Oiwa

Japanese: お岩 - おいわ

She is the heroine of the kabuki play "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan" (1825) by Tsuruya Nanboku IV. She is the daughter of Yotsuya Samon, a samurai of Shioya (this script was written as a back story to "Kanadehon Chushingura," so the characters' names correspond to that, and characters from the world of "Taiheiki," such as Shioya Hangan Takasada and Takanori Moronao, allude to real people such as Asano Takumi no Kami Naganori and Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka), and the wife of Tamiya Iemon. However, her husband not only does not take part in the revenge, but he marries the Ito family, a retainer of the enemy Takanori Moronao, and Oiwa's appearance changes with the poison he receives from Ito, which causes her to die in anger. Her husband, claiming to have punished her for having had an affair with a small man named Kobutsu Kohei, nails their bodies to the front and back of a door panel and throws them into the river, and eventually Oiwa's ghost curses her husband and the family. The characterization of Oiwa as the heroine of these plays is of course the creation of the author, but her subjects are based on real events or popular tales. Namely, there is a vengeful spirit tale that has been passed down since around the Kanbun era (1661-1673), in which Oiwa, the daughter of Tamiya Matazaemon, a lower-ranking police officer of the Osakite-gumi in Yotsuya Samoncho, committed suicide out of jealousy and cursed her husband, and there was an actual incident at the time in which a concubine and her husband were nailed to a door and floated in the Kanda River. Other elements of the story include Obata Koheiji, Sarayashiki, Rui, and Issun Tokubei, and this deep-rooted folkloric nature, combined with the value of the play itself, makes Oiwa a representative ghost among ghost story heroines. It is customary for those involved in the production to visit Tamiya Shrine and Oiwa Inari Shrine, which still exist in Yotsuya Samoncho, Shinjuku Ward, before the performance.

(By Kazu Uemura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

4代目鶴屋南北作の歌舞伎狂言「東海道四谷怪談」(1825)のヒロイン。塩冶浪人の四谷左門の娘(この脚本は『仮名手本忠臣蔵』の裏話として作られているので役名もそれに応じ,塩冶判官高貞,高師直など『太平記』の世界の人物が,浅野内匠頭長矩,吉良上野介義央など,実在の人物を暗示している),民谷伊右衛門の妻だが,夫が仇討に参加しないばかりか,敵方の高師直の家来の伊藤家に婿入りし,伊藤から貰った毒薬でお岩の形相を変じたのでそれを恨んで死ぬ。夫は,小仏小平なる小者と密通したのを成敗したと称し戸板の裏表にふたりの死骸を打ちつけて川に流し,やがてお岩の亡霊が夫とその一統に祟りをする。このような戯曲のヒロインとしてのお岩の人物造型はもちろん作者の創作だが,題材としては実説もしくは巷説に基づくモデルがある。即ち,四谷左門町の御先手組下同心田宮又左衛門の娘お岩が嫉妬のため自殺,夫に祟ったという寛文(1661～73)ごろから伝わる怨霊譚,密通した旗本の妾と中間が戸板に打ちつけられ神田川に浮かんだという当時あった実際の事件などがそれであるが,そのほか小幡小平次,皿屋敷,累,一寸徳兵衛なども織り込まれており,そうした根の深い民俗性が,作品自体の価値と相まってお岩を怪談のヒロインのなかでも代表的な存在にしている。新宿区四谷左門町に現存する田宮神社とお岩稲荷には,上演に当たって関係者が参詣するのが恒例とされている。

(上村以和於)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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