Tales of Tenjiku Tokubei in Korea - Tales of Tenjiku Tokubei in Korea

A Kabuki play. Historical piece. Five acts. Written by Tsuruya Namboku IV. First performed by Onoe Matsusuke I (Shoroku) at the Kawarasakiza Theatre in Edo in July 1804 (Bunka 1). It is an adaptation of the popular story "The Tale of Tenjiku Tokubei" about a boatman who traveled to Tenjiku (India) during the Kan'ei era (1624-1644) and was known as Tenjiku Tokubei, and is based on the Joruri piece "Tenjiku Tokubei Sato no Sugatami" written by Chikamatsu Hanji. On his way back from India, Tokubei, a boatman, learns that his real name is Yoshioka Sokan, and that he is in fact the son of Kiso Kan, a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. In accordance with his father's wishes, he harbors ambitions of overthrowing Japan, and using the magic of a toad to appear and disappear at will, he attempts to assassinate the shogun, but his magic is defeated by the power of the living blood of someone who is born in the same year as the snake. The original story also has a mysterious scene in which the ghost of Ubai Ohata, the wet nurse killed by Tokubei, appears, and Matsusuke played both roles, which became a hit, but the script was revised with each performance by Onoe Kikugoro III, and it became the art of the Onoe family when it was passed down to the 5th and 6th Kikugoro, and is usually performed under the title Otonikiku Tenjiku Tokubei, with two acts and three scenes, "Soukankan," "Suimon," and "Takikawakan." The play is full of kusazoshi tastes, and the highlights are the quick costume change in "Suimon," in which Tokubei is pulled out of a toad, and in "Takikawakan," where Tokubei disguises himself as an Echigo Zatō (head of the house of Echigo), using real water, and appears as a fake messenger.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)脚本。時代物。五幕。4世鶴屋南北(つるやなんぼく)作。1804年（文化1）7月、江戸・河原崎(かわらさき)座で初世尾上松助(おのえまつすけ)（松緑(しょうろく)）が初演。寛永(かんえい)年間（1624～44）天竺（インド）へ渡り、天竺徳兵衛といわれた船頭の巷説(こうせつ)「天竺徳兵衛物語」を脚色したもので、近松半二(はんじ)作の浄瑠璃(じょうるり)『天竺徳兵衛郷鏡(さとのすがたみ)』を下敷きにした作。天竺帰りの船頭徳兵衛が自分の素姓を吉岡宗観(そうかん)実は大明(だいみん)の臣木曽官の子と知り、父の遺志を継いで日本転覆の野望を抱き、蝦蟇(がま)の妖術(ようじゅつ)を使って神出鬼没、将軍の命をねらうが、巳(み)の年月そろった人の生き血の効験によって術を破られる。原作には徳兵衛に殺された乳母五百機(うばいおはた)の亡霊が現れる怪奇な場もあり、松助が二役で勤め評判になったが、その後、3世尾上菊五郎の再三の上演ごとに脚本も改訂され、5世・6世の菊五郎に継承されて尾上家の芸となり、普通『音菊(おとにきく)天竺徳兵衛』の外題(げだい)で「宗観館」「同水門」「滝川館」の二幕三場が上演されている。草双紙趣味豊かな舞台で、「水門」で蝦蟇から引き抜いた徳兵衛の引込み、「滝川館」で本水を使い、越後座頭(えちござとう)に化けた徳兵衛が偽上使になって登場する早替りなどが見もの。

［松井俊諭］

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