Leiter S.L. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre

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RANBYO

SHI • 321

types, all used in a single play), ju

rojin, hotei, gaiho

, kagekiyo (for

that character), ho

kaibo

(for that character), shu

to no gabu, etc.

Of the few trick heads, one is worn by Tadanobu in Yoshitsune

Senbon Zakura and has movable ears, suggesting that the character

is really a fox. Another is the nashiwari (‘‘split pear’’), whose face

gets lopped off during a battle, revealing the inside of the head.

Other heads include the detchi (‘‘apprentice’’), used by comical

apprentices in sewa mono; the futahei, used by simple, honest, and,

often, comic characters; the yokanbei, a reddish-faced comic minor

villain (hagataki) like Yokanbei in Ashiya Do

man O

uchi Kagami;

and so on. There are many minor heads that have no set features and

are designed according to the carver’s tastes.

RAKANDAI. Cheap seating placed upstage left on two levels, facing

the audience and the actors’ backs, in Edo-period kabuki theatres. It

was so named because of the resemblance of the spectators crammed

in here to the images of ‘‘500 Buddhist avatars’’ (rakan) found in

many temples. See also YOSHINO.

RAKUGO. A narrative art in which a single reciter tells stories, often

comic, while seated on a cushion set on a small platform and gestur-

ing with a fan. It is usually part of a variety show (yose). Many of its

stories were adapted into popular kabuki plays, especially in the 19th

century.

RANBYO

SHI. ‘‘Consummate rhythm,’’ a no

dance, now p erfo rmed

only by the shirabyo

shi dancer in Do

-ji prior to her leap into the

large bell. Requiring perfect timing, it uses heel and toe movements

and stamping, and is accompanied by only the kotsuzumi (see KOTSU-

ZUMI AND O

TSUZUMI)

and

the fue, with congruent drumbeats and

musicians’ kakegoe (usually they are noncongruent). In the Edo

period, the term referred to passages that could be performed only

with special abilities, including secret knowledge, and was also per-

formed in Higaki and So

shi Arai Komachi. A performance of ranbyo

shi is normally given by a performer to mark his or her commence-

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322 • RELIGION

ment as a professional following the conclusion of training. See also

MAIGOTO.

RELIGION. The religious background of all forms of traditional Japa-

nese theatre derives from the beliefs of Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto

and Buddhist practices intermingled over the centuries and were once

less distinct than they are now, although there was never complete

syncretism. Still Shinto shrines are often found on the grounds of

Buddhist temples.

Shinto, which was not known by that name in premodern times,

is the indigenous belief system of Japan, predating Buddhism, and

emphasizing cultic faith in the existence of a world of spirits or dei-

ties (kami) inhabiting our natural surroundings, signiﬁed by shrines

to house the deities. Such shrines could be simple or elaborate, the

latter often having large staffs of priests and priestesses (miko) who

performed ritual, shamanistic dances on special occasions. An

important class of kami was ancestors, worshipped by their descen-

dants as kami. The most signiﬁcant ancestor in Japan was the sun

goddess who founded the imperial line. Rituals involve the presenta-

tion of offerings of various types to the kami in his or her shrine.

Much is made of puriﬁcation rituals when any ceremony is per-

formed concerning the kami, and the result of proper worship is fer-

tility, good feelings, prosperity, and health. Shinto is not concerned

with the afterlife.

Many plays have Shinto themes, especially no

and kyo

gen plays in

which Shinto deities—perhaps the spirits of ﬂora or fauna—appear

as characters. Bunraku and kabuki plays are often set at the time of

popular Shinto festivals, and they, too, may introduce Shinto-based

deities as well as festival dances and songs. The most famous Shinto-

inﬂuenced no

play is Okina. Early puppet plays were Shinto in nature

as well, the puppets being used to teach the public about Shinto dei-

ties, and the artists being in the employ of Shinto shrines, most

famously at Nishinomiya’s Ebisu Shrine.

By 600, Chinese cultur e had made si gn iﬁcant inr oads in Japa n,

bringing with it Confucianism, established as the moral philosophy

of the samurai class during the Edo period. This behavioral system—

which was not a religion—demanded a hierarchical chain of lord,

vassal, and family loyalties, with the utmost loyalty being to one’s

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RELIGION • 323

master; it also dictated, according to the Chinese philosopher Chu

Hsi’s interpretation, a four-tiered class system with the samurai at the

top, followed by the farmers, the artisans, and the merchant class.

