Reading of the Taiheiki

Also known as the Taiheiki Lectures, it is one of the origins of storytelling. Although storytelling monks and debate monks who read the Taiheiki existed in the late 15th century, the first to appear as entertainers were the lecturers who read the Taiheiki Hyōban Hiden Rijinshō (1645), edited by Daiun'in Yoō, which criticised and commented on the Taiheiki. A famous example was Akamatsu Seizaemon, who came from Kyoto to Edo around the Genroku period (1688-1704), and read his tales near the Asakusa Gate, so the lecture hall in this area was also called the Taiheiki Hall. After the early 18th century, military tales such as the Taikōki and Mikawa Gofudoki became more popular than the Taiheiki. First, the main text is read aloud, and then as the circumstances of the time are explained, lies are mixed in, and the reading becomes more and more interesting, with criticism on a wide range of subjects, including politics and military strategy. Akamatsu Bairyu, a lecturer from Okazaki, Kyoto, who appears in Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "Daikyoji Mukashigoyomi" (1715), reads "The Battle of Kusunokiminatogawa" in a simple manner, writing that the entrance fee was five mon.

[Nobuhiro Shinji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

太平記講釈ともいい、講談の源流の一つ。『太平記』を読む物語僧・談義僧は15世紀後半には存在したが、芸能者としてはっきり姿を現すのは、『太平記』を批判・評論した大運院陽翁編『太平記評判秘伝理尽鈔(しょう)』（1645）を読んだ講釈師たちである。元禄(げんろく)（1688～1704）ごろ京より江戸に下った赤松清左衛門(せいざえもん)が著名で、浅草御門の傍らで読んだため、この地の講釈場は太平記場とも称された。18世紀初頭を過ぎると、『太平記』よりも『太閤記(たいこうき)』『三河後風土記(みかわごふどき)』などの軍談が喜ばれるようになった。まず本文を素読みし、当時の事情など説明していくうちに嘘(うそ)が混じり、だんだんおもしろくなっていき、政治、兵法など万般にわたっての批評を行うという段取りで読まれた。近松門左衛門作『大経師昔暦(だいきょうじむかしごよみ)』（1715）に登場する京都岡崎の講釈師赤松梅竜は、仕方で「楠湊川合戦(くすのきみなとがわかっせん)」を読み木戸銭五文と書かれている。

［延広真治］

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