Popular Entertainment Popular entertainment was once the specialty of the yose theater. though the yose has been supplanted by television and radio, yose entertainment continues to survive as staple fare in the new media. Rakugo This comic monologue originated in the early Edo period in the stories of human foibles told with vivid expression and ending with skilfully delivered punch lines called ochi (the character ochi is also read raku to give rakugo its name.) Rakugo flourished in Edo and Oosaka (Osaka), and many schools of storytelling evolved. Novice performers are called zenza, and open the bill in the typical yise program, and experienced storytellers of exceptional skill are called shin-uchi and perform last. Shin-uchi was formerly a title reserved for only the best rakugo artists, but today it is accorded any rakugo storyteller who has finished his apprenticeship. Koudan This form of storytelling is said to have begun with the recitation of tales from the 14th-century Taiheiki military ballad in the Edo period as perfected by Nawa Seizaemon. Koudan stories are of historical events, military exploits, succession disputes in daimyou households, vendettas, heroic figures and sentimental tales of human nature. Originally called koushaku, this type of storytelling or recitation has been known as koudan since the Meiji period. At its height in the Taishou era when such artists as Takarai Bakin and Ichiryuusai Teizan were in their prime, koudan declined during the war years but has since recovered somewhat with help from female storytellers and other innovations. Manzai Comic banter usually performed by two artists, manzai goes back to the 13th and 14 centuries when such performances were a common entertainment for ushering in the new year and exorcising devils, and the name is said to come from the "banzai" at the end. Modern Manzai developed in the late 19th century in the Kansai region. Though some manzai acts are scripted by professional writers, most are thought up by the performers. Recent manzai acts have sometimes included more than two people and have even had musical accompaniment. Manzai has changed considerably with the times. Today rapid-paced dialogues by young performers are especially popular. Naniwa-bushi Japanese narrative ballads, naniwa-bushi (also called roukyoku)
are recited by a solo chanter to the accompaniment of a single shamisen.
Stories are derived from koushaku, drama, and literature. Originated
by Naniwa Isuke in the Oosaka area in the mid-Edo period,
naniwa-bushi was popularized by Touchuuken Kumoemon at the
turn of the century. Most naniwa-bushi tales are of sacrifice,
ssentiment, and morality, and the term is often used to mean tear-jerking
self-sacrifice. |