Shinjuyoigoushin - Love Suicide Evening

Joruri Gidayubushi (a type of Japanese drama with a gidayu-bushi narration). Sewamono (domestic drama). Three acts. Written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. First performed at the Takemotoza Theater in Osaka in April 1722 (Kyoho 7). This dramatized the love suicide of a greengrocer Hanbei from Abukake-cho and his wife Chiyo at the Great Buddha fundraiser in Ikutama Babasaki, Osaka, on the night of the Koushin festival on April 6 of that year, and was performed from the 22nd. Hanbei, a greengrocer from Shinutsubo-cho, Osaka, was adopted by his wife Ochiyo (Yo), but Ochiyo was disliked by her mother-in-law, and was divorced while Hanbei was away visiting Hamamatsu, and returned to her parents' home in Uedamura. On his way home, Hanbei stops by and swears to his sick father Heiemon and his sister Okaru that he will risk his life to protect O-Chiyo, and takes her back to Osaka. However, Hanbei's mother-in-law refuses to let O-Chiyo into their home, so Hanbei, caught between his foster family and his wife's family, sneaks out of the house with O-Chiyo on the night of the koushin festival and commits double suicide at the Ikudama fundraiser. This is the last of Chikamatsu's Sewa Joruri plays. Kino Kaion had also adapted the same subject matter before Chikamatsu, under the title Shinju Futatsu Harabachi, and performed it at the Toyotakeza Theatre, but Chikamatsu's distinctive style lies in its strong portrayal of the poignancy of marital love and obligation. In the kabuki plays of the Edo period, the script was adapted to portray the foster mother as an old woman who has a crush on Hanbei, but from the late Meiji period onwards, performances based on the original work by Nakamura Ganjiro I became the norm.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

"Complete Collection of Japanese Classical Literature 44: Chikamatsu Monzaemon Collection 2" (1975, Shogakukan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

浄瑠璃義太夫節(じょうるりぎだゆうぶし)。世話物。3段。近松門左衛門作。1722年（享保7）4月、大坂・竹本座初演。同年4月6日の宵庚申の夜、大坂生玉馬場先(いくたまばばさき)の大仏勧進所での、油掛町の八百屋(やおや)半兵衛と妻千代の夫婦心中を脚色、22日から上演したもの。大坂新靭(しんうつぼ)町の八百屋半兵衛は女房お千代（世）と夫婦養子だったが、お千代は姑(しゅうとめ)に嫌われ、半兵衛が浜松へ帰省した留守中に離縁され上田村の実家へ帰る。帰路、そこへ立ち寄った半兵衛は、病父の平右衛門(へいえもん)や姉おかるに命を賭(か)けてお千代を守ることを誓い、大坂へ連れ帰る。しかし、姑はあくまでもお千代を家へ入れることを承知しないので、養家と妻の実家の板挟みになった半兵衛は、宵庚申の夜にお千代と家を忍び出て、生玉の勧進所で心中を遂げる。近松世話浄瑠璃中の最後の作。同題材は紀海音(きのかいおん)も近松に先だち『心中二つ腹帯』の題で脚色、豊竹(とよたけ)座で上演しているが、夫婦愛と義理人情のせつなさを強く描いた点に近松の特色がある。江戸時代の歌舞伎(かぶき)では、養母を半兵衛に横恋慕する婆に改作した台本が演じられたが、明治後期以後、初世中村鴈治郎(がんじろう)の原作本位の上演が例になった。

［松井俊諭］

『鳥越文蔵校注・訳『日本古典文学全集44　近松門左衛門集2』（1975・小学館）』

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