Kabuki Plus
Meaning of title’s “Ten no Amijima”
The title is a pun combining the place name Amijima, where the suicide took place, and Ten no Ami or heaven. Ten no Ami (literally, heaven’s net) refers to a saying by the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, “Nothing slips through heaven’s net”, i.e., the guilty cannot escape the law. That would seem to preach against joint suicide. A line in the play, however, notes that anyone who prays at Amijima (literally, net island, i.e., caught in Buddha’s net) will be saved, implying Buddhist redemption.
Kabuki version
The Kabuki version of the play debuted a year after the premiere of the puppet play, with Ichikawa Danjuro II taking the role of Jihei to great acclaim. It was subsequently performed only sporadically. The puppet play was revised several times thereafter, but none proved popular. In 1774, the 50th anniversary of author Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s death, there was a rumor that a will between the lovers was found at Daichoji Temple, and a new Kabuki version, Shinpan Nobe no Okigaki (The Will Before Death), was performed in Osaka. This was apparently a comic version where a devious monk played a major role.
Chikamatsu Hanji’s rewrite “Love Suicide and the Paper Merchant Jihei”
Chikamatsu Hanji, a disciple of Monzaemon, incorporated parts of the Kabuki piece Shinpan Nobe no Okigaki into the original puppet play in 1776 to form a new puppet play entitled Shinju Kamiya Jihei (Love Suicide and the Paper Merchant Jihei). This was in turn transformed into two Kabuki plays. The first half become an Osaka-style domestic drama under the place name Kawasho, while the latter half was revised in the early 19th century and performed under the title Shigure no Kotatsu. Jihei in those incarnations is performed by Osaka-based actors in local style.
Ganjiro’s 12 Favorite Plays
Jihei was a signature role of Nakamura Ganjiro I (who held the name in 1878-1935). Both Kawasho and Shigure no Kotatsu were included in his 12 Favorite Plays. His acting style has been adopted by his heirs as the house style. His sexy approach in covering his face with a hand towel on the hanamichi was praised by a poet as “Japan’s greatest face behind the mask”.
Osan’s letter and “whistling shamisen”
In the first part of the original puppet play, Osan’s letter to Koharu is only revealed in the second act. In the Kabuki adaptation Kawasho, the clerk Sangoro delivers the letter to Koharu from the start. In addition, the Kabuki version has Jihei’s competitors Tahei and Zenroku make fun of Koharu and Jihei by whistling in imitation of a shamisen.
“It’s my brother!”
notable!When Magoemon reveals himself at the pleasure house, Jihei cries, “It’s my brother!” and tries to flee, only to be dragged back into the house. This is now a comic routine using impromptu dialogue in Osaka dialect resembling the local manzai comedy style. The scene is redolent of Osaka’s traditional comic culture.
Jihei’s monologue
notable!Jihei’s monologue about his first meeting with Koharu and their subsequent love affair was an invention of the Kabuki play. It was introduced by the noted 17-century actor Sakata Tojuro, known for his monologues. It is a showpiece for actors in Osaka’s soft wagoto style.
Love declarations
The biggest difference between the puppet play’s second act (“Kamiya-uchi”) and the Kabuki adaptation Shigure no Kotatsu is the depiction of Osan’s father Gozaemon. In the former, Gozaemon is portrayed as a consistently stubborn old man, while the latter shows him lashing out at Jihei but secretly leaving him the money to buy out Koharu in a suggestion that he knows everything. The story thus develops quite differently in the second half.
“Kamiya-uchi” scene and Shigure no Kotatsu
The biggest difference between the puppet play’s second act (“Kamiya-uchi”) and the Kabuki adaptation Shigure no Kotatsu is the depiction of Osan’s father Gozaemon. In the former, Gozaemon is portrayed as a consistently stubborn old man, while the latter shows him lashing out at Jihei but secretly leaving him the money to buy out Koharu in a suggestion that he knows everything. The story thus develops quite differently in the second half.
Separate deaths of the lovers
notable!Lovers who die together in double-suicide tales like Sonezaki Shinju expect to reunite in a future life. In this work, however, the couple become a monk and nun to fulfill their duty to Jihei’s wife Osan, preventing them from meeting again after death. Chikamatsu Monzaemon describes Jihei’s dead body as “a gourd swinging in the wind”.
Episode in Okina Gusa
The late 18th-century essay collection Okina Gusa recounts that Chikamatsu was drinking at a teahouse in Sumiyoshi when a young man from the theatre district came to inform him of a joint suicide and asked that he dramatize the event for rehearsal the next day. Chikamatsu is said to have quickly conceived of the opening lines in the palanquin carrying him home. This anecdote might have arisen from the celebrated line at the opening of the “Bridges” scene, which refers to a Noh script in hurried Konoe-style penmanship and a purple yaroboshi (hat used by actors for female roles).
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
The prolific Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), Japan’s most famous playwright, was born to a samurai family in present-day Fukui Prefecture under the name Sugimori Nobumori. After his father lost his master, he moved to Kyoto and served a noble family, which gave him knowledge of classic literature. He wrote Yotsugi Soga for the puppet drama musician Uji Kaganojo, and thereafter became a full-time writer. In collaboration with the puppet narrator Takemoto Gidayu, he breathed new life into the puppet world. For a time, he was the designated playwright for the Kabuki actor Sakata Tojuro, but later returned to the puppet theater, where his Sonezaki Shinju in 1703 proved a sensation. His paramount work includes Meido no Hikyaku, Onna Goroshi Abura no Jikoku, Shunkan and Kokusenya Kassen.
