Asakusa Opera

A colloquial name for the operas that were popular in Asakusa, Tokyo in the mid-Taisho period. Most of them were more common than full-fledged operas. It began in May 1916 (Taisho 5), when a troupe led by Tokuko Takagi (1891-1919), a toedancer who had returned from the United States, performed a two-day show at the Asakusa Kinema Club featuring dance and musical drama. It is generally believed that this was the first of its kind when Takagi teamed up with Takashi Iba, who had come from the new theater scene, at the Tokiwaza Theatre the following February, 1917, to perform "Women's Army Goes to War" (written by Iba), which became a huge hit. Participants in this performance included Sawa Morino (1890-1933) and Kojima Yoyo (1891-?), remnants of the opera section of the Imperial Theater, which had previously been dissolved. Later, this troupe was called the Kabuki Drama Association. Next, the Tokyo Girls' Opera Company moved to the Sanyu-kan. The Tokyo Opera Company, consisting of Sassa Kouka (1886-1961), Sawa Morino, and Ishii Baku, was launched at the Nippon-kan, and performed "Women's Army Goes to War" and the operetta "A Night at the Café." The theme songs of these two works became popular, and this was the catalyst for the rise of Asakusa opera, but the sensual charm of the actresses was also a factor in its popularity. In 1918, Shimizu Kintaro (1889-1932) and his wife Shizuko (1896-1973) joined the company after moving from the Imperial Theater to the Akasaka Royal Hall, and performed Asakusa's first full-scale comic opera "Heaven and Hell" at the Nippon-kan, which was met with great acclaim.

Next, the Hara Nobuko Opera Company was founded at the Kannon Theater, but local impresarios, who had initially been cold towards opera, were surprised by the growing enthusiasm for it. Among them, the Negishi Promotion Department, a leading figure in the Asakusa entertainment district, launched the Seven Voices Opera Company at Kinryukan, and further recruited most of the famous performers of the time, and named it the Negishi Opera Company. This was the golden age of Asakusa opera (1920-1923), commonly known as the Kinryukan era, during which full-scale performances of "Carmen" were held in addition to original operas and operettas, and stars such as Tayari Kizo were born. Stimulated by this situation, opera spread to various places, and many small opera companies appeared. Songs such as "Love is a gentle flower of the field" (Boccaccio) and "Like a feather in the wind" (Rigoletto) became popular, and a new word, "pelagoro," was created to mean an enthusiastic opera lover. This does not mean "opera thug" as is commonly said, but is a combination of the opera pera and the French gigolo (a pimp for a prostitute). During its heyday, i.e. during the Japan Pavilion era, Sawa Morino and Kawai Sumiko shared the role of peragoro, but at Kinryu-kan, Taniya Rikizo gained overwhelming popularity. Asakusa Opera went into decline after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (Taisho 12), but in any case, through its songs and dances, it helped the public of the time understand Western tastes, and played a major role in producing revues in later years.

[Soya Mukai]

"A Hundred Years of Western Music in Japan" by Akiyama Ryuei (1956, Daiichi Hoki Publishing) ▽ "Life in Asakusa Opera" by Uchiyama Sojuro (1967, Yuzankaku Publishing) ▽ "The Beginnings of Japanese Musicals - Sasa Koka and Asakusa Operetta" by Kiyoshima Toshinori (1982, Publishing Company)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大正中期に東京・浅草を中心に流行したオペラ（歌劇）の俗称。その多くは本格的な歌劇というよりは、もっと通俗的なものであった。1916年（大正5）5月、アメリカ帰りのトゥダンサー高木徳子(とくこ)（1891―1919）の一座が浅草キネマ倶楽部(クラブ)でダンス、楽劇などをもって2日間の興行をしたのがその始まりである。通説ではこの高木が翌1917年2月に常盤(ときわ)座で新劇出身の伊庭孝(いばたかし)と組んで『女軍出征』（伊庭作）を上演して大当りをとったのが嚆矢(こうし)であるとされている。この公演には、先に解散した帝劇歌劇部の残党である沢モリノ（1890―1933）、小島洋々（1891―？）らが参加した。のちにこの一座は歌舞劇協会と称した。続いて三友館に東京少女歌劇団が進出。さらに日本館に佐々紅華(さっさこうか)（1886―1961）、沢モリノ、石井漠(ばく)らの東京歌劇座が旗揚げし、『女軍出征』とオペレッタ『カフェーの夜』を上演した。この2作品の主題歌が巷(ちまた)に流行、これが浅草オペラ隆盛のきっかけになったが、そのほか女優たちの官能的な魅力も人気のもとであった。1918年、帝劇から赤坂ローヤル館を経て清水金太郎（1889―1932）・静子（1896―1973）夫妻が加入、浅草では初の本格的喜歌劇『天国と地獄』を日本館で上演、大評判を得た。

　続いて観音劇場に原信子歌劇団が創設されたが、当初オペラに対して冷ややかだった地元の興行師たちも、高まるオペラ熱に驚き、なかでも浅草興行街の雄であった根岸興行部は金竜館に七声歌劇団を旗揚げ、さらに当時の名だたる出演者の大部分を引き抜き、その名も根岸歌劇団とした。これが俗に金竜館時代といわれる浅草オペラの黄金期（1920～1923）で、創作歌劇やオペレッタに交えて『カルメン』の本格的上演もなされ、田谷力三(たやりきぞう)のようなスターも生まれた。こうした状況に刺激されて各地にもオペラが広まり、群小歌劇団も数多く出現。「恋はやさし野辺の花よ」（ボッカチオ）や「風の中の羽根のように」（リゴレット）などの歌が流行するに至り、オペラの熱狂的な愛好者を意味するペラゴロなる新語もできた。これは俗にいわれているような「オペラのごろつき」の意味ではなく、オペラのペラとフランス語のジゴロgigoro（娼婦(しょうふ)のヒモ）とを組み合わせたものである。興隆期つまり日本館時代は、沢モリノと河合澄子がペラゴロを二分していたが、金竜館では田谷力三が圧倒的な人気を得た。1923年（大正12）の関東大震災を境に浅草オペラは凋落(ちょうらく)したが、いずれにしてもその歌や踊りを通じて当時の大衆に西欧趣味を理解させ、また後年レビューなどを制作するうえに大きな役割を果たした。

［向井爽也］

『秋山竜英著『日本の洋楽百年史』（1956・第一法規出版）』▽『内山惣十郎著『浅草オペラの生活』（1967・雄山閣出版）』▽『清島利典著『日本ミュージカル事始め――佐々紅華と浅草オペレッタ』（1982・刊行社）』

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