Yoshitsune Shin Takadachi
Encyclopedia
Yoshitsune Shin-Takadachi (義経新高館), or Yoshitsune and the New Takadachi, is a Japanese jōruri
(puppet) play which centers on the conflict between Minamoto no Yoshitsune
and his brother, Shogun
Minamoto no Yoritomo
. Though set in the 12th century, and drawing upon previous versions of the story of this conflict, the play alludes strongly to the 1615 siege of Osaka
, in which the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate
defeated those of the Toyotomi clan
.
References to the shogunate, and especially to the campaigns of Tokugawa Ieyasu
, were banned from the stage for much of the Edo period
(1603-1868) in which the Tokugawa ruled. Yoshitsune Shin-Takadachi, written by Ki no Kaion and first performed in 1719, over a century after the events of the siege of Osaka, is said to have been the first play to successfully allude to these events without being ended by the official censors.
plays, Yoshitsune Shin-Takadachi was not an original narrative, but rather was based on an established series of stories, situations and characters already familiar to the audience, known as a sekai (lit. "world"). It is one of a great many stories and plays centering on the 12th century samurai commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune, younger brother of Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. A conflict arose between the brothers over suspicions that Yoshitsune, who led the Minamoto clan
to victory in the Genpei War
and thus allowed Yoritomo to gain power and become shogun, sought to overthrow his brother. The former was forced to flee Kyoto
, and sought refuge in the Takadachi fortress in Hiraizumi
, far to the north. He was soon attacked there by his brother's shogunal forces, defeated, and forced to commit seppuku
.
Allusions are made in the play to the 1615 siege of Osaka, in which Tokugawa Ieyasu
led shogunal forces against Toyotomi Hideyori
, who had been gathering forces to oppose the shogunate, and who represented the last major opposition to Tokugawa supremacy. Several decades earlier, prior to the end of the 16th century, Ieyasu had been a vassal of Hideyori's father Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, and had sworn oaths to serve the Toyotomi and to ensure Hideyori's succession to power. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, however, he betrayed his oaths and seized power for himself. The ban on relating these events onstage therefore derived not only from a general aversion to depictions of the honorable, high-class shogunate in the low-class world of the theatres, but also from a fear of the threat posed to the shogunate's power and stability by accusations of Ieyasu's disloyalty and betrayal.
After arriving at Takadachi, Yoshitsune sends three messengers to his brother, to seek reconciliation. These parallel the three envoys sent to Ieyasu from Osaka in 1614. Yoshitsune's envoys explain that he and his followers are guilty of three crimes, and wish to seek forgiveness.
The first crime refers to an event in which Yoshitsune and his loyal retainer, the monk Benkei, disguise themselves as monks gathering alms for the rebuilding of the Tōdai-ji
, destroyed in the 1180 siege of Nara
, in order to sneak past the guard barrier at Ataka. To prove their identities as monks, the pair are asked to show a subscription list of those who have already donated. Benkei's improvisation of a false list is claimed as the second crime. This event is also depicted in the Noh
play Ataka
, and the later kabuki
play Kanjinchō
.
Benkei's reading of the blank scroll includes the phrase "We request the help of many people to bring virtue to our country's court," a reference to the army Yoshitsune seeks to raise against his brother, and also in parallel to the forces gathered by Hideyori against the Tokugawa. The inclusion of the characters
yori (頼, "request") and tomo (朝, "court"), that is, the characters of the shogun's name, Yoritomo, in this phrase also alludes to an incident between Hideyori and Ieyasu. Hideyori commissioned the casting of a temple bell for the Hōkō-ji
which included the characters Ie and yasu, split apart, in its inscription in a phrase which was said by the shogunate to have been treasonous. The third crime cited by the messengers is related: that of seeking to gather an army against the shogunate.
Yoritomo offers to reconcile with his brother if Yoshitsune fulfills one of three conditions; these conditions closely parallel those offered by Ieyasu to Hideyori. The first is that Yoshitsune (Hideyori) abandon his fortress to become lord of the western provinces. The second is that he submit to the shogunate as the other lords have done. The third is that Yoshitsune send his mistress to the capital as a hostage. In the original play, this was Kyō no Kimi, though other versions name Shizuka Gozen as the potential hostage; Hideyori was asked to surrender his mother, Lady Yodo
.
