Zenchiku Yagoro

A Kyogen performer of the Okura school. His real name was Kyuuji Shigeyama. When he was two years old, his mother remarried the second Kyogen performer Shigeyama Chuzaburo Yoshitoyo and they registered their marriage. He made his debut in 1888 (Meiji 21) as a monkey in "Utsubozaru". As a branch of the Chuzaburo family, he mainly performed in the Hanshin area, and opened up a unique realm with his bold and realistic acting, specializing in pieces such as "Kamabara", "Okosako", and "Bobogashira". His style of performance was cultivated mainly by Yagoro's individuality and ingenuity, and he was highly praised for his humanistic Kyogen of the domestic genre that did not retain any traces of Edo-style music. In his later years, he received a succession of awards, including the Japan Art Academy Prize, the Asahi Culture Prize, and the designation of Important Intangible Cultural Assets (Living National Treasure), and together with Yamamoto Toujiro III and Nomura Manzo VI, he played a part in the Kyogen boom. His second son, Kichijiro, joined the Okura family and became the 24th head of the family, Okura Yataro, and his successor, Shishi Chuichiro, third son Genzaburo, fourth son Koshiro, and fifth son Keigoro all became active as Kyogen performers. In 1963 (Showa 38), when Yagoro was bestowed the surname Zenchiku by the head of the Konparu family, the Yagoro family changed their surname from Shigeyama to Zenchiku.

[Mitsuo Yuya]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大蔵流狂言師。本名茂山久治(しげやまきゅうじ)。2歳のとき、母が狂言師2世茂山忠三郎良豊(よしとよ)と再婚し、入籍。1888年（明治21）『靭猿(うつぼざる)』の猿で初舞台。忠三郎家の分家としておもに阪神地区で活動し、骨太の写実的な演技で独自の境地を開き、『鎌腹(かまばら)』『右近左近(おこさこ)』『茫々頭(ぼうぼうがしら)』などの曲を得意とした。芸風は、もっぱら弥五郎の個性と創意工夫により醸成されたもので、江戸式楽の名残(なごり)をとどめない世話物的な人間くさい狂言で高く評価された。晩年、芸術院賞、朝日文化賞、重要無形文化財各個指定（人間国宝）などを次々と受け、3世山本東次郎(とうじろう)、6世野村万蔵(まんぞう)らとともに狂言ブームの一翼を担った。次男吉次郎が大蔵家へ入り、24世宗家大蔵弥太郎となったほか、嗣子(しし)忠一郎、三男玄三郎、四男幸四郎、五男圭五郎(けいごろう)のすべてが狂言師として活躍。1963年（昭和38）弥五郎が金春(こんぱる)宗家から善竹姓を贈られたのを機に、弥五郎家はそれまでの茂山から善竹に改姓した。

［油谷光雄］

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