Hirakana Seisui-ki - Hirakana Seisui-ki

A joruri gidayuu style piece. A historical piece. Five acts. A collaboration between Bunkodo, Miyoshi Shouraku, Asada Kakei, Takeda Koizumo, and Senzenken. First performed at the Takemotoza Theater in Osaka in April 1739 (Genbun 4). With a title meaning a popular version of the Genpei Jōsuiki, the play depicts the activities of the Yoshinaka and Kajiwara Kagetoki families from the fall of Kiso Yoshinaka to the Battle of Ichinotani.

Second Act (Genta disowned): In the Battle of Ujigawa, where the main forces of the Genji clan defeated Kiso Yoshinaka, Kajiwara Kagetoki's eldest son, Genta, returns home after losing the battle for the vanguard against Sasaki Takatsuna. His younger brother, Heiji, who is in love with Genta's lover, the maid Chidori, exposes this in front of their mother, Enju, and humiliates her. Genta deliberately concedes the victory to repay the favor his father Kagetoki had received from Sasaki, but Enju is forced to disown Genta and take Chidori with him. Third Act (Otsu Inn, Sasabiki, Matsuemonuchi, Sakaro no Matsu) - Yoshinaka's concubine Yamabuki Gozen and the young lord Komawakamaru escape under the protection of his old retainer Kamata Hayato and his daughter, the maid Ofude, but they are pursued at an inn in Otsu, and in the darkness, the innkeeper's boatman Gonshiro's grandson Tsuchimatsu is mistaken for Komawaka and killed, killing Yamabuki and Hayato. The boatman Matsuemon, who married Gonshiro's daughter Oyoshi, is actually Yoshinaka's retainer Higuchi Jiro Kanemitsu, and by chance he ends up protecting the young lord when his father-in-law takes Komawaka home, mistaking him for his grandson. When O-Fude visits Gonshiro and learns of his grandson's death, he is heartbroken, but Higuchi's heartfelt persuasion convinces him. Higuchi learns how to row a reverse oar and plots to kill Yoshitsune and his party, but is exposed and surrounded by a large number of assassins. However, thanks to the efforts of Gonshiro and the enemy general Hatakeyama Shigetada, Komawaka is saved and he is captured. Fourth Act (Kanzaki Ageya): O-Fude's younger sister Chidori sells herself to the Kanzaki brothel and becomes a prostitute called Umegae. She struggles to raise the 300 ryo needed for Genta's departure, but the second floor pours out money on her behalf, thanks to the kindness of Enju, who has been watching her as a customer.

The year after its premiere, it was adapted into a kabuki play, and thereafter, it became customary for the story of Genta and Chidori in the second and fourth acts to be performed separately from the story of Higuchi and Ofude in the third act. "Genta and the Disownment" is also called "Disownment Scene" or "Vanguard Dialogue," and the highlight is when Genta relates the battle for the lead by involving Chidori and Heiji. "Sasabiki" centers on the sorrowful performance of Ofude, who pulls Yamabuki Gozen's corpse on a bamboo pole. The most famous part, from "Matsuemonnai" to "Sakayagura no Matsu," has many highlights, such as Higuchi's introduction and the fights against the many boatmen, and is commonly known as "Sakayagura." The main feature of "Kanzaki Ageya" is that Chidori, wanting money, strikes a water basin in imitation of the bell of eternal hell, and so it is also commonly called "The Bell of Eternal Hell."

[Toshiaki Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

浄瑠璃義太夫(じょうるりぎだゆう)節。時代物。五段。文耕堂(ぶんこうどう)・三好松洛(みよししょうらく)・浅田可啓・竹田小出雲(こいずも)・千前軒の合作。1739年（元文4）4月、大坂・竹本座初演。『源平盛衰記』を通俗にしたという意味の外題(げだい)で、木曽義仲(きそよしなか)の滅亡後から一ノ谷合戦までの義仲一族と梶原景時(かじわらかげとき)一家の動静を描く。

　二段目（源太勘当）―源氏の本軍が木曽義仲を討った宇治川の合戦で、梶原景時の長男源太は佐々木高綱との先陣争いに敗れて帰還する。源太の恋人の腰元千鳥(ちどり)に横恋慕する弟平次は、母延寿(えんじゅ)の前でこれを暴いて辱める。源太は父景時が佐々木に受けた恩を返すため、わざと勝ちを譲ったのだが、延寿はやむをえず源太を勘当し、千鳥を供につけてやる。三段目（大津宿屋・笹引(ささびき)・松右衛門内(まつえもんうち)・逆櫓(さかろ)の松）―義仲の御台(みだい)山吹御前と若君駒若丸(こまわかまる)は、老臣鎌田隼人(はやと)とその娘腰元お筆に守られて落ち延びるが、大津の宿屋で追っ手がかかり、暗闇(くらやみ)のなかで、同宿の船頭権四郎(ごんしろう)の孫槌松(つちまつ)が駒若に間違えられて討たれ、山吹と隼人も死ぬ。権四郎の娘およしへ婿入りしていた船頭松右衛門とは、実は義仲の臣樋口次郎兼光(ひぐちのじろうかねみつ)で、舅(しゅうと)が孫と取り違えて駒若を連れ帰ったことから、偶然にも若君を守護することになる。お筆が訪れ、孫の死を知った権四郎は悲憤するが、樋口の真情込めた説得で納得する。樋口は逆櫓の漕法を覚え、義経(よしつね)一行を討とうと企て、露顕して大ぜいの討っ手に囲まれるが、権四郎と敵将畠山重忠(はたけやましげただ)の計らいにより、駒若を助けてもらって自分は縄にかかる。四段目（神崎揚屋(かんざきあげや)）―お筆の妹である千鳥は、神崎の廓(くるわ)へ身売りして遊女梅ヶ枝となり、源太の出陣に必要な300両の調達に苦心するが、客になってようすをうかがっていた延寿の情けで、二階から金がまかれる。

　初演の翌年には歌舞伎(かぶき)に移され、その後、二、四段目の源太・千鳥の話と、三段目の樋口・お筆の筋は別々に上演されるのが例になった。「源太勘当」は「勘当場」または「先陣問答」ともいい、源太が千鳥と平次を絡ませて先陣争いの模様を物語るところが見せ場。「笹引」は、山吹御前の死骸(しがい)を笹に乗せて引くお筆の哀調を帯びた演技が中心。もっとも有名な「松右衛門内」から「逆櫓の松」にかけては、樋口の名のり、大ぜいの船頭相手の立回りなど、見どころ多く、「逆櫓」の通称で知られる。「神崎揚屋」は、千鳥が金欲しさに、無間(むけん)の鐘になぞらえて手水鉢(ちょうずばち)をたたくところが眼目なので、俗に「無間の鐘」ともいう。

［松井俊諭］

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