Shunbaisai Hokuei (春梅斎北英) (artist )
Nakamura Utaemon III (中村歌右衛門) as Tonbei, the ferryman at Yaguchi (Yaguchi no Watashi - 矢口ノ渡し守頓兵衛) - left-hand panel of a diptych from the play Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi (神霊矢口渡)
09/1835
10.25 in x 14.75 in (Overall dimensions) Japanese woodblock print
Signed: Shunbaisai Hokuei ga
春梅斎北英画
Publisher: Honya Seishichi (Marks 123 - seal 25-527)
Waseda University
Waseda University - the right-hand panel
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg
Hankyu Culture Foundation
National Museums Scotland
National Museums Scotland - right-hand panel This scene is based on a famous jōruri play first produced in 1770. The author was Fukuuchi Kigai (福内鬼外), aka Hiragi Gennai (平賀源内 - 1728-1780).
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Stanleigh Jones wrote 'Miracle at Yaguchi Ferry: A Japanese Puppet Play and Its Metamorphosis to Kabuki' in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Jun., 1978, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 172-173: " Miracle at Yaguchi Ferry (Shinrei Yaguchi no watashi 神霊矢口渡) is one of the many puppet plays that have found their way into kabuki. A historical play (jidaimono) that first went on the boards in Edo on the sixteenth day of the first month in 1770, Miracle at Yaguchi Ferry was written by a newcomer to the ranks of puppet playwrights, one Fukuchi Kigai 福内鬼外, the theatrical nom de plume of a man better known to history as Hiraga Gennai 平賀 源内 (1728-80). Hiraga's play proved to be such a success that certain parts of it were brought to the stage again in the eleventh month of the same year. By the 1860's one or two acts had been performed by the puppets at least a dozen times. In 1794 the play was adapted to the kabuki theatre. Since that time it has become part of the permanent repertory of both the kabuki and puppet theatres, though it is offered nowadays more frequently in kabuki. As a rule, puppet and kabuki plays tend to be preserved on stage mainly as famous acts or scenes from longer works. Though originally written in five acts, Yaguchi is never performed in its entirety today; only the long scene in Act IV, entitled "Tombei's House," has achieved theatrical longevity."
Tonbei, the perfect villain
"One of the most memorable features of the play was the role of Tombei the ferryman, the dominant personality in the present translation. Greedy and cold-blooded, Tombei is unredeemed by any virtue; but the very vigor of his incorrigible character, depicted first by the puppets and later by kabuki actors in the extravagant aragoto or "roughhouse" acting style, was instantly popular among Edo audiences. The role was originally intended to be little more than that of one particular villain in a play already filled with villains. But Tombei's callous self-interest made him unique, and he captured the stage from the other more stereotyped characterizations. Eventually, through the spirited interpretation of the famous actor Ichikawa Danju6 VII in 1831, the portrayal of Tombei achieved the status of a major kabuki role." (Ibid., pp. 175-176)
Jones translation of the introduction to the play with a description of Tonbei's house on page 190
His house, strange to say, extends out over
the water.
With its curious pavilion, uncommon for
one of Tombei's trade,
It is a pretentious affair:
The proverbial "stairs of agate, emerald
crusted curtains."
And is that Princess Oto of the Dragon
Palace?' Is that she?
In footnote 7 Jones also gives us more information about the true geographical location of the setting of the play. "The Rokugō River is an older name for the lower reaches of the Tama River. It flows into Tokyo Bay along the southern boundary of modern Tokyo, just north of Yokohama. In the early 17th century there was a bridge over the river at the town of Yaguchi, but this was washed away during the 1680's. Thereafter, and at the time this play was written, the crossing was made by ferry." (Ibid.)
If ever there was a Japanese Renaissance man, then Hiragi Gennai was it
Jones says of Hiraga on pages 174-75: "The unusual and occasionally bizarre reputation of the author of Yaguchi doubtless acted as an additional attraction. A man of roving and eclectic curiosity, Hiraga Gennai compressed a remarkable array of activities into a relatively brief lifetime. His countrymen today remember him as the first Japanese to conduct rudimentary experiments with electricity, and as the man responsible for introducing into the mainstream of Japanese art the materials and techniques of Western-style oil painting, but his genius went well beyond these accomplishments. Originally a student of medicinal herbs, he spent a great deal of his time traveling about Japan gathering herb specimens and prospecting for mineral deposits. He wrote most of Yaguchi, in fact, during the hours he was not supervising operations at an iron mine he had discovered some miles north of Edo. Hiraga also took an avid interest in the scientific and technological advances of the West, and he is usually counted among that small but influential band of intellectuals who, through their study of Rangaku or "Dutch Learning," laid important groundwork for Japan's later spectacular modernization."
