浪花節における口頭性: 「太閤記」ものの場合

Naniwa-bushi, a sung narrative accompanied by shamisen, has no musical scores, but it has had written texts since stenographic books were created in the late Meiji period. Many pieces are based on other narratives, including written narratives. However, its orality can be observed in both its musical expression, and in the way episodes are woven together. This paper explores the nature of orality in naniwa-bushi, treating a group of pieces connected with the chronicle of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), Taikōki. Naniwa-bushi’s Taikōki pieces derive from kōdan story-telling, and go back to a seventeenth-century chronicle of the life and achievements of Hideyoshi, via kōdan and popular writing of the Edo period. It is thus connected with the military tales that have strong connections with oral narrative. Whereas the Taikōki chronicle deals centrally with Hideyoshi’s adult life, most of the Taikōki pieces in naniwa-bushi focus on his childhood and youth. The chronicle is close to an official history, but there was a large amount of oral lore circulating about Hideyoshi that does not appear in the chronicle. It appears however in kōdan and popular writing of the Edo period and other genres. Naniwa-bushi combines various narrative threads and motifs to make coherent pieces in a way that indicates oral tradition. Furthermore, its fluid musical aspect shows how orality is central to the musical expression.