(October 25, 1873 – November 7, 1916) was a popular

rōkyoku ''Rōkyoku'' (; also historically called ''naniwa-bushi'', ) is a genre of traditional Japanese narrative singing. This genre is performed by a singer accompanied by a ''shamisen'', ''rōkyoku'' became very popular in Japan during the first half ...

recitalist in

Meiji Japan The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. His immense popularity helped rōkyoku break into the mainstream. At his height, he performed

Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including ...

productions to sell-out crowds at some of the biggest theatres in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. These performances also roused

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

sentiment during

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. Tōchūken's style of reciting left a lasting impression on rōkyoku, and indirectly also on

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, pop ...

, especially the music of

Haruo Minami , born , was a Japanese enka singer and '' rōkyoku'' performer. His song "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" was the theme song of the 1964 Summer Olympics. Early life He was born Bunji Kitazume in Nagaoka, Niigata, Japan. Career In 1939, at the age of 16, Bun ...

and

Hideo Murata was a Japanese rōkyoku and enka singer. He took part in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen 27 times. Murata was born as a son of rōkyoku singer and . However, he was immediately adopted by and became his stepfather. His real name was . He studied rōk ...

. Tōchūken was a contemporary of legendary musician-activist Soeda Azenbō.

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga ("common people drama") films with f ...

made a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

about him in 1936.

References

1873 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Japanese musicians People of the Meiji era 20th-century Japanese musicians Musicians from Gunma Prefecture People from Gunma Prefecture 20th-century Japanese male musicians 19th-century Japanese male musicians {{Japan-musician-stub

See also

References