In the end, Yoritomo's shogunal army attacks Yoshitsune's fortress at Takadachi, paralleling the siege of Osaka by diverting the nearby Koromo River to flood the fortifications, and by inclusion of a temporary truce in the middle of the fighting. At Osaka, the Yodo River was diverted, and a significant break occurred in the fighting between winter and summer.
The play was reworked and reproduced under a number of different titles over the ensuing decades, to varying levels of success. Nanbantetsu Gotō Menuki, which changed the sekai of the play from that of Yoshitsune to that of the 14th century Taiheiki
(Nanboku-chō
Wars), was written in 1735, but was never allowed to be published or performed. This was due in part to a scene in which an assassination attempt is made upon Ashikaga Takauji
, who represents Ieyasu. Yoshitsune Shin-fukumi-jō (Yoshitsune's New Veiled Letter), created in 1744, was based very much on the original, but ended in a reconciliation between the brothers, dropping the siege scenes. Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jō (Yoshitsune's Letter from Koshigoe), was produced ten years later in 1754, and incorporated elements of Nanbantetsu, including the assassination scene of Act IV. This act was forbidden to be performed, and was not seen until 1770; the play was published in its entirely shortly afterwards, implying that it was also performed in its entirely on at least a few occasions.
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) play which centers on the conflict between Minamoto no 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 his brother, Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo
was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
. Though set in the 12th century, and drawing upon previous versions of the story of this conflict, the play alludes strongly to the 1615 siege of Osaka
Siege of Osaka
The was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages , and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment...
, in which the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
defeated those of the Toyotomi clan
Toyotomi clan
Originating in Owari Province, the served as retainers to the Oda clan throughout 16th-century Japan's Sengoku period. -Unity and Conflict:The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan." Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the...
.
References to the shogunate, and especially to the campaigns of Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
, were banned from the stage for much of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
(1603-1868) in which the Tokugawa ruled. Yoshitsune Shin-Takadachi, written by Ki no Kaion and first performed in 1719, over a century after the events of the siege of Osaka, is said to have been the first play to successfully allude to these events without being ended by the official censors.
Background
Like many jōruri and kabukiKabuki
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...
plays, Yoshitsune Shin-Takadachi was not an original narrative, but rather was based on an established series of stories, situations and characters already familiar to the audience, known as a sekai (lit. "world"). It is one of a great many stories and plays centering on the 12th century samurai commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune, younger brother of Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. A conflict arose between the brothers over suspicions that Yoshitsune, who led the Minamoto clan
Minamoto clan
was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were demoted into the ranks of the nobility. The practice was most prevalent during the Heian Period , although its last occurrence was during the Sengoku Era. The Taira were another such offshoot of...
to victory in the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
and thus allowed Yoritomo to gain power and become shogun, sought to overthrow his brother. The former was forced to flee Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and sought refuge in the Takadachi fortress in Hiraizumi
Hiraizumi, Iwate
is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate, Japan. It was the home of the Hiraizumi Fujiwaras for about 100 years in the late Heian era and most of the following Kamakura period. At the same time it served as the de facto capital of Oshu, an area containing nearly a third of the Japanese land...
, far to the north. He was soon attacked there by his brother's shogunal forces, defeated, and forced to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
.
Allusions are made in the play to the 1615 siege of Osaka, in which Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
led shogunal forces against Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....
, who had been gathering forces to oppose the shogunate, and who represented the last major opposition to Tokugawa supremacy. Several decades earlier, prior to the end of the 16th century, Ieyasu had been a vassal of Hideyori's father Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, and had sworn oaths to serve the Toyotomi and to ensure Hideyori's succession to power. Following Hideyoshi's death in 1598, however, he betrayed his oaths and seized power for himself. The ban on relating these events onstage therefore derived not only from a general aversion to depictions of the honorable, high-class shogunate in the low-class world of the theatres, but also from a fear of the threat posed to the shogunate's power and stability by accusations of Ieyasu's disloyalty and betrayal.
