Female Gidayu - Onnagidayu

Gidayu storytelling by women. It is also called "joryu" or "jogi" for short. In 1877 (Meiji 10), the regulations governing yose (community theaters) were revised to allow female entertainers to perform at yose (community theaters). In 1883, Takemoto Kyoshi came from Nagoya, and in 1885, Takemoto Togyoku and Takemoto Ayanosuke came from Osaka, the home of gidayu, to Tokyo, and the yose in Tokyo continued to be full to capacity. In 1886, Takemoto Kotosa also came from Nagoya, and both Ayanosuke and Kotosa, who were in their early teens at the time, gained popularity with their boyish styles and raised the reputation of so-called "musume gidayu". In particular, Ayanosuke was called "Haccho Arashi" (eight blocks of rough) and monopolized the audience at the stage with a circumference of eight blocks. From then on, the heyday of musume gidayu was until the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. The audiences at that time were more fascinated by the looks and gestures of the girls in their teens and early twenties than by the art itself; the students in particular became so emotional that they would shout out things like "What will we do, what will we do?" and formed troupes of performers who followed the girls performing Gidayu from one comedy hall to another.

In 1898, Ayanosuke retired to get married, and immediately afterwards Toyotake Rosho, a native of Nagoya, came to the east. Rosho had the triple threat of good looks, a beautiful voice, and volume, and charmed audiences with her art, which she had learned in Osaka. She later performed at the Meijinkai at the Yurakucho Theater in Tokyo, and, with the backing of writers and gentlemen, she improved the image of female gidayu, which had been looked down upon as a vaudeville art. Meanwhile, the Dosuri-ren continued to exert their influence, and in 1898 (Meiji 31), Minister of Education Toyama Masakazu made a statement about the deterioration of public morals at vaudeville halls, to the point that the promoters of female gidayu even showed a stance of correcting public morals, such as by not allowing customers into the dressing rooms. Osaka also had several established theatres, such as Hariju, where Rosho was based, but they were overwhelmed by the male joruri tayu of Hongyo, and never saw the same prosperity as Tokyo.

After the Russo-Japanese War, as biwa (Japanese lute) and Naniwabushi (traditional Japanese folk music) became popular, female Gidayu fell into decline, and after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 (Taisho 12), it continued to fall into a steady decline. It was on the verge of extinction after losing its performance venues during World War II, but thanks to the efforts of Takemoto Motome (died in 1966 at age 82), it was revived, and regular performances have been held since 1951 (Showa 26). In 1982, the Gidayu Association was founded, which included male tayu, and in 1980, the Gidayu-bushi Preservation Society, consisting of 30 members, the majority of whom are women, was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property. Furthermore, Takemoto Tosahiro's joruri was designated in 1982, Tsurusawa Tomoji's shamisen in 1998, and Takemoto Komanosuke's joruri in 1999. As of March 2001, the association has 83 full members, 58 of whom are women, and holds regular performances once a month at the National Engei Hall in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

[Toki Michiko]

"The Tale of Female Gidayu Morikan in the Meiji and Taisho Eras" by Michikazu Okada (1953, Meitoku Printing Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

女性の義太夫節語り。女流義太夫、略して「女義(じょぎ)」ともいう。1877年（明治10）寄席(よせ)取締規則が改正されて女芸人が寄席へ出られるようになると、83年に名古屋から竹本京枝(きょうし)が、85年に義太夫の本場大阪から竹本東玉(とうぎょく)と竹本綾之助(あやのすけ)が上京、東京の各寄席は満員の盛況を続けた。86年には名古屋から竹本小土佐(ことさ)も上京、当時10代初めの綾之助・小土佐はともにボーイッシュ・スタイルで人気を集め、いわゆる「娘義太夫」の評判を高めた。ことに綾之助は「八丁荒(はっちょうあらし)」とよばれて周囲8丁の高座の客を独占し、以後、日清(にっしん)戦争の終わる95年ころまでが娘義太夫の全盛期であった。当時の聴衆は、芸の鑑賞よりも、10代から20代前半の娘たちの容貌(ようぼう)や身ぶりに熱狂したのであり、ことに書生連中は感極まると「どうするどうする」と奇声をあげ、堂摺連(どうするれん)を結成して、娘義太夫語りを寄席から寄席へと追いかけた。

　1898年綾之助は結婚のため引退、その直後に名古屋出身の豊竹呂昇(とよたけろしょう)が東上する。呂昇は美貌・美声・声量と三拍子そろったうえ、本場大阪仕込みの芸で万人を魅了し、のちには東京・有楽座の名人会にも出演、作家や紳士の後ろ盾を得て、寄席芸と卑しめられていた女義太夫のイメージアップをなした。一方、堂摺連は依然猛威を振るい、1898年（明治31）文部大臣外山正一(とやままさかず)の、寄席における風紀の乱れに関する発言などもあり、女義太夫の興行側も楽屋に客を入れないなど風紀矯正の姿勢をみせるほどであった。大阪にも、呂昇が本拠にしていた播重(はりじゅう)などいくつかの定席(じょうせき)があったが、本行(ほんぎょう)の男性浄瑠璃(じょうるり)太夫に圧倒され、東京ほどの隆盛をみることはできなかった。

　日露戦争後、琵琶(びわ)や浪花節(なにわぶし)が流行するにつれて女義は衰退し、1923年（大正12）の関東大震災後は凋落(ちょうらく)の一途をたどった。さらに第二次世界大戦で公演の場を失って絶滅の危機に瀕(ひん)したが、竹本素女(もとめ)（1966没、82歳）の尽力によって復興、51年（昭和26）以降定期公演を続けている。57年には男の太夫も交えた義太夫協会が発足、80年には会員30名よりなる義太夫節保存会が重要無形文化財の総合指定を受けたが、その大半は女性である。また、竹本土佐広(とさひろ)の浄瑠璃が82年に、鶴沢友路(ともじ)の三味線が98年（平成10）に、竹本駒之助(こまのすけ)の浄瑠璃が99年に同各個指定を受けた。なお、2001年3月現在の協会正会員数は83名、うち女性は58名で、定期公演は毎月1回、東京都千代田区の国立演芸場で開催している。

［土岐迪子］

『岡田道一著『明治大正女義太夫盛観物語』（1953・明徳印刷出版社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例