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Tokyo Kabukiza Monthly Kabuki Review 歌舞伎座劇評集 No. 64 – 昭和 5年 4月 15日 -昭和 5年 5月 1日 (Shōwa 5 nen, 15th 

April – 1st May 1930)

大喜利  乘合船惠方萬歳…………………………………..一幕 ……………………..…鬼三太 ………………………………………………..…..…..(一八)

Concluding piece A Boat with Seven Merry Gods… one act …………………… Kisanta …………………………………………………………(18)

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Japanese transcription is followed by the English translation 

大喜利

 

乘合船惠方萬歳

……………………………...一幕

 …………..鬼三太

 ………….. 

一八

)

 

芝居み

所作事  乘合船惠方萬歳

 

長唄囃子連中出演 

役割

 

萬歳鶴太夫   幸四郎 

才藏亀松   宗十郎 大工長吉   亀藏(かめぞう) 

宗匠   權十郎

田舍侍   高助

子守   兒太郎

猿囘し  十藏

小奴  太郎

烏追  千代麿 

藝者  高麗雀 

船頭   多賀之丞 

藝者  成太郎 (なりたろう)

白酒賣  我當(がとう)

中村兒太郎の子守ね梅 Nakamura Kotarō III as the baby sitter Ume 

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幕明くと直ぐに常磐津の浄瑠璃になり

 

〽 

賑ひは花のお江戸の隅田川, 月の都も及びなき, 景色をここに都鳥, いざござなしの乗合と,

浮いた同志の渡守... 

〽 筑波根のこのも彼面と口眞似に, 問はず語を庵崎(いおざき)の, 横に素顔の富士額, はす葉者

でも悪性は, 觀音さんへ願こめて... 

〽 

そんなお方と添ふなら, ほんに嬉しかん酒白酒と, その御贔屓を山川に...

 

それより,乘合ひの一同,いちいち,何か語合ふことになり, 先づ, 白酒賣(我當)が立ちます。 

「左様ならばお望みに任せ, そもそも白酒の始まりは,」

 

〽富士の白雪は朝日で解ける... 

〽 

解けたがどう... 

〽むすめ島田はさ口舌の半でさ解ける... 

〽よれヨイヨイよい評判でうかりける... 

次は, 大工(亀藏) と藝者(成太郎)の番です。 

「エ, 仕方がねへ,そんなら大工道具になぞらへて, のろけ咄をやつつけべい」 

〽 

そも, 番匠の始りは, たたき大工のこちとらが, 聞いてもうはのその仕事, 嘘を突のみ差曲尺を, 

使ひなれたる友達と, 直にうら釘返して後は, ほんに辛気な溝... 

〽互に二世と墨さして, 誓文くさび放れぬ中を... 

〽この頃は聞けばお前はしん手斧, 又新店に廻し挽, にくや節木の性わると... 

次は,宗匠(權十郎)の番です。 

「ヱヱ, コオツト, 春風や」 

〽 

春風や, 黒い羽織に小脇差さして, ゆらりゆらりとゝ船場おりやる... 

〽エイヤ甚だ酩酊ヱ時に景色は未明の事に限りやすネ, 白書は埃まんまんとして野暮ものたつぶ, 

コレ恐るべだネ... 

最後に萬歳(幸四郎)才藏(宗十郎)の番になります。 

〽鼓おっとり聲つくろひ 

萬「やんりや目出たやな, 鶴は千年の名鳥なり」 

才「龜は萬年のヨ御壽命保つ」 

〽 

鶴にも勝れ龜にも増す, 今日このお家をば長者のしんと... 

〽 

祝ひ榮えましんますると, 二人これから柱立の振りになり, よろしくあって... 

「エヽ, お目出たう」 

と終りますので... 

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〽 

さあ, これからは惣踊りゝ... 

〽初みそら霞色どる春の山, 鶸や駒鳥, 歌よみ鳥のさえづりさえづり,梅の梢の下清水, 姿うつし

て我影法師と舞狂ふ,聲もしほらし百千鳥... 

〽共に嬉しき乘合に, 聲春雨と鳴ひびく, 初雷に人々は吾家をさしていそぎゆく. 

幕 

澤村宗十郎の才藏亀助Sawamura Sōjūrō VII as Saizō Kamesuke 

松本幸四郎の萬歳鶴太夫Matsumoto Kōshirō VII as Manzai Tsurudayū 

Concluding piece A Boat with Seven Merry Gods..… one act …….… Kisanta ………(18) 

Playas it happens

Kabuki dance Noriaibune Ehō mansai 

On stage – the Nagauta (long song) Orchestra Company

Assignment of roles

Manzai Tsurudaiyū Kōshirō Saizō Kamematsu Sōjūrō Carpenter (Daiku) Chōkichi  Kamezō Teacher (Sōshō)  Gonjūrō Country Samurai (Inakazamurai) Kōsuke Babysitter (Komori) Ume Kotarō Monkey Showman (Sarumawashi) Jūzō Small child or moppet (Koyakko) Tarō Crow scarer (Karasu oi) ChiyomaroGeisha Komajaku (Matsumoto – aka Ichikawa Masujaku) Boatwoman (Sendō)  Ohana Taganojō Geisha Naritarō White sake dealer (Shirozakeuri) Gatō 

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女船頭お花 - [3代目] 尾上 多賀之丞 -明治座 昭和 4(1929)年 1月 January 1929 at the Meijiza - Onoe Taganojō III as the boatwoman Ohana

http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/ 

Straightaway the curtains open and immediately afterwards the Tokiwazu jōruri narrative begins… 

Note:〽 - ioriten庵点（いおりてん) is a symbol which indicates the start of a passage of lyrics