Characters
Strong allusions are made throughout the play to comparisons between the 12th century figures of the tale and those (absent from the play) who took part in the siege of Osaka. Each character is given here with their 17th century counterpart in parentheses.- Minamoto no YoritomoMinamoto no Yoritomowas the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199.-Early life and exile :Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, heir of the Minamoto clan, and his official wife, a daughter of Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the...
(Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasuwas the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
) - Minamoto no YoshitsuneMinamoto no Yoshitsunewas 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...
(Toyotomi HideyoriToyotomi Hideyoriwas the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....
) - Gonnotō Kanefusa (Katagiri KatsumotoKatagiri Katsumotowas a Japanese war lord Daimyo of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period who in his youth was famed as one of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake. ....
) - Izumi no Saburō (Sanada YukimuraSanada Yukimurawas a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period daimyo Sanada Masayuki . His proper name was Sanada Nobushige , named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige, who was a brave and respected warrior. He and his father were known as being excellent military tacticians...
) - Kamei no Rokurō (Kimura ShigenariKimura Shigenariwas a Japanese samurai of the early Edo period. A retainer of the Toyotomi clan, Shigenari fought at the Siege of Osaka and died in battle....
) - Kataoka no Hachirō (Gotō MototsuguGoto Mototsugu, also known as , was a samurai of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods. He served Kuroda Yoshitaka but retired from the Kuroda clan after Kuroda Yoshitaku had died...
) - Kyō no Kimi/Shizuka GozenShizuka GozenShizuka Gozen , or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was a shirabyōshi of the 12th century, and a mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune...
(Yodo-DonoYodo-Donoor was a prominently-placed figure in late-Sengoku period. She was a concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful man in Japan. She also became the mother of his son and successor, Hideyori. She was also known as Lady Chacha...
)
Summary
The plot of the play, while making reference to the actual 12th century historical events, and to a number of other narratives in the Yoshitsune sekai, also parallels in many ways aspects of the historical events of the siege of Osaka.After arriving at Takadachi, Yoshitsune sends three messengers to his brother, to seek reconciliation. These parallel the three envoys sent to Ieyasu from Osaka in 1614. Yoshitsune's envoys explain that he and his followers are guilty of three crimes, and wish to seek forgiveness.
The first crime refers to an event in which Yoshitsune and his loyal retainer, the monk Benkei, disguise themselves as monks gathering alms for the rebuilding of the Tōdai-ji
Todai-ji
, is a Buddhist temple complex located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall , the largest wooden building in the world, houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the ...
, destroyed in the 1180 siege of Nara
Siege of Nara
Following the 1180 Battle of the Uji, in which Minamoto no Yorimasa fought a small Taira army with the help of monks from the Mii-dera and other temples, the victorious Taira, angry at being opposed, decided to assault and burn the Miidera, before moving on to Nara. The Taira were opposed by...
, in order to sneak past the guard barrier at Ataka. To prove their identities as monks, the pair are asked to show a subscription list of those who have already donated. Benkei's improvisation of a false list is claimed as the second crime. This event is also depicted in the Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
play Ataka
Ataka (play)
Ataka is a Noh play written in 1465, during the Muromachi Era of Japan by playwright Kanze Nobumitsu.It has been adapted as a Kabuki play, Kanjinchō, and as a movie, Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi, directed by Kurosawa Akira.-Synopsis:...
, and the later 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...
play Kanjinchō
Kanjincho
Kanjinchō is a Japanese kabuki play by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play Ataka. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory....
.
Benkei's reading of the blank scroll includes the phrase "We request the help of many people to bring virtue to our country's court," a reference to the army Yoshitsune seeks to raise against his brother, and also in parallel to the forces gathered by Hideyori against the Tokugawa. The inclusion of the characters
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
yori (頼, "request") and tomo (朝, "court"), that is, the characters of the shogun's name, Yoritomo, in this phrase also alludes to an incident between Hideyori and Ieyasu. Hideyori commissioned the casting of a temple bell for the Hōkō-ji
Hoko-ji (Kyoto)
is a temple in Kyoto, Japan, dating from the 16th century. Toyotomi Hideyoshi determined that the capital city should have a Daibutsu temple to surpass that of Nara. He is reputed to have claimed at the outset that he would complete construction in half the time it took Emperor Shōmu to complete...
which included the characters Ie and yasu, split apart, in its inscription in a phrase which was said by the shogunate to have been treasonous. The third crime cited by the messengers is related: that of seeking to gather an army against the shogunate.
