| ''Jôruri'' was a narrative storytelling form, accompanied on ''[[biwa]]'', which emerged sometime after 1525, and which later evolved into the ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' or ''bunraku'' puppet theatre of the [[Edo period]]. | | ''Jôruri'' was a narrative storytelling form, accompanied on ''[[biwa]]'', which emerged sometime after 1525, and which later evolved into the ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' or ''bunraku'' puppet theatre of the [[Edo period]]. |
− | The form takes its name from ''Jôruri-hime monogatari'', or The Tale of Princess Jôruri, also known as ''jûnidan'' ("The Story in Twelve Parts"),<ref>Charles Dunn and Torigoe Bunzô, ''The Actors' Analects'', New York: Columbia University Press (1969), 81.</ref> the most popular of the stories performed in this mode. The story is told in twelve acts, and features Ushiwakamaru (a young [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]]) as the hero, and Princess Jôruri (''Jôruri hime'') as the heroine. Its author and origins are unclear. | + | The form takes its name from ''Jôruri-hime monogatari'', or The Tale of Princess Jôruri, also known as ''jûnidan'' ("The Story in Twelve Parts"),<ref>Charles Dunn and Torigoe Bunzô, ''The Actors' Analects'', New York: Columbia University Press (1969), 81.</ref> the most popular of the stories performed in this mode. Supposedly written by a woman by the name of [[Ono Otsu|Ono Otsû]]<!--小野小通-->,<ref>Gallery label, "Poster for a Gidayu Performance, or Celebration," East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/8552308512/sizes/l]</ref> the story is told in twelve acts, and features Ushiwakamaru (a young [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]]) as the hero, and Princess Jôruri (''Jôruri hime'') as the heroine. |
| With the addition of puppets in the late 16th or early 17th century, the ''jôruri'' musical & narrative form developed into ''ningyô jôruri'' ("Puppet Jôruri"), a very prominent, popular, and influential Edo period theatrical form which later came to be known as Bunraku. | | With the addition of puppets in the late 16th or early 17th century, the ''jôruri'' musical & narrative form developed into ''ningyô jôruri'' ("Puppet Jôruri"), a very prominent, popular, and influential Edo period theatrical form which later came to be known as Bunraku. |