Kawatake Mokuami

A kabuki playwright. His real name was Yoshimura Yoshisaburo. His pen name was Kisui. He was born as the eldest son of Echizenya Kanbei, the 4th head merchant of Nihonbashi, Edo. At the age of 14, he was discovered having fun in Yanagibashi and disowned. After mixing with fellow connoisseurs in the downtown area and writing collections of farces, and working as a clerk at a book rental store, he became a kyogen playwright in 1835 (Tenpo 6) under Tsuruya Namboku 5, and took the name Katsu Genzo. After repeatedly retiring due to illness and family circumstances, he returned to work in 1841 at the invitation of Nakamura Jusuke 4, becoming a handsome playwright and taking the name Shiba Shinsuke, and in 1843 he took the name Kawatake Shinshichi 2 and became a leading playwright. After working on restorations of old works, adaptations of novels, and one-act domestic plays, he was recognized by Ichikawa Kodanji IV for his "Miyakodori Nagare no Shiranami" in 1854 (Ansei 1), and established himself as a performer by writing one masterpiece after another of live domestic kyogen such as the lecture-type Shiranami mono for Kodanji until his death in 1866 (Keio 2). During that time, after the Great Ansei Earthquake, he enjoyed a long career as the leading playwright at the Ichimura-za, and while he maintained a three-za system with Sakurada Jisuke III and Segawa Joko III, he also took on important new works for both the Nakamura and Morita-za, and was extremely active.

His writing skills did not decline even after the Meiji era, and he supported the first Ichikawa Sadanji, the surviving son of Kodanji, and assisted the 12th Morita Kanya, a young impresario who supported the policies of the new government, and pioneered new territory by writing a "live historical drama" based on historical fact for the 9th Ichikawa Danjūrō, and a "zangirimono" depicting the new customs of the Meiji era for the 5th Onoe Kikugorō. In 1881 (Meiji 14), he retired after his one-time play "Shima dori tsuki no shiranami" (White waves of the moon, the island thrush) and took the name Furukawa Mokuami, but the theatrical world, which had no writers, could not allow Mokuami to retire, and he continued to produce new works until just before his death, passing away on January 22, 1893, at the age of 78. His disciples include the 3rd Shinshichi, Takeshiba Kisui, and Katsunō Shin.

Mokuami's works total about 360, including period pieces, domestic dramas, and shosagoto plays, and he demonstrated his talent in all of them, but his true forte was in the live domestic dramas that he based on lectures and other sources. Representative works include "Tsuta Momiji Utsunoya Pass," "Mouse Small Crest Eastern Prince New Style," "Net Pattern Lantern Chrysanthemum Paulownia," "Black Hand Group Kuruwa Tatehiki," "Kosode Soga Azami No Ironui," "Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai," "Hachiman Festival Yomiya no Nigiwai," "Encouraging Good and Punishing Evil: The Peeping Machine," "Soga Chivalry Goshozome," and "The White Waves Between the Bridges and the Boat Launch." In addition to Komuhashima no Shiranami, he wrote works such as "Aotozoshi Hana no Nishikie" (Blue Grass Drawn Flowers in Red Colors), "Tsuyu Kosode Mukashi Hachijo" (Short Sleeves in the Rainy Season, Long Ago in Hachijo), "Shinsarayashiki Tsuki no Amagasa" (The New Plate Mansion and the Moonlight Rain Halo), "Suitengū Megumi no Fukagawa" (The Benefits of Suitengu Shrine, the Fukagawa River), "Shisenryō Koban no Ume no Ha" (The Four Thousand Ryo Oval Plum Leaves), and "Mekuranagaya Umega Kaga Tobi" (The Blind Tenement House and the Plum Trees, the Kaga Tobi), for Danjūrō ​​IX and Kikugōrō V, "Kumonimago Ueno no Hatsuhana" (The First Blossoms of Ueno, a Mismatched Cloth), and for Sawamura Tanosuke III, "Musume Gono Mi Ukina no Yokogushi" (Kirarare Otomi). Among his dance dramas, his representative works include "Tsuchigumo," "Ibaraki," "Funabenkei," and "Momijigari."

Shoyo Tsubouchi has praised Mokuami's overall achievements, saying that he was "truly a great wholesaler of Edo theater." His style of writing further refined and classicized the live-acting style perfected by Tsuruya Namboku IV during the Bunsei period (1804-1830), and in his storytelling and documentary-style plots that were completely independent of the world of jidaimono, he emphasized the principles of rewarding good and punishing evil, and karma. In particular, the various plays about wandering people that he wrote in collaboration with Kodanji reflect the suffocating social conditions of the late Edo period. His sentimental and musical lines, written in 7-5 rhythm and called "yakuharai," which express the feelings of a minor villain who has found himself in a dead-end with no way out, have resonated with modern people, and are still one of the most frequently performed kabuki repertoires today.

