Toraakira Okura - Okura Toraakira

Japanese: 大蔵虎明 - おおくら・とらあきら

Year of death: 13 January 1662 (3 March 1662)
Year of birth: 1597
A kyogen performer in the early Edo period. The 13th head of the Okura school. His father was Yaemon Torakiyo. His mother was the daughter of Kotsuzumi Yuki Masayoshi (Gekken). He was born in Hirao, Yamashiro Province (Kyoto Prefecture), and lived in Nara. His previous name was Yataro. He was granted the title of kyogen tayu at the age of six, at a Noh performance held after the Nara Kasuga Wakamiya Festival. Around 1613 (Keicho 18), he was ordered by Tokugawa Ieyasu to visit his father, who was staying in Sunpu, and was given his first Noh role. From then on, while he was taught by his father, he also admired the shite performer Konparu tayu Ansho (Zenkyoku) and formed a friendship with Kita Shichitayu, a master of the emerging Kita (Kita) school, and he trained hard, influenced by them. In 1628 (Kan'ei 5), at the age of 32, he took over as head of the Konparu troupe in place of his father, and in the 11th year of the same year, he inherited the family headship. At the command of Shogun Iemitsu, he lived on Mount Toei for three years, where he received instruction from the monk Tenkai on the important aspects of Okina, Sanbaso, and Kyogen. He also received 19 other certificates throughout his life, and was well versed in not only Kyogen but also all aspects of literature and martial arts, which are reflected in his literary activities. From Kanei 12, he spent several years writing the lyrics for Ama Kyogen, Hon Kyogen, and Furyu, and finally completed the first script of the school, Okura Toramyobon. In 1651, he wrote Mukashigoto (a complete volume) (revised in 1658) in opposition to the Sagi school, which was all the rage at the time, and advocated the preservation of tradition. In 1660, he completed a commentary on it, Warambegusa (a complete five-volume set). It is significant that, under difficult circumstances such as the rise of the Sagi school and the establishment of a branch of his younger brother Yaemon's family, he established the position of the head of the Okura school and worked to preserve the tradition. <References> Toshiaki Yonekura “Waranbegusa (Kyogen old words) research”

(Michiko Ishii)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛文2.1.13(1662.3.3)
生年：慶長2(1597)
江戸初期の狂言師。大蔵流宗家13代目。父は弥右衛門虎清。母は小鼓方幸正能(月軒)の娘。山城国(京都府)平尾に生まれ,奈良に住む。前名は弥太郎。6歳のとき南都春日若宮御祭の後日能で,狂言大夫号を授けられたという。慶長18(1613)年ごろ,徳川家康の命で駿府滞在中の父のもとに下り,初めて御能御役を仰せつけられる。以後は父の教えを受ける一方で,シテ方の金春大夫安照(禅曲)に私淑するとともに新興の北(喜多)流の名人北七大夫とも親交を結び,彼らの影響をも受けながら稽古に励む。寛永5(1628)年,32歳にして父に代わって金春座の頭取となり,同11年には家督相続。将軍家光の上意により東叡山に3年間起居して天海僧正から翁,三番叟,狂言の大事についての相伝を受け,それ以外にも生涯を通じて19種の印可を得るなど,狂言のみならず文武諸般に精通しており,これらはその著作活動に反映されている。寛永12年から数年を費やして間狂言,本狂言,風流の詞章を執筆,同流最初の台本『大蔵虎明本』がここに完成した。さらに慶安4(1651)年には当時一世を風靡した鷺流に対抗し,伝統保持を主張した『昔語』全1巻を執筆(1658年に補訂)。万治3(1660)年にその注釈書『わらんべ草』全5巻を完成させた。鷺流の台頭,弟八右衛門家の分家樹立という厳しい状況下,大蔵流宗家の地位を確立し,芸統の保持に努めた意義は大きい。<参考文献>米倉利昭『わらんべ草(狂言昔語抄)研究』

(石井倫子)

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