〽 

The Sumida River is the prosperous flower of Edo, overcome by longing for the Moon of the

Capital, Miyakodori(1)  dwell upon the landscape, alongside the carefree fellow passengers, theferryman is a frivolous kindred spirit…

〽 

With a face that looks more like the 

Tsukubane(2), he spontaneously talks of Iosaki(3), as flat

and bare as a widow's peak, though frivolous and lewd floating like a lotus leaf, he prays to saintly

Kwannon(4)… 〽  It’s likely he would enjoy being accompanied by such gentlemen as are like this, happy in view

of the saké both clear and white, that is consumed like a mountain stream… 

---

That being said, his fellow passengers are all here, one by one, they greet each other as theymeet, starting with, the White sake dealer (Gatō) who begins… 

‘If I were to indeed make a wish that I could rely on, it would be firstly to start with white saké’ 

---

〽The white snow on Mount Fuji was melting in the morning sun… 

〽 Changing as it melts…

〽 Melting… …in the middle of which and just like that there is a quarrelsome girl with a Shimada

hairstyle(5) … 

〽 Getting tongue tied she has difficulty in speaking pleasantly her careless gossiping ignored… 

---

Next up, it’s the turn of Carpenter (Kamezō) and the Geisha (Naritarō).

‘I can’t help myself can I, eh, making such things as carpenter tools, and speaking fondly of them Imake small talk about such insubstantial things don’t I?’ 

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 ---

〽 First, it’s the carpenter’s turn, we are journeyman carpenters, has anyone heard if there is any

more work to be had, exaggeratedly and particularly holding up a carpenter’s square, that tool of

which he has spoken of and become accustomed to using is a companion, and straight away tothe rear afterwards nails are being replaced, he is soon hard at it with a grooving plane… 

〽 Both the past and future slipping in his hands his carpenter’s inking string, held to a contract

squeezing a wooden wedge… 

〽Nowadays he’d  like a new adze, and in a new store he spotted a bracket saw, for cutting up

stubborn knotty wood with… 

---

Next up, it’s the turn of the teacher (Gonjūrō). ‘Well then, eh, a Spring breeze…’ 

---

〽 ..a Spring breeze, he wears a black haori with his hands thrust up under the armpits, the wharf

moves continuously and repeatedly swaying, swaying, slowly, slowly… 

〽 …heaving a lot and though it’s early dawn depending on self-control will get frivolously drunk at

a suitable time, white paper (6)  is laden with things that are dusted unrefined ‘tsubu’(7), this istremendous isn’t it… 

---

Finally it’s the turn of Manzai (Kōshirō) and Saizō (Sōjūrō). 

---

〽 The Tsudumi hand drum beats with a gentle and quietly calming sound

---

 All ‘It’s auspicious that we are friends isn’t it, a Crane of a thousand years is a distinguished bird ’(8) Manzai and Saizō  ‘ A Tortoise of ten thousand years is good for preserving one’s valued l ife

span’(8) 

〽 The Crane surpasses the Tortoise increases(8), in believing this here today all of you are all the

richer…

〽 It would seem that it’s true is that congratulations are deserved for prosperity is drawing near,

then they both appear to raise the pillars of a house, doing it properly… 

‘Eh, congratulations! ’ 

 And now it is nearing the end… 

〽 Let us look and see, afterwards they were all dancing, dancing

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〽The first beautiful sky at the peak of Spring is decorated with mist, Cardinal Finchs and

Japanese Robins, the birds of poetry are twittering and chirping, under the treetop branches of theplum trees clear spring water trickles, focusing on one’s reflection and seeing a silhouette dancingmadly, the sound is loud but it must be all the different sorts of birds… 

〽 Together with the happy spirited fellow passengers, the sound of gentle Spring rain echoing,

with the first clap of thunder everyone points and depart quickly for their houses.

Curtain

(1) Capital birds aka plovers or black-headed seagulls. This may be a reflection on Ariwara no Narihira’s poem which reflects on thefeelings of a young man crossing the Sumida River on his way back home who spots some plovers and asks the ferryman what sort ofbird they are. Miyakodori he replies which prompts the young man to long for news about the Capital (Miyako) Kyōto. This wouldcontrast with and accentuate the next uplifting phrase about being carefree. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meisho (2) Tsukubane  –this could be a reference to Buckleya lanceolata which were used as shuttlecocks for battledore or to Tsukuba rootwhich is a reference to daikon, a large white radish)(3) Iosaki was a farming area on the outskirts of Edo near the Sumida River. There are many references in haiku to the Iosaki ploverwhich could also be an allusion to the Miyakodori which in some instances is portrayed as a plover(4) Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy(5) Shimada hairstyle was popular with unmarried women in Edo

(6) White paper is traditionally used at New Year for people to write their New Year’s resolutions  (7) Quite possibly a sharé or pun on tsubu-an  (chunky sweet adzuki bean paste) and skilful writing tsubun  (see 6). Tsubu-an is

sometimes wrapped around a rice ball and dusted with kinakob 黄粉(soy bean flour). The Tsubu-an is not passed through a sieve or

pureed and has a chunky texture hence the use of the word unrefined – yabo 野暮 

(8) Tsuru sennen, Kame mennen  – as the Crane 1,000 years the Tortoise is 10,000 years. The Crane is a symbol of peace, long lifeand fidelity, and the Tortoise a symbol of long life, strength and endurance. From a Japanese proverb “The crane a thousand years, thetortoise ten thousand” 

Photographic images published before December 31st 1956, or photographed before 1946 andnot published for 10 years thereafter, under jurisdiction of the Government of Japan, areconsidered to be public domain according to article 23 of old copyright law of Japan and article 2of supplemental provision of copyright law of Japan