Arriving from the Asian mainland in the late sixth century was

Buddhism, which emphasized a respect for living things, mercy,

meditative practices, and the search for enlightenment through aban-

donment of worldly desires. A form of popular Buddhism arose in

Japan that expressed faith in the androgynous bodhisattva Kannon

and the deity Amida, an earlier manifestation of the historical Bud-

dha, Gautama. Kannon sacriﬁced his/her eternal bliss to help man-

kind surmount suffering; he/she ﬁgures in many plays. By repeatedly

saying the invocation, ‘‘Namu Amida Butsu’’ (‘‘Praise to Amida

Buddha’’), it was believed one could achieve salvation. This is often

seen in all types of plays. Thus, lovers preparing to kill themselves

in bunraku and kabuki shinju

mono recite it in hopes of being reborn

on a single lotus leaf. Buddhism, unlike Shinto, is death obsessed,

one’s fate in the many upper and lower afterworlds dependent on the

life one lives on earth. Buddhist priests populate numerous no

, kyo

gen, bunraku, and kabuki plays, sometimes being taken quite seri-

ously and other times being the butt of laughter.

Zeami, the great no

actor-playwright-theorist, was apparently a

follower of Zen Buddhism, which some acknowledge to be the rea-

son for no

’s austere, pared-down aesthetic and meditative quality

although others claim that these features are not necessarily indebted

to no

, especially if one considers the luxuriousness of no

costumes.

It is known that a major type of no

play in which demons are exor-

cized sprang from a temple and shrine ritual in which a religious ﬁg-

ure chased wicked demons from the holy precincts. And one of the

most common patterns of no

plays has a traveling priest encounter a

humble local person who, after being questioned about his/her iden-

tity leaves, only to reappear in the priest’s dream state in their true

supernatural identity, which may be that of a Shinto deity or of some

suffering soul, perhaps unable to break the bonds of earthly attach-

ment, and seeking salvation through the priest’s intercession or possi-

bly even attacking the priest before being quelled by his holy powers.

During the 17th century, the ko jo

ruri produced many plays with

Buddhist themes, including Amida no Munewari, in which Amida

substituted him/herself for a human being who would otherwise have

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324 • RENDAI

died. This began the trend toward migawari mono.Asbunraku

developed, religion receded to the background, providing the local

color of the plays, which were essentially secular. A suggestion of

Shinto shamanism is found in several plays about foxes who take

human form to aid a beloved person, as in ‘‘Kuzu no Ha’’ (Ashiya

man O

uchi no Kagami). Kannon plays an important role in the

late 19th-century Tsubosaka Reigenki when the deity saves the lives

of a loving couple who have plunged to their deaths, and gives the

man his sight back.

Kabuki originated in the Buddhist dances of the shrine maiden

Izumo no Okuni, who was seeking to raise money for a Shinto

shrine, but religion soon took a back seat to erotic displays. Kabuki

became a predominantly secular form in which religious concerns

were secondary, despite the many priests and even religious services

depicted. A famous play about a priest is Narukami, about a holy

Buddhist priest of that name who is seduced by a beautiful woman

and grows so enraged he is transformed into the powerful deity Fudo

Many rural Shinto shrines possess rustic kabuki stages, and perform-

ances are still given during annual festivals, the original purpose of

performing for the gods having been replaced by the delights offered

to human spectators.

RENDAI. Tall, narrow, black property stands located directly upstage

of the tesuri on bunraku stages for placement of props used during a

scene. A kaishaku or junior puppeteer moves them about as needed.

Rendai are also employed to rest a puppet’s feet on during lengthy

scenes to lessen the burden on the puppeteers.

RENGIN. A type of concert recital of no

in which a group of actors

chants (utai) without musical accompaniment.

RENJU

. Well-organized theatergoing ‘‘fan clubs’’ that supported their

favorite kabuki actors during the Edo period. The fans (hiiki) wore

distinctive clothing and followed traditional customs, and often pre-

sented gifts during the performance to the stars they favored.

RENMEI. The formalized billing or ‘‘name lists’’ of kabuki performers

and writers used during the Edo period. There were a number of sys-

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RONGI • 325

tems for presenting the names on kanban and in banzuke, each based

on the relative importance of those named. There were also variations

depending on speciﬁc circumstances. See also KAKIDASHI;

NAKAJIKU.

RENRIBIKI. A convention seen in kabuki kaidan mono when a ghost

tries to restrain the escape of a frightened character. The ghost holds

its hands so that they droop from the wrist and seems to pull on the

air; the ﬂeeing person acts as though something is pulling him by the

hair. Examples are in Kasane and To

kaido

Yotsuya Kaidan.

