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Tomb of Chikamatsu KousaiTemple.jpg Chikamatsu Monzaemon (Japanese: 近松門左衛門; real name Sugimori Nobumori, 杉森信盛, 1653–6 January 1724) was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. Chikamatsu is known as the Japanese Shakespeare, for his assortment of plays staged by puppets in the early era of bunraku stage plays. He wrote plays mainly for theaters in Kyoto or Osaka, most of them notable for their double-suicides.
Chikamatsu was born in a samurai family. It is disputable where he was born. The most supported theory says he was born in Echizen province, but there are other candidates for his birthplace including Hagi, Natago province. His father, Sugimori Nobuyoshi served the daimyo Matsudaira in Echizen as a medical doctor. Chikamatsu's younger brother became a medical doctor. Chikamatsu himself wrote a book for caring health.
In those days, doctors who served daimyos held samurai status. But his father lost his office and became a ronin. Chikamatsu moved to Kyoto with his father. For some years, it is unknown what they did. In 1703 his play on Soga brothers was performed in Kyoto and Chikamatsu became known as a playwright. Chikamatsu was the first known Japanese playwright to not also act in the pieces he wrote. Throughout his life it is thought that Chikamatsu wrote a total of around 100 plays.
Major works
Jōruri
- Kagekiyo Victorious (Shusse kagekiyo 出世景清) (1785)
- The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (Sonezaki shinjū 曾根崎心中) (1703)
- The Courier for Hell (Meido no hikyaku 冥途の飛脚) (1711)
- The Battles of Koxinga (Kokusen'ya kassen 国性爺合戦) (1715)
- The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinjūten no Amijima 心中天網島) (1720)
- The Woman-Killer and the Hell of Oil (Onnagoroshi abura no jigoku 女殺油地獄) (1721)
Kabuki
- Keisei hotoke no hara けいせい仏の原 (1699)
See also
1653 births | 1724 deaths | Japanese writers | Japanese dramatists and playwrights
"Chikamatsu Monzaemon"