Page:Tales from old Japanese dramas (1915).djvu/40

10 was acquired chiefly during his sacerdotal life. Later he returned to sectdar life, and for a few years served a Kyōto court noble as his retainer. Next we find him an author of stories and kyaku-hon or pure dramas. His name, however, was not widely known.

The Shussé Kagékiyo, or "The Successful Career of Kagékiyo," his very first epical drama, was written for Gidayū. It was performed at the Takemoto Za in 1686. The performance of this historical play raised the fame of both its author and chanter to great prominence. At that time a new epoch in the literary and chanters' world began. Four years later Monzayemon took up his residence in Ōsaka as playwright for the Takemoto Za. From this time until his death in 1724 he produced, in rapid succession, about a hundred pieces. His acquaintance with the Chinese and the Japanese classics, and with the Buddhist and Shinto religions, his good knowledge of the world, and his fertile and inventive genius, combined to make him a writer of unique merits.

The Nagamachi Onna Harakiri, or "The Woman's Harakiri at Long Street," appeared in 1700. This realistic drama, the very first of his so-called