RIEN. The ‘‘pear garden,’’ a reference to the theatrical world that

derives from China’s T’ang dynasty, when Emperor Hsu

an Tsung’s

(also known as Ming Huang) cour t entertainers trained in such a

place. In the Edo period, it came to be applied in Japan to kabuki.

BA. Also ro

jo, a type of no

mask used for ‘‘old women.’’ Whereas

the uba mask simply indicates old age, as with the female tree spirit

in Takasago,thero

ba depicts someone who was a beauty in her

youth. Variations of the ro

ba are named for the characters them-

selves, as with the komachi, higaki,oryamanba.

MUSHA MONO. A subcategor y of nibanme mono no

plays in

which the shite is an ‘‘aging samurai,’’ which brings an additional

touch of pathos to the performance. In Yorimasa and Sanemori, the

shite wears a mask known by the character’s name (that of the title),

and he ﬁrst appears as the ghost of the character who appears in the

second part (nochiba). In Tomonaga, the middle-aged woman who

ﬁrst appears as the shite (maejite) is a different character from the

ghost of Tomonaga, the nochijite (see

SHITE), making it one of the

rare

plays with this pat tern . See also DRAM ATIC STRUCT URE:

RONGI. A ‘‘discussion’’ dialogue in no

chante d to hiranori rhythm

that has several types. It often comes in the ﬁrst half (maeba) after

the kuse and before the nakairi, and is between the shite and waki,

as in Hachi no Ki. Or it may also come between the shite and the

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326 • RO

NIN

jiutai,asinTakasago, when the shite reveals or hints at his or her

true identity. See also MONDO

NIN. Samurai whose connection to their lord has been severed and

who drift like ‘‘wave men.’’ They are common characters, both as

villains and heroes, in bunraku and kabuki plays. Among famous

examples are the 47 masterless samurai who take revenge on their

late master’s enemy in Kanadehon Chu

shingura. Many ro

nin charac-

ters are forced to leave their lord’s employ and disguise themselves

as commoners (yatsushi) so that they can search for a missing or lost

heirloom (oie no cho

ROPPO

. A stylized hanamichi exit in kabuki, named for the ‘‘six direc-

tions’’ (heaven, earth, east, west, north, and south) in which the actor

seems to be moving as he bounds off, arms and legs making exagger-

atedly large movements. T he term appeared in kabuki during the

early Edo period when actors were inﬂuenced by the behavior of the

ﬂamboyant otokodate.(See NANBAN; TANZEN.) The movement is

meant to demonstrate the character’s power.

Most of the variations are in aragoto style, including the tobi

roppo

(‘‘ﬂying roppo

’’), performed by Umeomaru in ‘‘Kuruma Biki’’

(Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami) and Benkei in Kanjincho

;the

katate roppo

(‘‘one-handed roppo

’’), seen in Tenjiku Tokubei Ikoku

Banashi and Ibaraki; the kitsune roppo

(‘‘fox roppo

’’), performed by

Fox-Tadanobu in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura); the keisei roppo

(‘‘courtesan roppo

’’), seen in Miyajima

Danmari (

see DANMARI);

the yu

rei (‘‘ghost roppo

’’); and the oyogi roppo

(‘‘swimming

roppo

’’).

Some roppo

appear not as exits but as bold movements performed

in the context of a play, as for example when Fuwa and Nagoya in

‘‘Saya-ate’’ (see FUWA NAGOYA MONO) perform the tanzen roppo

(‘‘before the bathhouse roppo

’’).

Bunraku uses roppo

to describe a certain movement of the feet,

and Japanese folk theatre (minzoku geino

) uses it to denote ritualistic

stamping intended to frighten evil spirits in the earth.

RYU

. See SCHOOLS OF NO

AND KYO

GEN.

RYU

HA. See SCHOOLS OF NO

AND KYO

GEN.

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SAGI RYU

• 327

RYU

JIN MAKI. A theatricalized suo

robe worn in bunraku and kabuki

by certain ofﬁcials in jidai mono, such as Genba in ‘‘Terakoya’’

(Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). The right sleeve is off the shoul-

der and ﬁxed at the rear of the costume, where it is folded to resemble

a strip of dried abalone. The left sleeve, which bears a large mon,is

stretched stifﬂy with bamboo splints. See also COSTUMES: BUN-

RAKU AND KABUKI.

