Omi Genji Senjinyakata

Joruri Gidayubushi. Historical piece. 9 acts. Collaborative work by Chikamatsu Hanji, Hachitami Heishichi, Matsuda Saiji, Miyoshi Shoraku, Takeda Shinmatsu, Chikamatsu Tounan, and Takemoto Saburobei. First performed at the Takemotoza Theater in Osaka in December 1769 (Meiwa 6). The following year it was adapted into Kabuki. The story is adapted by replacing the Winter Siege of Osaka with the battle of the Omi Genji clan in the Kamakura period. In the play, Hojo Tokimasa alludes to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Minamoto Yoriie to Toyotomi Hideyori, and Sasaki Moritsuna and Takatsuna to Sanada Nobuyuki and Yukimura. The eighth volume, "Moritsuna Jin'ya," is famous and has been performed many times. Sasaki Takatsuna, a military strategist on the side of Yoriie, purposely has his only son, Koshiro, captured alive by the Hojo side in a scheme to make Hojo Tokimasa believe he is dead. Tokimasa's general, Moritsuna, asks his mother, Mimyo, to kill Koshiro in order to ensure that his younger brother, Takatsuna, upholds his bushido principles, but just then, news arrives that Takatsuna has been killed in battle. Upon Tokimasa's orders, Moritsuna examines his brother's head and immediately realizes that it is a fake, but is touched by Koshiro's bravery in pretending to follow his father as planned and then committing seppuku, and declares that it is undoubtedly Takatsuna's head. The "examination of the head" is a typical scene found in many historical dramas, but Moritsuna's is the most elegant and stands out for its complex psychological expression. She also has many highlights in her other roles, including the delicately difficult role of an old woman, one of the "Three Old Grannies," as well as Wada Hyoe, a hero on Yoriie's side, and Mother Kagaribi, who sneaks around in pursuit of Koshiro.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

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。9段。近松半二、八民平七、松田才二、三好松洛(しょうらく)、竹田新松、近松東南、竹本三郎兵衛合作。1769年（明和6）12月大坂・竹本座初演。翌年歌舞伎(かぶき)に移入された。大坂冬の陣を鎌倉時代の近江(おうみ)源氏の戦いに置き換えて脚色。作中の北条時政(ときまさ)が徳川家康、源頼家(よりいえ)が豊臣秀頼(とよとみひでより)、佐々木盛綱(もりつな)・高綱(たかつな)が真田信幸(のぶゆき)・幸村(ゆきむら)を暗示する。八冊目の「盛綱陣屋(じんや)」が有名で、再三上演されている。頼家方の軍師佐々木高綱は、北条時政に自分を死んだと思わせる計略から、わざと一子小四郎を北条方に生け捕らせる。時政の将盛綱は、弟高綱の武士道をたたせるため母の微妙(みみょう)に小四郎殺害を頼むが、おりから高綱戦死の報が入る。時政の命で弟の首を実検した盛綱は、すぐ偽首(にせくび)と知るが、計略通り父のあとを追うとみせて切腹した小四郎のけなげさに感じ、高綱の首に相違ないと言上する。「首実検」は時代物に数多い類型的な局面だが、盛綱のそれはもっとも格調のあるもので、複雑な心理表現が眼目。「三婆(さんばば)」の一つで老女の難役微妙をはじめ、頼家方の豪傑和田兵衛(びょうえ)、小四郎を追って忍んでくる母篝火(かがりび)など、他の役にも見せ場が多い。

［松井俊諭］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例