The historical facts
A historical incident recorded in the fourteenth-century war tale, the Taiheiki 太平記, provided the material from which the plot of Miracle at Yaguchi Ferry was woven. The account relates the military exploits and death in 1358 of a famous general named Nitta Yoshioki 新田義興, a loyal supporter of the Southern Court during the half century of disunion (1336-92) known as the period of the rival Northern and Southern Courts. According to the Taiheiki, it was through the machinations of one Takezawa Yoshihira and the ferryman of Yaguchi Ferry that Yoshioki was trapped on a sinking boat at the Yaguchi crossing. Rather than suffer the dishonor of falling into the hands of his enemies (the troops of Ashikaga Takauji), Yoshioki and several of his retainers committed suicide." (Ibid., p. 176)
Jones then added on pages 176-177: "Most historically based puppet and kabuki plays elaborate on their material with abandon. In the Taiheiki account of Yoshioki's death, for example, the incident is recounted rather laconically, and the villain is merely a nameless boatman at Yaguchi Ferry. The full- blown development of both the details of the event and the distinctive character of Tombei are completely the product of the playwright's literary and dramatic license. What results is the typical "great scene" within most traditional popular plays which has become essentially an independent play in itself. Though in the course of "Tombei's House" there is enough explanation of prior events for the scene to possess a basic dramatic integrity..."
As with so many other puppet/kabuki plays the plot often centers around the theft of some family heirloom(s). In this case it is two precious arrows. One is referred to as the Water Destroyer and the other the Army Destroyer. Even though there are major differences between the endings of both the puppet and kabuki versions they both end with the death of the villains. In the puppet version Tonbei and his wicked assistant Rokuzō both end up dying by having an arrow pierce their throats from seemingly out of nowhere. However, it is then revealed that they were shot by the vengeful ghost of Yoshioki and therefore everything is resolved satisfactorily.
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"Events during the fourteenth century are the basis of this historical play (jidaimono). It was originally written for the puppet theatre in Edo. The first kabuki version was performed in Edo's Kiri-za in 1794. The author was Fukuchi Kigai, the theatrical writers [sic] name of Hiraga Gennai. This play largely owed it popularity to the actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VII. He played the villainous ferryman Tonbei in the 1831 performance at the Kawarazaki-za in an exaggerated bravura style (arragoto). The story revolves around treason, loyalty and unrequited love, with a touch of magic."
Quoted from: Heroes of the Kabuki Stage by Arendie and Henk Herwig, p. 225.
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The introduction to the summary at Kabuki21 lays out the bare outline of plot of this play:
"During the reign of the Emperor Godaigo, the wicked Ashikaga Takauji attempted to dethrone the Emperor and set up a pretender in his place. A great battle was fought on the Plain of Musashino, near what later became Edo. The commander of the Imperial army was Nitta Yoshioki, a famous soldier. He and his troops fought courageously, but were defeated through the treachery of a man whom Yoshioki believed to be his friend. Yoshioki himself was murdered by this same false friend at Yaguchi, where a ferry crossed the Rokugô River."
In the background to Act IV, Scene 3, Tonbei's house, Kabuki21 says:
"There is at the Yaguchi ferry on the Rokugô River the house of Tonbê, the ferryman, who has received a large sum of money as a reward from Ashikaga Takauji when he helped to kill Nitta Yoshioki by scuttling his ferry."
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In Tōkaidō Texts and Tales: Tōkaidō gojūsan tsui by Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, and Kunisada, edited by Andreas Marks, University Press of Florida, 2015, on page 42 it relates the story about the character Nitta Yoshioki. He was loyal to the Southern Court of Go-Daigo (r. 1318-39). "He led troops against the faction of Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358). Ashikaga Motouji (1340-1367) learned of Yoshioki's plans to retake Kamakura and ordered his death. This was accomplished through Takezawa Ukyōnosuke, who had served both factions, and Edo Tōtōmi-no-kami. Takezawa and Edo had holes drilled into a boat at the Yaguchi crossing on the Rokugō River between Kawaski and Kanagawa. When Yoshioki and his twelve companions, among them I no Danjō and Ōshima Suō-no-kami, reached midstream, the ferryman pulled the plugs in the holes, and those on board drowned. After death, Yoshioki lingered on as a vengeful spirit (onryō), appearing on horseback from amid horrific thunder-clouds and smitting his enemies..."
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Illustrated in Ikeda Bunko, Kamigata Yakusha-e Shusei, (Collected Kamigata Actor Prints) volume 2, Ikeda Bunko Library, Osaka, 1998, no. 364.
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A few speculative comments which may have to be revised later. The first one is a discussion of the design of Tonbei's costume: it includes images of dice. Why? We know from the history of the play that this despicable man was an inveterate gambler and that he became rich off the blood money he received from betraying Yoshioki. Secondly, the placement of Ofune, his daughter, on the porch of a building. We know that Tonbei had built quite a house, even a villa, over the edge of the water. The third element is the dramatic storm: the angry spirit of Yoshioki had the power to roil the waters, create a great storm and wreck havoc with lightning and thunder.
Nakamura Utaemon III (三代目中村歌右衛門) (actor)
actor prints (yakusha-e - 役者絵) (genre)
Kyōto-Osaka prints (kamigata-e - 上方絵) (genre)
Honya Seishichi (本屋清七) (publisher)