Sakuragawa Jihinari - Sakuragawa Jihinari

A comic writer from the late Edo period. His real name was Yao Daisuke, commonly known as Kazariya Daigoro. He also went by the names Oya no Jibinari, Shibarakutei, and Shibarakutei. He was a sheath maker living in Shiba Udagawacho in Edo, and was a metalworker of Sugiura Josenmon, but later worked in the sales of ceramics. He studied under Sakuragawa (Kishida) Toho and began writing comics, and wrote yellow-covered novels such as "Tenhitsu Ahoraku" and "Sakusha Nemoto Edo Nishiki," storybooks "Kokkeikou" and "Kakuchibanashi," as well as comic books and collections of comics, but despite his long career as a writer spanning more than 40 years, he has few excellent works. Known for his many talents, he is famous as the founder of the revival of rakugo together with Utei Enba. However, while Enba gathered his fellow enthusiasts and hosted storytelling gatherings, Jibinari frequented the homes of the wealthy and noble, using his talents in tea ceremony and farce and kyogen, and developed rakugo as a parlor art form while living the life of a hokan. His disciples included Sakuragawa Jinko and Zenko, who were pure hokan (comic enthusiasts), and it is noteworthy that the Sakuragawa name is still passed down among hokan (comic enthusiasts) today. His son Daijiro succeeded him as the second generation.

[Toshihiko Uda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の戯作者(げさくしゃ)。本名八尾大助、通称錺屋(かざりや)大五郎。別に、親の慈悲成、芝楽(しばらく)亭、暫(しばらく)亭などと号した。江戸の芝宇田川町に住む鞘師(さやし)で、杉浦如泉門の金工であったが、のち陶器の販売に従事した。桜川（岸田）杜芳(とほう)に師事して戯作を始め、黄表紙『天筆阿房楽(てんひつあほうらく)』『作者根元江戸錦(にしき)』、噺本(はなしぼん)『滑稽好(こっけいこう)』『軽口噺』などのほか、滑稽本、合巻(ごうかん)にも筆をとったが、40年余に及ぶ長い作者生活のわりには佳作に乏しい。多芸で知られ、烏亭焉馬(うていえんば)とともに落語中興の祖として名高いが、焉馬が同好者を集めて噺の会を主宰したのに対し、慈悲成は得意の茶道や茶番狂言などをもって貴顕富貴の諸家に出入りし、幇間(ほうかん)的な生活の下に座敷芸としての噺を発展させた。その門下に桜川甚好・善好らの純然たる幇間が出、いまも幇間に桜川の名が伝わっていることが注目される。なお2代目は息子の大二郎が継いでいる。

［宇田敏彦］

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