Yoritomo offers to reconcile with his brother if Yoshitsune fulfills one of three conditions; these conditions closely parallel those offered by Ieyasu to Hideyori. The first is that Yoshitsune (Hideyori) abandon his fortress to become lord of the western provinces. The second is that he submit to the shogunate as the other lords have done. The third is that Yoshitsune send his mistress to the capital as a hostage. In the original play, this was Kyō no Kimi, though other versions name Shizuka Gozen as the potential hostage; Hideyori was asked to surrender his mother, Lady Yodo
Yodo-Dono
or was a prominently-placed figure in late-Sengoku period. She was a concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful man in Japan. She also became the mother of his son and successor, Hideyori. She was also known as Lady Chacha...
.
In the end, Yoritomo's shogunal army attacks Yoshitsune's fortress at Takadachi, paralleling the siege of Osaka by diverting the nearby Koromo River to flood the fortifications, and by inclusion of a temporary truce in the middle of the fighting. At Osaka, the Yodo River was diverted, and a significant break occurred in the fighting between winter and summer.
Success and spin-offs
Kaion's production was successfully performed without incident in 1719. In addition to employing the device known as mitate, of substituting earlier figures and events for later ones, Kaion ensured that the play would be satisfactory to the censors by portraying Yoritomo, who represents Ieyasu, in a positive light. While Yoshitsune is indecisive, and his men disunited, Yoritomo is portrayed as a military genius, dedicated and noble.The play was reworked and reproduced under a number of different titles over the ensuing decades, to varying levels of success. Nanbantetsu Gotō Menuki, which changed the sekai of the play from that of Yoshitsune to that of the 14th century Taiheiki
Taiheiki
The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....
(Nanboku-chō
Nanboku-cho
The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history.During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in...
Wars), was written in 1735, but was never allowed to be published or performed. This was due in part to a scene in which an assassination attempt is made upon Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
, who represents Ieyasu. Yoshitsune Shin-fukumi-jō (Yoshitsune's New Veiled Letter), created in 1744, was based very much on the original, but ended in a reconciliation between the brothers, dropping the siege scenes. Yoshitsune Koshigoe-jō (Yoshitsune's Letter from Koshigoe), was produced ten years later in 1754, and incorporated elements of Nanbantetsu, including the assassination scene of Act IV. This act was forbidden to be performed, and was not seen until 1770; the play was published in its entirely shortly afterwards, implying that it was also performed in its entirely on at least a few occasions.
External links
- The complete text of an 1891 printing can be seen at the National Diet LibraryNational Diet LibraryThe is the only national library in Japan. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to the U.S...
Digital library: ttp://kindai.ndl.go.jp/BIBibDetail.php?tpl_wid=WBPL110&tpl_wish_page_no=1&tpl_select_row_no=1&tpl_hit_num=1&tpl_bef_keyword=&tpl_action=&tpl_search_kind=1&tpl_keyword=&tpl_s_title=&tpl_s_title_mode=BI&tpl_s_title_oper=AND&tpl_s_author=&tpl_s_author_mode=BI&tpl_s_author_oper=AND&tpl_s_published_place=&tpl_s_published_place_mode=ZI&tpl_s_published_place_oper=AND&tpl_s_publisher=&tpl_s_publisher_mode=ZI&tpl_s_publisher_oper=AND&tpl_s_nengou=AD&tpl_s_published_year_from=&tpl_s_published_year_to=&tpl_s_ndc=&tpl_s_ndc_mode=ZI&tpl_s_heading=&tpl_s_heading_mode=ZI&tpl_s_heading_oper=AND&tpl_s_toc=&tpl_s_toc_oper=AND&tpl_item_oper=AND&tpl_sort_key=TITLE&tpl_sort_order=ASC&tpl_list_num=20&tpl_s_jp_num=41003698]