Paper short abstract:

A classical celebratory narrative performing art, Yokote-manzai, died out towards the end of the 20th century. What if anything has been transmitted, transformed, and replaced from Yokote-manzai, to the future generations by the creation of an intermediary theatricalized version?

Paper long abstract:

Ozawa Shôichi, in Nihon no hôrôgei (Japanese itinerant performing arts) states: "In the history of Japanese performing arts, a variety of performances have been born and become obsolete to this day. However, the complete extinction of street or congratulatory-at-the-gate (kadozuke) performances from small towns is a characteristic 20th century phenomenon" (2004: 217). One such is manzai (萬歳), a classical celebratory narrative performing art, that traces its origin to the Heian period. During the medieval period, it spread to other powerful governing authorities in the realm of the samurai class or in temples and shrines, and eventually to the public in various regions. The duet performers of Tayû (with folding fan narrating congratulatory words) and Saizô (striking a kotsuzumi, shoulder drum, and improvising narration), visited people's houses and public spaces with their auspicious mission, in exchange for their livelihood. One of those manzai that propagated to the northwest region of Tohoku, Akita, in late medieval period, is in Yokote, a remote county that is snowed in half the year. Yokote-manzai flourished, and was once performed by over 150 pairs, but was eventually reduced to the last pair in the post war era, and died out, towards the very end of the 20th century, with their passing. To capture the rhythmic narrative art of this pair, a theatre piece, "Manzai-nagashi" was created by Shibata Minao (1916-1996), a composer, musicologist, and music critic, and has been performed on occasion since then in Tokyo, Akita, and other places. The auspicious Yokote-manzai was an essential part of local people's lives, bringing spring every year. Its disappearance is akin to that of a phantasm or communal nostalgia Yokote represents, which may no longer be there. On the other hand, the creation of a communal theatre piece, Manzai-nagashi by Shibata and its subsequent performances imply the succession of such qualities in different spectra: free from the remote locality, creating a new communal space for those performing and a participatory audience.