SADANOSHIN. Male puppet head used for reﬁned, compassionate

old men like Takemura Sadanoshin, Shigenoi’s father, in Koi Nyo

Somewake Tazuna, and Hanzai in Katsuragawa Renri Biki. He has a

light beige face and eyes that close.

SADOSHIMA CHO

GORO

. Two generations of kabuki actors. Yago

Sumiyoshiya (Cho

goro

II). Cho

goro

I (1700–57) was a Kamigata

actor who excelled at wagoto and jitsugoto (see TACHIYAKU) roles,

as well as dancing. His Sadoshima Nikki (Sadoshima’s Diary) is an

important book about the life of an 18th-century actor. He and Naka-

mura Utaemon I were responsible for innovations that c ombi ned

kabuki and bunraku techniques.

SAGEUTA. A short ‘‘low-pitched song ’’ ch ante d in no

in cong ruent

rhythm and in the lower register. It often precedes a rongi or ageuta.

SAGI RYU

. One of the three main schools of kyo

gen during the Edo

period, along with the O

kura ryu

and Izumi ryu

Its

founder was

Roami, who lived during the m id-14th centur y, and who is men-

tioned in the Sarugaku Dangi. The actual founder of the school was

its 10th head (so

ke), Sagi Niemon So

gen (1560–1650); the school

ofﬁcially began when it was ordered by Tokugawa Ieyasu to afﬁliate

with the Kanze ryu

. The lineage of the school’s leaders lasted

through 18 generations of actors named Niemon or Gonnojo

. During

the Meiji period, Gonnojo

XIX (1824–95) moved about from city to

city until around 1882. Meanwhile, Sagi actor Namekawa Sho

saburo

(1820–1901) got involved with the Azuma No

Kyo

gen troupe that

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328 • SAJIKI

attempted during the late Meiji period to combine no

and kabuki. The

school also became associat ed wi th Meiji- peri od kabuki perf orm-

ance. These associations led to the Sagi being shunned by the no

and

kyo

gen world and practically disappearing into t he backwaters of

provincial venues, such as Yamaguchi and Niigata Prefectures, where

it was rediscovered as a regional performing art in the mid-1990s and

named an Important Intangible Cultural Property. It is not, however,

considered part of the mainstream kyo

gen world.

SAJIKI. The ‘‘gallery’’ seating on either side and at the rear of tradi-

tional bunraku and kabuki theatres. It was considered the best seating

in the house, presumably because of the view of the hanamichi. Ele-

vated sajiki for the nobility at festivals date back to the middle ages

and were later incorporated into kanjin no

during the Kamakura and

Muromachi periods. In early kabuki, there was a single level of

roofed sajiki placed on either side of the doma, with screens helping

to provide privacy for the audience. Later, blinds would serve the

same purpose.

When roofed-in theatres arrived in the mid-1720s, sajiki were set

up on either side of the auditorium on two stories, one directly over

the other. Audience right seating was in the higashi sajiki (‘‘eastern

gallery’’), left seating was the nishi sajiki (‘‘western gallery’’), and

seats at the rear of the house were in the muko

sajiki (‘‘beyond gal-

lery’’). (See O

MUKO

.) (Interestingly, the old Kanamaru-za in Koto-

hira calls its audience right gallery the nishi sajiki and the opposite

one the higashi sajiki.) The nikai sajiki (‘‘second-story galler y’’)

nearest the stage was considered the best. The seats on the lower

level were called uzura sajiki.(See RAKANDAI; YOSHINO.) A few

theatres, like the Kabuki-za and the Shinbashi Enbujo

, preserve the

tatami seating of the old days, but chairs are used in most sajiki

today.

SAKATA TO

. F

our

generations of kabuki actors. Yago

Kuwa-

naya (To

I); Yamashiroya (To

I–III); Hiiragiya (To

II–III).

juˆro

I (1647–1709) was the greatest Kamigata actor of his day. In

1678, he became a star when he played Izaemon in Yu

giri Nagori no

Sho

gatsu, a role he performed in 18 productions. A pure nimaime

based in Kyoto, he excelled at nimaime. Chikamatsu Monzaemon

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SAKURAMA SAJIN (1835–1917) • 329

wrote many plays for him for a decade, beginning in 1693. His

wagoto style is often contrasted with the aragoto of his Edo contem-

porary, Ichikawa Danju

Nakamura Ganjiro

III became To

juˆro

IV in 2005.

