Japanese dramatists and playwrights
Japanese theatre managers and producers
1651 births
1714 deaths