Long live Akita

...It is said that Manzai was performed at the Imperial Court until the middle of the Taisho period, and was popular among the general public until around World War II, but after the war it gradually declined, and nowadays Manzai is rarely seen traveling around the country. The folk performing arts that remain in the regions are Owari Manzai, Echizen Manzai, and Iyo Manzai, while Mikawa Manzai, Akita Manzai, Kaga Manzai, Aizu Manzai, and Bungo Manzai have declined, and Yamato Manzai, Sendai Manzai, Tsushima Manzai, and Iroku Manzai, as well as Okinawa's Chiyondarua, have disappeared (though folk performing arts that are related to the Kyotaro style still exist). Manzai is generally performed by a pair of Tayu and Saizō, with the Tayu holding a fan and reciting various auspicious words of congratulations, and Saizō beating a small drum and joining in the interjections. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Akita Banzai" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…万歳の宮中への参入は大正時代中ごろまであったといい，民間では第2次世界大戦ころまでは盛んであったが，戦後はしだいに衰微し，現在は全国をめぐり歩く万歳の姿はほとんど見かけなくなった。　民俗芸能として地域に残るのは〈尾張万歳〉〈越前万歳〉〈伊予万歳〉などで，〈三河万歳〉〈秋田万歳〉〈加賀万歳〉〈会津万歳〉〈豊後万歳〉は衰微し，〈大和万歳〉〈仙台万歳〉〈津島万歳〉〈伊六万歳〉，沖縄の〈京太郎（ちよんだらあ）〉は廃絶した(京太郎の芸系をひく民俗芸能は現存する)。　万歳は一般には太夫と才蔵の2人が一組になり，太夫が扇をかざし，いろいろとめでたい寿詞（ほぎごと）を言い立て，才蔵が小鼓を打ち囃して合の手を入れる掛合いで進行する。…

※「秋田万歳」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報