[Hideo Furuido]

"The Complete Works of Mokuami, 20 volumes (1924-26, Shunyodo)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Kabuki Masterpieces 10-12, Kawatake Mokuami Collection 1-3, with Commentary by Kawatake Toshio (1968-70, Tokyo Sogensha)" ▽ "Kawatake Mokuami, by Kawatake Shigetoshi (1961, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)作者。本名吉村芳三郎。俳号其水(きすい)。江戸・日本橋の商家4世越前屋(えちぜんや)勘兵衛の長男に生まれる。14歳のとき柳橋で遊興中を発見され勘当される。下町の通人仲間と交わり茶番集を書いたり、貸本屋の手代となって諸書を乱読したのち、1835年（天保6）に5世鶴屋南北(つるやなんぼく)に入門して狂言作者となり勝諺蔵(かつげんぞう)を名のる。病気と家庭の事情で再三引退したのち、1841年に4世中村重助(じゅうすけ)の招きで再勤して二枚目格となって柴晋輔（斯波晋輔）(しばしんすけ)と名のり、1843年に2世河竹新七を襲名して立(たて)作者格となる。旧作の補綴(ほてい)や小説の脚色、一幕物の世話物などで活躍したのち、1854年（安政1）の『都鳥廓白浪(みやこどりながれのしらなみ)』で4世市川小団次に認められ、以後1866年（慶応2）に小団次が没するまで、彼のために講釈種(だね)の白浪物(しらなみもの)など生世話(きぜわ)狂言の傑作を次々と書いて不動の地位を築く。その間、安政(あんせい)の大地震以後は市村座の立作者として重年し、3世桜田治助(じすけ)、3世瀬川如皐(じょこう)と三座体制を維持する一方で、中村・森田両座の重要な新作をも引き受け八面六臂(はちめんろっぴ)の活躍をした。

　明治になってからも筆力は衰えず、小団次の遺児初世市川左団次をもり立てるとともに、新政府の方針をくむ若き興行師12世守田勘弥(もりたかんや)を助け、9世市川団十郎のためには史実に基づく「活歴劇(かつれきげき)」を、5世尾上菊五郎(おのえきくごろう)のためには明治の新風俗を写した「散切物(ざんぎりもの)」を書いて新境地を開拓した。1881年（明治14）に『島鵆月白浪(しまちどりつきのしらなみ)』を一世一代に引退して古河黙阿弥(ふるかわもくあみ)を名のるが、作者無人の劇界が黙阿弥の引退を許すはずがなく、死の直前まで新作を提供し続け、明治26年1月22日に78歳の生涯を終えた。門弟に3世新七、竹柴其水(たけしばきすい)、勝能進(かつのうしん)などがいる。

　黙阿弥の作品は時代物、世話物、所作事あわせて約360にも及び、いずれにも力量を発揮したが、その真骨頂は講釈などに取材した生世話物にあった。代表的なものとして、小団次のために書いた『蔦紅葉宇都谷峠(つたもみじうつのやとうげ)』『鼠小紋東君新形(ねずみこもんはるのしんがた)』『網模様灯籠菊桐(あみもようとうろのきくきり)』『黒手組曲輪達引(くろてぐみくるわのたてひき)』『小袖曽我薊色縫(こそでそがあざみのいろぬい)』『三人吉三廓初買(さんにんきちさくるわのはつがい)』『八幡祭小望月賑(はちまんまつりよみやのにぎわい)』『勧善懲悪覗機関(かんぜんちょうあくのぞきからくり)』『曽我綉侠御所染(そがもようたてしのごしょぞめ)』『船打込橋間白浪(ふねへうちこむはしまのしらなみ)』のほか、5世菊五郎には『青砥稿花紅彩画(あおとぞうしはなのにしきえ)』『梅雨小袖昔八丈(つゆこそでむかしはちじょう)』『新皿屋敷月雨暈(しんさらやしきつきのあまがさ)』『水天宮利生深川(すいてんぐうめぐみのふかがわ)』『四千両小判梅葉(しせんりょうこばんのうめのは)』『盲長屋梅加賀鳶(めくらながやうめがかがとび)』、9世団十郎・5世菊五郎には『天衣紛上野初花(くもにまごううえののはつはな)』、3世沢村田之助には『処女翫浮名横櫛(むすめごのみうきなのよこぐし)』（切られお富）などを書いた。なお、舞踊劇には『土蜘(つちぐも)』『茨木(いばらき)』『船弁慶』『紅葉狩(もみじがり)』などの代表作がある。

　坪内逍遙(しょうよう)はこのような黙阿弥の業績全般を評して「真に江戸演劇の大問屋なり」と称賛している。その作風は、化政(かせい)期（1804～30）の4世鶴屋南北が完成した生世話をさらに洗練、古典化し、時代物の世界から完全に独立した講談、実録調の筋立てのなかに、勧善懲悪、因果応報の理が強調されている。ことに小団次と提携した白浪物の諸作には幕末の逼塞(ひっそく)した世相が反映されている。そして逃げ道のない袋小路に入ってしまった小悪党の心情をうたった、七五調の「厄払(やくはらい)」とよばれる感傷的で音楽的な台詞(せりふ)は近代人にも共感され、今日でも歌舞伎のもっとも上演頻度の高いレパートリーとなっている。

［古井戸秀夫］

『『黙阿弥全集』全20巻（1924～26・春陽堂）』▽『河竹登志夫解説『名作歌舞伎全集10～12　河竹黙阿弥集　1～3』（1968～70・東京創元社）』▽『河竹繁俊著『河竹黙阿弥』（1961・吉川弘文館）』

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