The Twenty-Four Filial Piety of Japan

Joruri Gidayubushi. Historical piece. Five-stage. Commonly known as "Twenty-Four Filial Piety." Collaborative work by Chikamatsu Hanji, Miyoshi Shoraku, Takeda Inaba, Takeda Koizumo, Takeda Heishichi, and Takemoto Saburobei. First performed at the Takemotoza Theater in Osaka in January 1766 (Meiwa 3). Saito Dosan is cast in the conflict between Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, and the play incorporates the legend of the spirit fox crossing Lake Suwa and the story of the Twenty-Four Filial Piety from China. Based on Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "The Battle of Kawanakajima in Shinshu," the work is full of complex techniques and was adapted for kabuki four months after its premiere.

First stage: Takeda's son Katsuyori and Nagao's (Uesugi) daughter Yaegakihime are engaged to be married, but Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki is assassinated by an unknown assassin, so in order to clear their name, both families swear that if the suspect is not caught within three years, Kenshin will behead Kagekatsu, and Shingen will behead Katsuyori, respectively. Second Act (Shingen's Mansion) - Three years after the promise, the treacherous elder retainer Itagaki Hyobu brings along the farmer Minosaku, who is actually the real Katsuyori, in an attempt to rescue his son, who he had switched with Katsuyori when he was a child, but Shingen sees through them and the fake Katsuyori commits seppuku, while the real Katsuyori heads to Shinano with his lady-in-waiting Nureginu to retrieve the helmet of Suwa Hosho, which is in the possession of the Nagao family. Third Act (Kikyougahara, Kansuke's Residence) - Takeda retainer Kosaka Danjo picks up the son of military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke's second son Jihizo at Kikyogahara. Danjo's wife tries to use their child as bait to get Jibizo to serve the Takeda family, but since he is already a retainer of Kenshin, she refuses. She fights with his brother Yokozo in the snow, obtains his late father's secret military books, and, together with her mother, tries to make her brother a substitute for their lord, Kagekatsu. However, Yokozo, who had become a retainer of Shingen, gouged out one of his own eyes so that he would not be of any use as a substitute, and attacked his father, Naoyamamoto Kansuke, and became the lord of Naoeyamashiro. Fourth Act (Kenshin's Mansion, Inner Garden) - Having heard of the death of her fiancé, Yaegakihime, who was offering prayers for him by burning ten kinds of incense, falls madly in love with the real Katsuyori, who is actually the flower-making maid employed by her father, Kenshin. Kenshin sees through Katsuyori's true identity and sends troops to kill him, but to save the princess from peril, she steals a helmet from the inner garden and crosses the lake, guided by the foxfire of the spirit fox that guards it. Nureginu's father, Sekibei, is actually Saito Dosan, who once assassinated the shogun, and now shoots at the rear chamber, but Nureginu dies in his place. The plot of rebellion is foiled by the efforts of the Takeda and Nagao families, who had previously appeared to be at odds with each other.

In the third act, the scene where Jibizo abandons his child is modeled on the story of Guo Ju from "The Twenty-Four Filial Piety," and the scene where he tries to dig up bamboo shoots from the snow for his mother is modeled on the story of Moso. The plot is unusual in that the outlaw Yokozo is actually military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke, and he is also commonly known as "Bamboo Shoots." The most famous scene is "Kenshinkan," commonly known as "Jukshu-ko," and the next one, "Oku-niwa" (commonly known as "Fox Fire"), which, along with the famous scene depicting the passionate love of Princess Yaegaki, has a major role in Kabuki as one of the "Three Princesses."

[Toshiaki Matsui]

"Complete Collection of Japanese Classics: Chikamatsu Hanji Collection, edited by Morizui Kenji" (1949, Asahi Shimbun)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

浄瑠璃義太夫節(じょうるりぎだゆうぶし)。時代物。五段。通称「廿四孝」。近松半二(はんじ)・三好松洛(みよししょうらく)・竹田因幡(いなば)・竹田小出雲(こいずも)・竹田平七・竹本三郎兵衛合作。1766年（明和3）1月、大坂・竹本座初演。武田信玄と上杉謙信の争いに斎藤道三(どうさん)を配し、諏訪(すわ)湖を渡る霊狐の伝説や中国二十四孝の故事を取り入れて脚色。近松門左衛門の『信州川中島合戦』をもとに、複雑な技巧をちりばめた作で、初演の4か月後、歌舞伎(かぶき)に移されている。

　初段――武田の息勝頼(かつより)と長尾（上杉）の息女八重垣姫(やえがきひめ)の婚約が調うが、将軍足利義昭(あしかがよしあき)が何者かに鉄砲で暗殺されたので、両家ともその嫌疑を解くため、3年たっても曲者(くせもの)が捕らえられないときは、謙信は景勝、信玄は勝頼、それぞれ一子の首を打つと誓う。二段目（信玄館）――約束の3年後、逆心のある家老板垣兵部(ひょうぶ)は、幼時に勝頼とすり替えておいたわが子を助けようと、百姓簑作(みのさく)、実は真の勝頼を連れてくるが、信玄はこれを見破り、偽(にせ)勝頼は切腹、真の勝頼は長尾家にある諏訪法性(ほっしょう)の兜(かぶと)を取り戻すため、腰元濡衣(ぬれぎぬ)とともに信濃(しなの)へ向かう。三段目（桔梗(ききょう)ヶ原・勘助住家）――武田の臣高坂弾正(こうさかだんじょう)は桔梗ヶ原で、軍略家山本勘助の次男慈悲蔵(じひぞう)の子を拾う。弾正の妻は子供を餌(えさ)に慈悲蔵を武田家に仕えさせようとするが、彼はすでに謙信の臣になっているので受け付けず、兄の横蔵と雪中で争い、亡父の秘蔵した軍書を手に入れ、母と心をあわせ、兄を主君景勝の身替りにたてようとする。しかし、信玄の家臣になっていた横蔵は、身替りの役にたたぬようにと自ら片方の目をえぐり、父の名山本勘助を襲(つ)ぎ、直江山城守(なおえやましろのかみ)となった慈悲蔵と敵味方に分かれる。四段目（謙信館・奥庭）――許婚(いいなずけ)の死を聞き、十種香(じしゅこう)をたいて回向(えこう)していた八重垣姫は、父謙信に召し抱えられた花作り簑作、実は真の勝頼を見て激しく恋慕する。謙信は勝頼の正体を見抜き、討っ手を向けるが、姫はその危急を救うため、奥庭から兜を盗み出し、これを守護する霊狐の狐火(きつねび)に導かれて湖水を渡る。濡衣の父関兵衛は、実はかつて将軍を暗殺した斎藤道三で、いままた後室を鉄砲で撃つが、濡衣が身替りになって死に、これまで不和とみせた武田・長尾両家の働きによって、謀反の陰謀が破れる。

　三段目で、慈悲蔵がわが子を捨てるところに「二十四孝」の郭巨(かっきょ)の話、母のため雪中から筍(たけのこ)を掘ろうとするところに同じく孟宗(もうそう)の話を当て込んでいる。無法者の横蔵が実は軍師山本勘助という趣向が奇抜で、俗に「筍」ともよばれる。もっとも有名なのは「謙信館」で通称「十種香」、次の「奥庭」（通称「狐火」）とともに、八重垣姫の情熱的な恋を描いた名場面で、姫は歌舞伎では「三姫」の一つという大役になっている。

［松井俊諭］

『守随憲治校注『日本古典全書　近松半二集』（1949・朝日新聞社）』

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