Mansaku Okamoto

Japanese: 岡本万作 - おかもとまんさく

...It is a place where a large number of people are gathered and various entertainment shows are performed. It is written as "yose" (a yose), but it is also sometimes simply called "seki" (a seat).
[Edo's Variety Theatre]
At the beginning of the Edo period, there were vaudeville halls in the precincts of temples and shrines, where stories and lectures were told on streets covered with reed mats. Around the time of the Tenna and Jokyo eras (1681-88), Shikano Takezaemon (1649-99), who is said to be the father of Edo rakugo, performed in a reed mat-covered tent at Nakahashi Hirokoji in Edo. Around the time of the An'ei and Tenmei eras (1772-89), Although some storytellers held "storytelling sessions" in their homes, temples, or teahouse rooms, the modern-day vaudeville hall was first established in June 1798 (Kansei 10) when Okamoto Mansaku came to Edo from Osaka and set up a permanent vaudeville hall in Kanda Toshimacho Waradana under the sign "Tonsaku Karukuchibanashi." The first Sanshotei Karaku (1777-1832) was an ambitious rival who opened a vaudeville hall in the grounds of Inari Shrine in Shitaya Yanagimachi.

From 【Rakugo】

…
[The Origin of Yose]
The popularity of these stories created a demand for professional rakugo performers and yose (vaudeville halls). The founder of yose performances in Edo was the Osaka-based rakugo performer Okamoto Mansaku, who gave a night performance on the second floor of a palanquin shop in Tachibana-cho, Nihonbashi in 1791 (Kansei 3), and in 1798 he put up a sign at a straw shop in Kanda Toshima-cho and posted flyers at every intersection to invite customers. In the same year, Sanshotei Karaku (later the first Sanshotei Karaku) held a yose performance at Shitaya Inari Shrine in Edo, and the first Katsura Bunji held a yose performance at Zama Shrine in Osaka.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Mansaku Okamoto" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…大勢の人を寄せて，さまざまな演芸を興行するところで，〈寄席〉の字を当てているが，単に〈席（せき）〉と呼ぶこともある。
［江戸の寄席］
　寄席は，江戸時代の初めごろに，寺社の境内などで葭簀（よしず）張りの辻咄（つじばなし）や講釈を行ったものがあり，天和･貞享(1681‐88)のころには，江戸落語の祖といわれる鹿野（しかの）武左衛門(1649‐99)が，江戸の中橋広小路で葭簀張りの小屋掛けで興行をしているし，また安永･天明(1772‐89)のころから噺家（はなしか）の自宅や寺院，茶屋の座敷などで〈咄（はなし）の会〉を興行するものもあったが，現在の寄席のような形ができたのは，1798年(寛政10)6月に大坂から江戸に来た岡本万作が，神田豊島町藁店（わらだな）に〈頓作軽口噺（とんさくかるくちばなし）〉という看板を掲げ常設の寄席を作ったのが最初である。これに対抗して意欲を燃やしたのが初代三笑亭可楽（さんしようていからく）(1777‐1832)であり，彼は下谷柳町の稲荷神社の境内に寄席を開いた。…

【落語】より

…
［寄席の創始］
　こうした咄の流行から職業的落語家と寄席（よせ）とが要望された。江戸の寄席興行創始者は，大坂下りの落語家岡本万作で，1791年(寛政3)日本橋橘町の駕籠（かご）屋の二階で夜興行をし，98年，神田豊島町藁店（わらだな）に看板を掲げ，辻々にビラを貼って客を招いた。同年，江戸で山生亭花楽（さんしようていからく）(のち初代三笑亭可楽)が下谷（したや）稲荷社で，大坂では初代桂文治が座摩（ざま）社内で寄席興行を開催した。…

※「岡本万作」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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