Ohako

It is an abbreviation of "hakoiri," which means to store something important in a box. It is said that the use of "juhachiban" originates from the fact that in the Edo period, the Ichikawa family of kabuki kept the scripts for their favorite acts, "Kabuki Juhachiban," in a box, but it is more appropriate to assume that the name "juhachiban" came from the fact that kabuki actors generally refer to their favorite acts as "juhachiban" and keep them as secret acts. Since then, it has been generalized and applied to the acts that vaudeville entertainers are good at, and the term has evolved from "their special art of being good at" to also refer to the movements and speech patterns that a person often uses.

[Masahiro Tanahashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

たいせつなものを箱に入れて保存する「箱入り」の略。「十八番」をあてるのは、江戸時代、歌舞伎(かぶき)の市川宗家が得意芸「歌舞伎十八番(じゅうはちばん)」の台本を箱入りで保存したことに由来するといわれるが、一般に歌舞伎役者の得意な当り芸を「十八番」と称して秘蔵の芸としたことから、「十八番」とあてたとするのが妥当であろう。以来、寄席(よせ)芸人が得意とする芸目にも流用されて一般化し、この「とっておきの得意の芸」から転じて、その人のよくする動作や口調の癖もいうようになった。

［棚橋正博］

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