Namiki Shozo I
Encyclopedia
Namiki Shōzō I (1730–1773) was a prominent Japanese playwright who produced roughly 100 works for bunraku
(puppet theater) and for kabuki
. Shōzō is also credited with inventing the revolving stage (回り舞台, mawaributai), one of many tricks of stagecraft
used extensively in kabuki, and with popularizing the use of trapdoors (セリ上げ, seriage).
Shōzō left bunraku in 1751; adapting plays from bunraku to kabuki was a very common practice, and it is likely that many of Shōzō's kabuki plays began as puppet productions.
His roughly one hundred plays were mostly jidai-mono (時代物, historical plays), and include Keisei ama no hagoromo (The Feathery Garment from Heaven, 1753), Sanjikkoku yobune no hajimari (The Beginning of the Heavy Cargo Ships on the Yodo River, 1758), and Sanzen-sekai yarikuri ōrai (Kin'emon the Notorious Pirate, 1772).
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
(puppet theater) and for kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
. Shōzō is also credited with inventing the revolving stage (回り舞台, mawaributai), one of many tricks of stagecraft
Keren (kabuki)
are stagecraft tricks used in Japanese kabuki theater, making use of trapdoors, revolving stages, and other equipment.Often translated as "playing to the gallery," many drama enthusiasts consider these sorts of adaptations to be demeaning to the art of kabuki...
used extensively in kabuki, and with popularizing the use of trapdoors (セリ上げ, seriage).
Shōzō left bunraku in 1751; adapting plays from bunraku to kabuki was a very common practice, and it is likely that many of Shōzō's kabuki plays began as puppet productions.
His roughly one hundred plays were mostly jidai-mono (時代物, historical plays), and include Keisei ama no hagoromo (The Feathery Garment from Heaven, 1753), Sanjikkoku yobune no hajimari (The Beginning of the Heavy Cargo Ships on the Yodo River, 1758), and Sanzen-sekai yarikuri ōrai (Kin'emon the Notorious Pirate, 1772).
See also
- Namiki Shōzō IINamiki Shozo IINamiki Shōzō II was a kabuki playwright and relative of the more prominent Namiki Shōzō I. Though none of his surviving plays are prominent ones, he may have been the author of the 1801 Kezairoku , a kabuki playwriting manual.-References:*Takaya, Ted T. . "Namiki Shōzō." Kodansha Encyclopedia of...