Namiki Sōsuke (1695 – ca. 1751), also known as Namiki Senryū, was a prominent Japanese playwright who wrote for both 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...

and bunraku

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). Nearly forty of his bunraku plays were composed for jōruri

Jōruri (music)

is a form of traditional Japanese narrative music in which a sings to the accompaniment of a shamisen. As a form of storytelling, the emphasis is on the lyrics and narration rather than the music itself....

, a particular form of musical narrative. He is primarily associated with the Takemoto-za

Takemoto-za

The Takemoto-za was a bunraku theatre in Osaka, founded in 1684] by Takemoto Gidayū. Plays by many famous playwrights were performed there, including works by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sōsuke, and Takeda Izumo I...

 and Toyotake-za, the principal bunraku theaters in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

.

Collaborating with a number of other playwrights, including Takeda Izumo I and Miyoshi Shōraku, Namiki Sōsuke created some of the most famous traditional Japanese plays. Among them are Natsumatsuri naniwa kagami (1745, Summer Festival in Naniwa

Naniwa

Naniwa can refer to:* The former name of Osaka, Japan* Naniwa-ku , a ward in Osaka* The Naniwa Vehicle Registration Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which issues "Naniwa" license plates for automobiles registered in the city of Osaka* Naniwa, an express train that once...

), Sugawara denju tenarai kagami

Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami

is a Japanese bunraku and kabuki play jointly written by Takeda Izumo I, Takeda Izumo II, Namiki Sōsuke and Miyoshi Shōraku. Along with Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura and Kanadehon Chūshingura, it is one of the three most famous and popular plays in the kabuki repertoire...

(1746, The Secrets of Sugawara's

Sugawara no Michizane

, also known as Kan Shōjō , a grandson of Sugawara no Kiyotomo , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian Period of Japan...

 Calligraphy), Yoshitsune no senbonzakura (1747, The Thousand Cherry Blossoms

Sakura

A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...

 of Yoshitsune

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...

), and Kanadehon chūshingura

Kanadehon Chūshingura

Chūshingura is an 11-act bunraku puppet play composed in 1748. It is one of the most popular Japanese plays, ranked with Zeami's Matsukaze, although the vivid action of Chūshingura differs dramatically from Matsukaze...

(1748, The Treasure of the Loyal Retainers). Namiki died while writing Ichinotani futaba gunki (1751, The Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

' was a Taira fortress at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it difficult to maneuver troops inside the fortress. Minamoto no Yoshitsune split his force...

), but it was completed by some of his collaborators.