Kumiodori - Kumiodori

This musical drama was created in Okinawa in the early 18th century and has been passed down to the present day. Okinawa has had a long history of friendly relations with China, and whenever a new king was appointed, a large number of imperial envoys would visit the island to hold a solemn coronation ceremony and a grand banquet to accompany it. A number of different performing arts were put together as entertainment for the occasion, and were called the Okansen Odori, but this was mostly a group dance by young children, with a focus on dance. In contrast, Kumiodori is a dramatization that combines music and dance that have been passed down in Okinawa since ancient times, forming a single story. It was created by Tamagusuku Chokun, and was first performed at the Okansen Odori on a special stage in Shuri Castle at the Choyo Banquet following the investiture ceremony of King Sho Kei in 1719 (4th year of the Kyoho era). The program consisted of two pieces, "Tsurukame Nijichi no Ada wo Fuku Suru no Koji" (Two Children's Revenge) and "Shouma no Koto" (The Bell of Devotion), but he later completed three pieces, "Mekarushii", "Onna no Gurui" and "Koyoko no Maki", marking the establishment of Kumiodori. These five pieces are known as Tamaki's "Five Pieces" to distinguish them from later Kumiodori. Before he wrote Kumiodori, Tamaki made five business trips to Satsuma and Edo, and it is said that he gained a foothold in the creation of Kumiodori by watching Bunraku puppet theater, Noh and Kyogen, and Kabuki during his stays. He drew his material from historical facts and ancient legends of Okinawa, and managed to create the groundbreaking Kumiodori genre, which he called "somewhere between Noh and Kabuki."

Kumiodori consists of three elements: music, dance, and dialogue, but the music is particularly significant, and in the olden days people would go to listen to a Kumiodori. The content reflects the ideas at the time of their creation, with strong expressions of loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, and most end with a happily ever after. Currently, around 50 types remain, but only about half of them are performed today, including the aforementioned Tamagusuku No. 5, Heshikiya Chobin's "Temizu no En," and the middle part of Tasato Chochoku's (1703-1773) three plays ("Yoshiomi Monogatari," "Manzai Takiuchi," and "Ogusuku Kuzure"). The two sets include "The Flower Seller's En" by Takamiyagusukupeechin, "Okawa Tekiuchi" by Kudeken Tekiuchi, "The Loyal Retainer's Substitution" said to have been written by Hentona Tekiuchi, "Junken no Kan" said to have been written by Heshiki Tekiuchi, as well as "Kushi no Wakaaji" and "Sisters' Revenge" whose authors are unknown.

Kumiodori was originally performed at the Imperial Court on a Noh-style stage, but today it is performed by private dance research institutes in multipurpose halls measuring 3 ken (approximately 5.5 meters) square. On the right side of the stage, performers on instruments such as the shamisen, large and small drums, flutes, koto, and kokyu (Chinese fiddle), and jiutai (chor singers) accompany the dance and sing. The characters mainly enter and exit from the left side of the stage, exchange lines in rhyming text, and perform stylized performances centered on dance. In the past, all the actors were male, but today, female roles are often played by women. After the abolition of the feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures, Kumiodori left its role as a court art and spread to villages, where it has been actively performed in village dances all over Okinawa. Even today, in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the audience and performers enjoy it together. When Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, it was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (comprehensive certification) by the government, and in 2010 it was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). In 2003, Shimabukuro Mitsufumi (1920-2006) was recognized as a holder of the Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in the field of Kumiodori music and taiko, in 2005 Shiroma Tokutaro (1933- ) in the field of Kumiodori music and uta sanshin, in 2006 Miyagi Nouhou (1938- ) in the field of Kumiodori music and tachikata, in 2011 Nishie Kishun (1940- ) in the field of Kumiodori music and uta sanshin, and in 2017 Higa Satoshi (1952- ) in the field of Kumiodori music and taiko were recognized as holders of the Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure).

[Ichiro Touma]

"Selected Works of Kumiodori" by Touma Ichiro (1968, Okinawa Fudokisha)" ▽ "Complete Works of Iha Fuyu 3: Ryukyu Plays" edited by Hattori Shiro, Nakasone Masayoshi, and Tonoshima Moriyoshi (1974, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Invitation to Kumiodori" by Yano Teruo (2001, Ryukyu Shimposha)" ▽ "Listening to Kumiodori" by Yano Teruo (2003, Mizuki Shobo)" ▽ "The World of Kumiodori - My View and Way of Enjoyment" by Katsuren Shigeo (2003, Yui Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

