Ebisu-mawashi (Ebisu Turning)

Japanese: 夷まわし - えびすまわし

...A religious performer based at Nishinomiya Shrine in Nishinomiya, Settsu, who visited houses in the spring, dancing with a dancing ebi doll placed in a box hanging from his neck, and handed out talismans depicting the image of the ebi god. Also called ebi-mawashi. The image of an ebi fishing for sea bream gained the faith of fishermen, but many of them performed simple plays in pairs, and appeared in Kyoto from the Tenbun era (1532-55) onwards, and were invited to the Imperial Court and other places. ...

From 【Entertainment】

...Later, with the addition of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and other performers and Takemoto Gidayu as narrators, Ningyo Joruri became an art form, which eventually led to the Bunraku of today. Meanwhile, puppeteers who did not have the opportunity to perform on stage continued to travel around the country, and names such as ebi-mawashi remain to this day. Since ancient times in Japan, based on the belief in the afterlife gods' travels, performers who assumed the status of gods would wander from village to village, performing celebratory acts at gates and on the streets. For this reason, performers such as manzai, daikagura, sarumawashi, and torioi traveled around the country, contributing to the supply of entertainment to the villages. ...

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "ebi-mawashi" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…摂津西宮の西宮神社を本拠地とし，首掛けの箱に入れた夷人形を舞わしながら，春の時期に家々を訪れ祝福するとともに，夷神の御姿を描いた札を配った宗教芸能者。夷まわしともいう。鯛を釣る夷の姿は漁家の信仰を得たが，多くは2人1組で簡単な劇なども演じ，天文年間(1532‐55)以降京都に姿をみせ禁裏などにも推参。…

【芸能】より

…のち作者に近松門左衛門ら，語り手に竹本義太夫らを得て人形浄瑠璃は芸術化し，今日の文楽に至る。一方，舞台化の機会をもたぬ人形まわしはなお諸国を遊行して夷まわしなどの名を今日に残す。　古来，日本では，他界神遊行の信仰を基盤に，神の資格を負う芸能者が村々を漂泊し，門口や大道で祝賀のわざを演じる風があり，そのため万歳，太神楽，猿回し，鳥追など諸芸人が各地を巡回し，村々への芸能供給に貢献した。…

※「夷まわし」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

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