Popular Entertainment - Taishuuengei

Japanese: 大衆演芸 - たいしゅうえんげい

Generally, it refers to popular arts that are performed by artists in front of the general public. The term "popular performing arts" is used in roughly the same sense. It is distinguished from plays performed in large theaters (so-called popular theater, commercial theater), and refers mainly to performing arts that have a popular appeal, such as vaudeville theater. Rakugo, storytelling, rokyoku, manzai, and magic are representative examples of popular performing arts. Popular performing arts must be something that is widely familiar and supported by the general public. It was during the Bunka, Bunsei, and Tenpo eras (1804-44) that rakugo began to gain strong support from the public as a popular performing art, and many masters appeared in both Edo and Osaka.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

一般に，芸にたずさわる人が民衆の前で演じてみせる通俗的な諸芸をさしていう。〈大衆芸能〉の語もほぼ同じ意味で用いられる。大劇場で行われる演劇(いわゆる大衆演劇，商業演劇)とは一応区別して，主として寄席演芸のような大衆性をもつ芸能をいう。落語，講談，浪曲，漫才，奇術などは大衆演芸の代表的なものである。大衆演芸は，あくまでも広く一般の民衆に親しまれ，支持されるものでなければならないだろう。　落語が大衆演芸として民衆の盛んな支持を得るようになったのは，文化･文政･天保(1804‐44)のころであり，江戸でも大坂でも多数の名手があらわれた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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