The beginning of Kabuki

Japanese: 歌舞妓事始 - かぶきじし

A commentary on Kabuki. Written by Tamenaga Itcho. Published in 1762 (12th year of the Horeki era). Five volumes and five books. The contents are miscellaneous, including the origins of Kabuki, theater structures, annual events, costumes, wigs, lyrics and origins of dances, tales of secret arts, and joint names of actors, making it a kind of encyclopedia of Kabuki. It contains a mixture of reliable descriptions and absurd embellished articles, and the line between them is unclear, making it difficult to use as a source for Kabuki history. The main text is included in Volume 6 of the Collection of Historical Materials on the Culture of the Common People of Japan. [Takei Kyozo]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

歌舞伎の解説書。為永一蝶著。1762年(宝暦12)刊。5巻5冊。内容は歌舞伎の起源をはじめ劇場構造，芝居年中行事，衣装，かつら，舞踊の歌詞と由来，秘伝芸談，役者連名など雑多で，いわば歌舞伎百科事典ともいうべき書。信頼できる記述と荒唐無稽な粉飾記事とが混在し，その間の一線が明確でないため，歌舞伎史の資料としては扱いにくいものとなっている。本文は《日本庶民文化史料集成》第6巻に収録。【武井協三】

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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