Gandou Gaeshi - Gandou Gaeshi

Japanese: がんどう返し - がんどうがえし

… The revolving stage is said to have been invented by Namiki Shozo, an Osaka playwright from the Horeki period (1751-64), but it was Hasegawa Kanbei VIII who brought it to Edo and perfected it. Later, other ideas were invented, such as the lift mechanism, which cuts holes in the stage to raise and lower people and props, the "hiki-dogu" (pull-around device), which pulls a part of a prop with a rope to move it forward, backward, left and right, the "dengaku-gaeshi" (dengaku-gaeshi), which cuts a square part of a wall or scenery, places an axis in the center, and rotates it to make people appear and disappear instantly, and the "gando-gaeshi" (gando-gaeshi), which rotates the entire stage set half a turn forward and backward to change the scene. In the Bunka and Bunsei periods (1804-30), as ghost story kyogen became popular, more and more varied devices were invented, and in the Tenpo period (1830-44), the "oki-butai" (placed stage), which was laid out on the stage for dance dramas and stylized classical dramas, began to be used. …

From [Theater]

…
[Development of unique stage mechanisms]
During the Horeki era (1751-64), numerous revolutionary technical reforms were implemented in stage mechanisms. These included the invention of the "Seriage" (1753), the revolving stage (1758) by Kyogen playwright Namiki Shozo, the "Suppon" (1759), the "Gandou-gaeshi" (1761), the "Hikiwari" (1769) during the following Meiwa period, and the "Dengaku-gaeshi" (1789) (Kansei 1), making it possible to develop a wide variety of Kabuki theatrical performances. In 1761, the gable roof above the stage was removed from Kabuki theaters, and the metsuke and side pillars were also removed, creating the conditions for unique developments.

[From Shozo Namiki]

…It is generally believed that Shōsan was the first to write chobo into Kabuki scripts. He also invented a large-scale prop in Keisei Tenhagoromo (1753), a revolving stage in Sanjitsukokuyofune no Hajimari (The Beginning of the Thirty-koku Boat) (1758), and other props such as pull props and gandō-gaeshi (a technique that opened up new possibilities in stage mechanisms). Gandō-gaeshi is a technique in which the stage props, such as the large roof or double-roofed structure, are tilted backwards and the bottom surface depicting the next scene is erected, or the next prop is raised up, to change the scene. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "gandou gaeshi" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…　回り舞台を考案したのは，宝暦期(1751‐64)の大坂の作者並木正三といわれるが，これを江戸へ移して完成させたのは8世長谷川勘兵衛だという。その後，舞台へ切穴をあけて人物や道具を上下させるセリの機構をはじめ，道具の一部を綱で引っ張って前後左右に出したり引っ込めたりする〈引（ひき）道具〉や，壁，風景などの張物の一部を四角に切って中央に軸を入れ，回転させて人物を瞬時に出没させる〈田楽（でんがく）返し〉，舞台装置全体を前後に半回転させて場面を転換する〈がんどう返し〉などが考案された。文化･文政期(1804‐30)には怪談狂言の流行につれて変化に富んだ仕掛物がくふうされ，天保期(1830‐44)には舞踊劇や様式的な古典劇で舞台に敷く〈置（おき）舞台〉が始められている。…

【劇場】より

…
［独自の舞台機構の開発］
　宝暦年間(1751‐64)には，舞台機構の上での改新的な数々の技術改革が実施された。セリ上げ(1753)，狂言作者並木正三による回り舞台(1758)の発明，スッポン(1759)，がんどう返し(1761)，次の明和期には引割り，さらに1789年(寛政1)には田楽返しが創案されて，歌舞伎の演出上多彩な展開を可能とした。すでに歌舞伎劇場の舞台面では，1761年には舞台上の破風屋根を除去したし，目付柱･脇柱も撤去して独自の展開をすすめる条件が整えられた。…

【並木正三】より

…歌舞伎台本にチョボを書き入れたのは，通説では正三が嚆矢（こうし）とされる。また《けいせい天羽衣》(1753)では大仕掛けなセリ出し，《三十石艠始（さんじつこくよふねのはじまり）》(1758)では回り舞台を，そのほか引き道具，がんどう返しなどを次々に創案し，舞台機構に新生面を開いた。がんどう返しは，大屋根や二重屋体など舞台の大道具を後へ倒し，次の場面を描いた底の面を立て，または次の大道具をせり上げて場面転換する手法である。…

※「がんどう返し」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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