Biwa priest

Japanese: 琵琶法師 - びわほうし

The term refers to monks or performers of a monastic order who play biwa music, and later came to be used as a colloquial term for blind people who played the biwa professionally. Its origins are said to be Semimaru during the reign of Emperor Uda or Daigo, or Prince Hitoshi (Tenya no Mikoto or Ameya no Mikoto), the fourth son of Emperor Ninmyo, but are unclear. The Shin Sarugaku-ki and other documents confirm the existence of priests who recited stories accompanied by biwa during the Heian period. From the end of the Kamakura period, when storytelling was limited to the Tale of the Heike, and biwa priests who played Heike songs formed an autonomous organization called Todo, most blind people joined the organization. On the other hand, blind monks who played biwa at memorial services at Tendai sect temples in Kyushu were in conflict with the Todo blind people, and friction continued until the beginning of the Edo period. During the Edo period, due to the Todo protection policy of the Todo Shogunate, blind Todo practitioners were placed under the control of the Kyoto Shokuyashiki and the Edo Sorokuyashiki. In addition to Heikyoku, they also performed shamisen music and Sokyoku, and some also worked in acupuncture and moxibustion, and so the image of Biwa-hoshi came to be only given to those among them who were wandering performers of the biwa baton since the Middle Ages. Heikyoku performers were well received by the Todo Shogunate and various feudal lords, and in reality, so-called wandering performers hardly existed. After the Todo system was abolished in 1871 (Meiji 4), Heikyoku fell into rapid decline and the number of performers also decreased sharply. On the other hand, blind monks in Kyushu, although very few in number, continue to perform biwa baton as a form of door-to-door entertainment in addition to memorial services, to this day.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

琵琶音楽を演奏する僧侶または僧体の芸能者をいい，のちには琵琶演奏を専業とする盲人の俗称として用いられた。起源は宇多，醍醐天皇時代の蝉丸，または仁明天皇第4皇子人康親王 (天夜尊，雨夜尊) とするが，はっきりしない。『新猿楽記』その他の文献から，平安時代に物語を琵琶伴奏で語る法師の存在が確認される。鎌倉時代末期から語り物が『平家物語』に限定され，いわゆる平曲演奏家としての琵琶法師が当道 (とうどう) という自治組織を結成してから，大部分の盲人がその組織下に加わった。一方，天台宗系の九州の寺院で法要琵琶を演奏した盲僧たちは，この当道盲人と対立し，江戸時代初めまで軋轢を繰返した。江戸時代には，幕府の当道保護政策もあって，当道盲人は京都の職屋敷と江戸の惣録屋敷の支配下におかれた。彼らは平曲以外に三味線音楽や箏曲も扱い，また，鍼灸その他に従事する者もあったので，琵琶法師というイメージは，それらのなかの中世以来の琵琶弾奏の放浪芸能者からのみ与えられるにいたった。平曲演奏家は幕府および諸大名から厚遇され，いわゆる放浪芸能者としては，実際にはほとんど存在しないようになった。明治4 (1871) 年当道制度の廃止後，平曲は急激にすたれ，その演奏家も激減した。一方，九州の盲僧は，ごくわずかながら法要以外に門付芸能としての琵琶弾奏も行なって現在にいたっている。

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