著者

桂 蝶六

出版者

大阪青山大学『大阪青山大学紀要』編集委員会

雑誌

大阪青山大学紀要 (ISSN:18833543)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, pp.53-66, 2012

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Rakugo and Kyohgen could both be classified as humorous comedeies representing the world of Japanese traditional performing arts. However, their vectors of laughter are widely different. The leading role in Osaka Rakugo is played by Kiroku while that of Kyohgen is played by Taro Kaja. Behavioral differences between the two leading roles reflect differences in dramatic stance between the two performing arts. Kiroku is alwayslaughed at the audience at the end of the story whereas Taro Kaja often finishes the drama by laughing at other figures in the story. The leading role in Rakugo is a fool who is always the target of laughter while the leading role in Kyohgen is an underdog who enjoys himself by laughing at his "overdog" in the play. Both Kiroku and Taro Kajya gain popularity through the audience's sympathy towards their behaviors in each comedy, but the differences is evident in the feelings received from the two leading roles, i.e., Kirokus failures are always laughed at while Taro Kaja induces laughter by playing trics on others in the play, although the audience's verbal reactions to both would often be the same, i.e., "It couldnt be helped that he behaved that way." In the present treatise, I attempted to discuss the essence and functions of Rakugo and general comedies in turn, which appeared distinct by comparison between Rakugo and Kyohgen.