Night Storm Okinu

Japanese: 夜嵐お絹 - よあらし・おきぬ

A character in storytelling. Modeled after Harada Kinu (1844-1872), a geisha from the late Edo and Meiji periods. Harada poisoned moneylender Kobayashi Kinpei with rat poison from the Iwami Silver Mine, sparking a stir as a "poison woman." Born in Edo, Harada became an apprentice to Yoro Takigorou as a young girl, and performed magic tricks at comedy venues under the stage name Koharu. In 1858 (Ansei 5), her parents died of illness one after the other, and she was taken in by her uncle, who put her to work as a concubine. In 1868 (Keio 4), her house was burned down during the War of Ueno, and she was forced to become a geisha under the name Konuki. Attracted to Kobayashi, who visited her frequently, she became his concubine, but fell in love with Osaka actor Arashi Rikaku (the second Ichikawa Gonjuro), and in 1871 (Meiji 4), she poisoned Kobayashi. They were arrested six months later, and Arashi was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, while Kinu was executed by beheading at Kozukahara on February 20, 1865. Before their execution, they recited a death poem, "The night storm wakes up, and the flower's dream is left without a trace," and the story has been performed by many lecturers.

(Mitsuo Sekii)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

講談の登場人物。幕末明治時代の芸妓原田キヌ(1844～72)がモデル。原田は金貸業の小林金平を石見銀山の殺鼠剤で毒殺し,「毒婦」として騒がれた。江戸に生まれ,少女時代に養老滝五郎に弟子入りし,小春の芸名で寄席に出て手品を演じた。安政5(1858)年父母が相次いで病死,叔父にひきとられたが,妾奉公に出され,慶応4(1868)年上野の戦争で家を焼かれやむなく小ぬきの名で芸妓に出た。通い詰めた小林にひかされ,妾となったが,大阪の役者嵐璃鶴(2代目市川権十郎)と相思相愛の関係におちいり,明治4(1871)年小林を毒殺した。半年後に逮捕され,嵐は2年の徒刑,キヌは翌5年2月20日,小塚原で斬罪になった。処刑の前に「夜嵐のさめて跡なし花の夢」と辞世をよみ,実録が多くの講釈師によって演じられた。<参考文献>綿谷雪『近世悪女奇聞』

(関井光男)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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