SAKURADA JISUKE. Four generations of Edo playwrights. Jisuke I

(1734–1806), who spent several years in Kamigata before returning

to Edo, was a proliﬁc dramatist who wrote for Ichikawa Danzo

III,

Ichikawa Danju

IV, and Matsumoto Ko

shiro

V. Some think him

kabuki’s most literary playwright, which may be why more of his

plays are not revived. T hose still se en in clud e Gohiiki Kanjincho

Date Kurabe Okuni Kabuki, and Banzuin Cho

bei Sho

jin no Manaita,

while dances include Modori Kago, Yoshiwara Suzume, and Kumo

Hyo

shimai.

Jisuke II (1768–1829) took that name in 1808. He specialized in

henge mono, and his still-produced work includes Genta, Sarashime,

Shiokumi, Toba-e, Shitadashi Sanbaso

(see SANBASO

MONO), and

Asazuma Bune.

Jisuke III (1802–77) took the name in 1833 and was best at adapt-

ing old plays. His still seen work includes Akegarasu Hana no Nure-

ginu, Kore wa Hyo

ban Ukina no Yomiuri, Noriaibune,

and Dontsuku

SAKURAMA SAJIN (1835–1917). No

actor of the Konparu ryu

born into the venerable Sakurama family of Kumamoto and known

for many years as Sakurama Banma. He became Sajin in 1901. After

a childhood in which he gained repute as a prodigy, he was ordered

by his clan leader to go to Edo when he was 21 to be trained by

Nakamura Heizo

. His activity in Tokyo on behalf of no

during the

Meiji period was signiﬁcant, and he played for the imperial family

on various occasions. He, Umewaka Minoru, and Ho

sho

Kuro

were

considered the three greatest no

ar tists of the day. His farewell

appearance, in 1915, was as the shite in part one (maeba)ofTaka-

sago.

His style is said to have been ‘‘magniﬁcent’’ and ‘‘dazzling,’’ and

his foot moveme nts were con sidere d e spec iall y bea utif ul. Among

Sakurama Sajin’s greatest roles were those in Do

-ji, Kantan, Moch-

izuki, and Shakkyo

. He is credited with having revived the Konparu

school. See also SCHOOLS OF NO

AND KYO

GEN.

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330 • SAKUSHA BEYA

SAKUSHA BEYA. The backstage ( gakuya)‘‘playwrights’room,’’

where kabuki’s literary staff (kyo

genkata) does its work. The

sakusha beya is found adjacent to the to

dori’s room. In it, the writers,

who now rarely actually write new plays, copy the actors’ kakinuki

and prepare promptbooks and scripts. It contains an altar dedicated

to Sugawara Michizane (Tenjin), the patron god of writers.

SAN BABA

. The three major ‘‘old lady roles’’ (baba

)inbunraku and

kabuki jidai mono: Koshiji, in Honcho

Niju

shiko

; Mimyo

in ‘‘Mori-

tsuna Jinya’’ (O

mi Genji Senjin Yakata); and Kakuju in ‘‘Do

myo

-ji’’

(Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami). Some replace the Koshiji in

Shinshu

Kawanakajima Kassen with the one named above, while

others include Enju in Hiragana Seisuiki. Each is a courageous

woman who ﬁghts for the stability of her family.

SANBANME MONO. The ‘‘third-group plays’’ on a classical ﬁve-play

program, where it corresponds to the jo (‘‘woman’’) segment of

the shin dan jo kyo

ki (or shin nan nyo kyo

ki) sequence. It also cor-

responds to the second ha section of the jo-ha-kyu

rhythmic structure

of a no

program. Such plays—considered by Zeami the most impor-

tant—are narrowly identiﬁed as onna mono (‘‘women plays’’) or

kazura (also katsura) mono (‘

‘wig pla

ys’’). The wigs in the latter sig-

nify that the shite are female, since male actors wear wigs to play

women’s roles. However, women in no

are not played with the real-

istic vocal and physical qualities performed by kabuki onnagata,

aside from some lightening of the voice at certain moments.

Some sanbanme plays are ro

jo mono (‘‘old women’s plays’’), in

which the characters are elderly human beings, as opposed to those

in which old women turn out to be spirits. Three such plays are

known as the san ro

jo, or ‘‘three old ladies’’—Higaki, Sekidera

Komachi,andObasute—and are treated with the greatest respect.

Actually, despite the above terms, a small number of third-group

plays have male shite and thus are otoko mono. Regardless of gender,

the shite is an imaginar y, ﬁctitious character, a spirit or angel, or

based on an historical ﬁgure.

Despite the lack of dance in Ohara Goko

and Genji Kuyo

, most

plays in this grouping depend upon exquisite dance (mai), with occa-

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