Jump to content

Jōruri (music)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by WikiCleanerBot (talk | contribs) at 03:11, 24 April 2020 (v2.02b - Bot T13 CW#549 - WP:WCW project (Split link)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jōruri (浄瑠璃) is a form of traditional Japanese narrative music in which a tayū (太夫) sings to the accompaniment of a shamisen. As a form of storytelling, the emphasis is on the lyrics and narration rather than the music itself.

According to Asai Ryōi, the first to have ever employed the shamisen during his storytelling instead of the biwa was chanter Sawazumi. The story he narrated on that occasion was "Jōruri Jū-ni-dan zōshi", one of the many existing versions of the Jōruri Monogatari, which tells the tale of the tragic love between Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Jōruri-hime. Following this event, every tale sung to the accompaniment of a shamisen is associated with Jōruri.

See also