Joryu Gidayu': Women Performers of 'Gidayu' in Contemporary Tokyo (Narrative, Japan).

Abstract

This dissertation examines the tradition and contemporary performance of joryu gidayu as focused on the Honmokutei theater in Tokyo. It is an important case study of the continuity of perform- ance tradition within the dynamic urban context of modern Tokyo. The women performers of the musical narrative (gidayu) trace their origins to the male chanters associated with various forms of popular theater which flourished in the seventeenth century as part of the spawning of a distinct urban culture in Japan. Joryu gidayu, also known as onna gidayu or musume gidayu, evolved in response to both official opprobrium and popular approbation. It developed its own system of organization to invigorate and perpetuate it, and today is performed within this long tradition. This study focuses on the personalities and performance prac- tice of joryu gidayu in the post-war period. It investigates the way the behavior of performers and formalities of performance function to reinforce the ordering and hierarchy of the joryu gidayu group. The relationship between joryu gidayu and the national gidayu association (Gidayu Kyokai) is studied and its implications for the perpetuation of joryu gidayu is assessed. Four types of performance undertaken by joryu gidayu are examined. These are the traditional concert form of the women as narrators without puppets, perform- ances in conjunction with other professional associations, study performances and the recent revival of combined performances with puppeteers. Joryu gidayu is now a recognized and legitimate musical tradi- tion. The dedication of the highly skilled group of performers and their outreach through performance should ensure the perpetuation of the joryu gidayu tradition in the Tokyo of the future.