Taikoki - Taikoki

A biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Tensho-ki (of which nine volumes remain) was written by Omura Yuko, a member of the Togishu (traditional Japanese folklore), at the command of Hideyoshi, praising Hideyoshi's unification of the country and recording his accomplishments during the Tensho period (1573-1592). Ota Gyuichi, who served Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi and also wrote the Shincho-ki, wrote a memoir of Hideyoshi's achievements in a handwritten style. There are the five volumes of "Taiko Gunki" (a part of which is known as "Taikosama Gunki no Uchi"), which is a record of Hideyoshi's unification of Japan and is said to have been written by Kawasumi Saburozaemon, a vassal of Tanaka Yoshimasa who served Hideyoshi, and which is a record of Hideyoshi's unification of Japan based on memoranda and interviews. Oze Hoan's "Taikoki" is a compilation of these earlier "Taikoki".

It is composed of the preceding "Taikōki", as well as records from "Yūsai-michi-no-ki", letters, and rumours, and was completed in 1625 (Kan'ei 2). Written in chronological order, it includes recollections and epilogues, and praises Hideyoshi's rule. It is a record of the chaos and prosperity seen from Hideyoshi's perspective, but also portrays with pathos the tragedies of his opponents, Shibata Katsuie, Hojo Ujimasa, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, and others. With regard to the foreign invasions of Goryeo and Tang China, it uses Confucian thought to praise Hideyoshi's good deeds and criticises his bad deeds. Volumes 1 to 16 are the main story of the Taiko, volume 17 is the incident involving Regent Hidetsugu, volumes 18 and 19 are biographies of Sengoku warlords such as Yamanaka Shikanosuke, volumes 20 and 21 are eight stories written in 1616 (Genwa 2) that explain eight ways of governing, and volume 22 is a miscellany.

The style of the book is not so much a record, but rather a narrative style that tells the story of Hideyoshi the successful man, incorporating the author's own feelings, the voices of the people of Kyoto, Taiko legends, and dissenting opinions and criticisms. For this reason, it was also used as a recitation or a lecture. In that sense, it is the source of the story-like "Taikoki", and as this book was reprinted in many editions with illustrations and excerpts, Hideyoshi's image became legendary and enormous, even using the techniques of folk tales. Among them were the seven volumes of "Genroku Taikoki" by an unknown author, the seven volumes of "Ehon Taikoki" by Takeuchi Kakusai (illustrated by Okada Gyokuzan), and the 360 ​​volumes of "Shinsho Taikoki" by Kurihara Ryuan, which added annotations and research to various Taiko biographies and also borrowed from classics to dramatize them. These continued to influence history books, records, scrolls, historical novels, and more until the Meiji period.

[Hiroaki Yamashita]

"Study of the Taikoki by Tadachika Kuwata (1965, Tokuma Shoten)" ▽ "The Taikoki, revised by the same author (1971, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "History of Literature in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period by Yoshio Araki (1969, Kadokawa Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

太閤豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の伝記。早くお伽衆(とぎしゅう)大村由己(ゆうこ)が、秀吉の命令により、その天下統一を賛美して天正(てんしょう)年間（1573～92）の事績を記録した『天正(てんしょう)記』（うち九巻が現存）、織田信長、秀吉に仕え『信長(しんちょう)記』の著もある太田牛一(おおたぎゅういち)が、秀吉の功業を覚え書き風に記録した『太閤軍記』（その一部が『太閤さま軍記のうち』として伝わる）、秀吉に仕えた田中吉政の家臣川角(かわすみ)三郎左衛門の著かともいわれる、秀吉の天下統一を覚え書きと聞き書きをもって記した『川角太閤記』五巻があるが、これら先行の「太閤記」を集成したのが小瀬甫庵(おぜほあん)の『太閤記』22巻である。

　先行の「太閤記」のほか『幽斎道之記(ゆうさいみちのき)』などの記録、書翰(しょかん)、巷説(こうせつ)をも取り入れて構成、1625年（寛永2）に擱筆(かくひつ)。年月順に記しながら、回想、後日談などを挿入、秀吉の治政を賛美し、秀吉の側からみた治乱の記、栄華の物語をなすが、相手側の柴田(しばた)勝家、北条氏政(ほうじょううじまさ)、豊臣秀次(ひでつぐ)らの悲劇をも哀感をもって描く。高麗(こうらい)、唐土の外征などに関して、儒教思想をもって、秀吉の善は善としながら悪は悪として批判も行う。巻一から巻16まではその太閤の正伝、巻17は関白秀次の事件、巻18、19は山中鹿之助(しかのすけ)など戦国武将の列伝、巻20、21は、1616年（元和2）の執筆になる、治世のための八つの道を説く八物語であり、巻22は雑録である。

　文体は、記録体というよりは、作者自身の感情を交え、京都の人々の声、太閤伝説、異論・評をも借りて、成功者秀吉を語る物語の文体をなす。そのため朗読、講釈の語り物としても行われた。その意味で物語化した「太閤記」の源をなすもので、本書が絵入り、抜粋としても版を重ねるとともに、民話の手法をも用いて秀吉像が伝説的に巨大化していった。そのなかで作者未詳の『元禄(げんろく)太閤記』七巻、竹内確斎（岡田玉山画）の『絵本太閤記』七編84冊、さらに諸種太閤伝に注記・考証を施し古典をも借用して脚色を施した栗原柳庵(くりはらりゅうあん)の『真書(しんしょ)太閤記』360巻などがつくられた。これらは明治以後まで、史書、記録、草紙、歴史小説などに影響を与え続けた。

［山下宏明］

『桑田忠親著『太閤記の研究』（1965・徳間書店）』▽『同校訂『太閤記』（1971・新人物往来社）』▽『荒木良雄著『安土桃山時代文学史』（1969・角川書店）』

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