- Born: 1684
- Died: 1734
- Titles: udui bugyô (Magistrate of Dance)
- Japanese/Okinawan: 玉城朝薫 (Tamagusuku Choukun)
Tamagusuku Chôkun was a Ryukyuan aristocrat-bureaucrat credited with the creation of the Ryukyuan dance-drama form known as kumi odori.
Tamagusuku was born in what is today the Gibo neighborhood of Shuri[1]. A member of the aristocrat-bureaucrat class of the Kingdom of the Ryûkyû, Tamagusuku had already journeyed to Edo and Kagoshima five times before being named udui bugyô (J: odori bugyô; Magistrate of Dance)[2] in 1715. The title was first held by Tansui Ueekata (1622-1683), and was a post chiefly responsible for organizing the formal entertainments of the Chinese investiture envoys to Ryukyu[3].
Having studied and viewed various Japanese dance and drama forms during his trips to Edo and Kagoshima, including Noh, kabuki and kyôgen[4], after regaining the title of udui bugyô in 1718, Tamagusuku formulated the dance-drama form known as kumi udui in Okinawan, and as kumi odori in Japanese. It was then performed for the first time, before the Chinese investiture envoys, on a chrysanthemum-viewing day, the ninth day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the following year[3].
The two plays performed that day are called Nidô Tichiuchi (The Vendetta of the Two Sons) and Shûshin Kani'iri (Possessed by Love, Thwarted by the Bell)[3].
Though it's presumed that he wrote many more, five plays by Tamagusuku survive today, and are still performed[4]. They are known today as Chôkun no Goban ("The Chôkun Five Plays") or just Goban ("The Five Plays")[1]. The other three are: Mekarushi, Kôkô nu Maki (Filial Piety), and Unna Munu Gurui (The Madwoman)[3].
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Tamagusuku Chôkun." Okinawa Konpakuto Jiten (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003. Accessed 2 November 2009.
- ↑ One of only two posts in the Ryukyuan government to be called bugyô; the other was the kaizuri bugyô, or Magistrate of Mother-of-Pearl.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Foley, Kathy. "Kumi Odori's Historical Context and Performance Practice." in Ryukyu Geino: The Legacy of Kin Ryosho. Jimpu Kai USA Kin Ryosho Ryukyu Geino Kenkyusho Hawaii Shibu, 2008. pp45-56.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Tamagusuku Chôkun." Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p46.