Silence

A special performance in Kabuki. Sometimes it is also used as the name of a Kyogen play. It is a stylized scene in which several people engage in a fumbling match in the dark over an important treasure or letter. It is characterized by the absence of any dialogue. Most scenes are set in deep mountains and secluded valleys, and men and women of various classes appear, including a master thief played by a zagashira actor. When the depiction of the scenery of Osatsuma is finished, a pale yellow curtain is cut down and a slow, dance-like performance is performed to the accompaniment of music in the background. It has little to do with the plot of the Kyogen play that day, and is more of a showcase for the actors playing various roles. Some of the more famous plays are "Silence of the Whale," "Silence of Miyajima," and "Silence of Mount Kurama," and they are often performed as independent one-act plays. Originally, this was only found in historical kyogen, but from the Kansei period (1789-1801), scenes of silence began to be included in sewamono as well, and this is called "sewa danmari." "Onbobori" in "Yotsuya Kaidan" is a typical example. Sewa danmari is linked to the development of the plot, and it is usually structured so that any mystery left in this scene is solved later, and this mechanism is called "danmari hoki."

[Yukio Hattori]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)の特殊演出。ときには狂言の名としても用いる。暗闇(くらやみ)のなかで、たいせつな宝物や手紙をめぐって幾人かの人物が探り合いの立回りをする場面を様式化したもの。いっさい台詞(せりふ)を使わないのが特色。多く深山幽谷の場面で、座頭(ざがしら)の俳優が扮(ふん)する大盗賊をはじめ、さまざまの階級の男女が登場する。大薩摩(おおざつま)の情景描写が終わると浅黄幕を切って落とし、下座(げざ)音楽にあわせてゆっくりとした舞踊的な演技を行う。1日の狂言の筋とはあまり関係がなく、いろいろな役柄の俳優の顔見世(かおみせ)的な性格が濃い。『鯨(くじら)のだんまり』『宮島のだんまり』『鞍馬山(くらまやま)のだんまり』などは有名で、独立の一幕物として上演することも多い。本来は時代物の狂言だけについていたものだが、寛政(かんせい)期（1789～1801）以降、世話物にもだんまりの一場面を設けることが始まり、これを「世話だんまり」という。『四谷(よつや)怪談』の「隠亡堀(おんぼうぼり)」はその典型的な例である。世話だんまりは筋の展開と結び付いており、この場で残った謎(なぞ)を後の場で解決するように構成するのが普通で、この仕組みを「だんまりほどき」とよんだ。

［服部幸雄］

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