Go-Taiheiki shiraishi-banashi
Go-Taiheiki shiraishi-banashi is a ningyô jôruri and kabuki play, based on the 1723 incident of a farmer's two daughters avenging his death by seeking out the samurai who killed their father. The play was written by Yô Yôtai, Kinojô Tarô, and Utei Enba, and debuted at Edo's Gekiza puppet theatre in 1780.
Following the death of their father at the hands of a samurai, the two young women enter the service of a retainer to the lord of Sendai han, and begin to practice swordfighting by watching the samurai train, and then practicing on their own. Their master discovers them, and after hearing their story, gives them proper lessons, and petitions the daimyô to arrange for a formal contest against their father's killer. The two girls take turns battling the man, and ultimately defeat him, avenging their father.
Only one scene of the lengthy play is performed today, a scene called "The Soga Passes," an obvious reference to one of the most famous Japanese revenge stories, that of the Soga brothers.
References
- "Go-Taiheiki shiraishi banashi." Digital Daijisen. Shogakukan. Accessed via Kotobank.jp.
- Mills, D.E. "Kataki-uchi: The Practice of Blood Revenge in Pre-Modern Japan." Modern Asian Studies 10:4 (1976). p539.
