Zamoto (the head of a theater) - Zamoto

Japanese: 座元(座本) - ざもと

The title of a person who had the right to perform kabuki in the Edo period. Also called yagura-shu or tayumoto. In Edo, Saruwaka (Nakamura) Kanzaburo applied to the shogunate in 1624 (Kan'ei 1) and was allowed to perform at Nakabashi, marking the beginning of zamoto. After that, Miyako Dennai, Murayama Matasaburo, Yamamura Kobei (Chotayu), Kawarazaki Gonnosuke, Morita Tarobei, and Tamagawa Shinjuro each established their own theaters and became zamoto. After the Great Edo Fire in 1757 (Meireki 3), only Nakamura Kanzaburo, Ichimura U(U)zaemon, Morita Kanya, and Yamamura Chotayu were allowed to perform as zamoto, but in the Ejima-Ikushima Incident in 1714 (Shotoku 4), Yamamura Chotayu's official permission was revoked, and the Yamamura-za was abolished.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

江戸時代の歌舞伎の興行権を持つ者の称。櫓主，太夫元ともいう。江戸では，1624年(寛永1)に猿若(中村)勘三郎が幕府に願い出て，中橋での興行を許されたのが座元の始まりで，以後，都伝内，村山又三郎，山村小兵衛(長太夫)，河原崎権之助，森田太郎兵衛，玉川新十郎がそれぞれ劇場を立てて座元となった。57年(明暦3)の江戸大火後，中村勘三郎，市村宇(羽)左衛門，森田勘弥，山村長太夫の4人に限り座元として興行することが許されたが，1714年(正徳4)の江島生島事件で山村長太夫が官許を取り消され，山村座は廃絶した。

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