18世紀初めに沖縄で創始され、今日まで伝承されている楽劇。古くから中国と親交の深い沖縄では、国王がかわるたびごとに皇帝の使者が多数来島し、厳粛な戴冠(たいかん)の儀式と、それに伴う盛大な宴が催された。そのときの余興芸能として数々の芸能が組まれ、御冠船踊(おかんせんおどり)と称されたが、これは踊り中心の、小童の群舞がほとんどであった。これに対して組踊は、沖縄に古くから伝わる音楽と舞踊を総合的に取り入れ、一つの物語を形成した戯曲になっている。創始者は玉城朝薫(たまぐすくちょうくん)で、1719年（享保4）の尚敬王冊封(さくほう)式典後の重陽(ちょうよう)の宴において、首里城内の特設舞台の御冠船踊に上演されたのが最初である。そのときの演目は『鶴亀二児復父仇古事(つるかめにじちちのあだをふくするのこじ)（二童敵討(にどうてきうち)）』と『鐘魔事(しょうまのこと)（執心鐘入(しゅうしんかねいり)）』の2番であったが、その後『銘苅子(めかるしい)』『女物狂(おんなものぐるい)』『孝行の巻』の3番を完成、組踊の確立をみせた。この5曲は後の組踊と区別して玉城の「五番」と称されている。玉城は組踊を書き上げるまでに5回も薩摩(さつま)や江戸へ出張しており、滞在中に人形浄瑠璃(じょうるり)や能狂言、歌舞伎(かぶき)などを見て、創作への足掛りをつくったといわれている。彼は素材を沖縄の史実や古伝説からとり、「能と歌舞伎の中間に位置する」組踊という画期的なジャンルの誕生にこぎ着けたのであった。

　組踊は音楽、舞踊、台詞(せりふ)の3要素からなるが、とくに音楽のもつ意義は大きく、古くは「組踊を聞きに行く」といったほどである。内容は、創作当時の思想を反映して、忠、孝、節、義が強力に表現され、ほとんどが「めでたしめでたし」で終わる展開になっている。現在50種ほど残っているが、今日でも演じられているのは約半数にしかすぎず、前述の玉城の五番をはじめ、平敷屋朝敏(へしきやちょうびん)の『手水(てみず)の縁(えん)』、田里朝直(たさとちょうちょく)（1703―1773）の3番（『義臣物語』『万歳敵討(まんざいてきうち)』『大城崩(おおぐすくくずれ)』）中の前2組、高宮城親雲上(たかみやぐすくぺえちん)の『花売の縁』、久手堅(くでけん)親雲上の『大川敵討(おおかわてきうち)』、辺土名(へんとな)親雲上作といわれる『忠臣身替の巻』、平敷(へしき)親雲上作といわれる『巡見官(じゅんけんのかん)』、作者不詳の『久志(くし)の若按司(わかあじ)』や『姉妹敵討』などである。

　組踊は、本来は能楽式舞台を使って宮廷で上演されてきたが、今日では多目的ホールで3間（約5.5メートル）四方を使って、民間の舞踊研究所単位で演じられている。舞台の上手に三味線、大小の太鼓、笛、琴、胡弓(こきゅう)などの地方(じかた)と地謡(じうたい)が並び、伴奏し謡う。登場人物はおもに下手から出入りし、韻文体の詞章で台詞を交わし、舞踊を主とした様式的な演技表現をする。昔は役者はすべて男性であったが、今日では女役は女性が演じることが多い。また、組踊は廃藩置県以後に宮廷芸能から脱して村々へ伝播(でんぱ)し、沖縄各地の村踊りで盛んに演じられてきた。現在も旧暦8月には観客と演者が一体となって楽しんでいる。1972年（昭和47）沖縄の本土復帰にあたって国指定の重要無形文化財（総合認定）となり、2010年（平成22）ユネスコ（国連教育科学文化機関）の無形文化遺産に登録された。2003年には組踊音楽太鼓で島袋光史(しまぶくろみつふみ)（1920―2006）が、2005年には組踊音楽歌三線(うたさんしん)で城間徳太郎(しろまとくたろう)（1933―　）が、2006年には組踊立方(たちかた)で宮城能鳳(みやぎのうほう)（1938―　）が、2011年には組踊音楽歌三線で西江喜春(にしえきしゅん)（1940―　）が、2017年には組踊音楽太鼓で比嘉聰(ひがさとし)（1952―　）が重要無形文化財保持者（人間国宝）に認定された。

［當間一郎］

『當間一郎著『組踊選集』（1968・沖縄風土記社）』▽『服部四郎・仲宗根政善・外間守善編『伊波普猷全集3　琉球戯曲集』（1974・平凡社）』▽『矢野輝雄著『組踊への招待』（2001・琉球新報社）』▽『矢野輝雄著『組踊を聴く』（2003・瑞木書房）』▽『勝連繁雄著『組踊の世界――私の見方・楽しみ方』（2003・ゆい出版）』

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