"Biographies of the Loyal Samurai"

Japanese: 《義士銘々伝》 - ぎしめいめいでん

…(2) In rakugo and rokyoku, there is a group of works called “Ako Gishi Den” that uses the Ako Roshi raid as a theme. In addition to the “Honden” (main story), which tells the facts from the sword fight to the raid and seppuku, there are “Meimei-den” (individual stories of the Gishi) that depict the episodes of the 47 Ronin who participated in the raid, and “Gishi Gaiden” (side stories of the Gishi) that deal with people around them. The Meimei-den stories include those of Nakayama Yasubei and Akagaki Genzo’s sake bottle farewell at Takadanobaba, and the side stories include those of Amanoya Ribei, who was an accomplice, Kobayashi Heihachiro, who was on the Kira side, Shimizu Ikkaku, and deserters from the Ako Roshi raid. …

From "Momonakaken Kumoemon"

...Later, under the name Momonakaken Un'emon, he created a powerful and lively style of music that incorporated the rhythm of the biwa and Kiyomoto music, and he organized the vulgar themes seen in previous rakugo performers, wrote scripts, and improved the content. He toured Kansai and Kyushu, gaining popularity, and in 1906, he performed "Gishi Meimeiden," a story based on the Ako Roshi at the Hongo-za Theater in Tokyo, attracting attention from the capital, and in 1912, he held a solo performance at the Kabuki-za Theater to a full house. He promoted bushido through his specialty "Gishi Meimeiden" and other pieces, and raised the status of rakugo (Naniwabushi), which had been considered a low-class street performance. ...

*Some of the terminology used in "The Biographies of the Loyal Samurai" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…(2)講談，浪曲にも，赤穂浪士の討入を題材とした作品群〈赤穂義士伝〉がある。刃傷から討入･切腹に至るまでの事実を語る〈本伝〉のほか，討入に参加した四十七士のエピソードを描いた〈義士銘々伝〉，周辺の人物を扱った〈義士外伝〉がある。銘々伝には高田馬場での中山安兵衛，赤垣源蔵の徳利の別れなど，外伝には，協力者天野屋利兵衛，吉良方の小林平八郎，清水一学，赤穂浪士の脱落者などの話がある。…

【桃中軒雲右衛門】より

…のち桃中軒雲右衛門となって琵琶や清元の節調を加味した荘重豪快な節を創始し，従来の浪曲家にみられた野卑な演題を整理し，台本を作成して内容を高めた。関西，九州と巡業して人気を集め，1906年に東京本郷座において赤穂浪士を題材とする《義士銘々伝》を口演して満都の注目を集め，12年には歌舞伎座でも独演会を開いて満員の客を呼んだ。得意とした《義士銘々伝》などによって武士道を鼓吹して浪曲の格式を向上させ，大道芸として低級視されてきた浪曲(浪花節（なにわぶし）)の社会的地位を高めた。…

※「《義士銘々伝》」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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