Yaoya Oshichi
Encyclopedia
, literally "greengrocer Oshichi", was a daughter of the greengrocer Tarobei. She lived in the Hongō
neighborhood of Edo
at the beginning of the Edo period
. She attempted to commit arson after falling in love with a boy. This story became the subject of joruri
plays. The year of her birth is sometimes given as 1666.
, at Shōsen-in, the family temple (danna-dera). The next year she attempted arson, thinking she could meet him again if another fire occurred. She was caught by the police and burnt at the stake in Suzugamori
for her crimes.
As the magistrate is plenteous in mercy, he knew she is sixteen years old, but asked her, ”You must be fifteen years old, aren't you?” at the judgment.
Because boys and girls under fifteen years old were not subject to the death penalty in those days. At that time strict family registration system was incomplete, confirmation of age by bureaucrat was enough to her self-enumeration. She made a return of one's age. As she couldn't get him message in a metaphor, he was at a loss, and asked her again with strong wording. ”You must be fifteen years old, aren't you?” But she could not take a hint again, and honestly stated one's age, then he have no alternative but to sentence her stake.
described this case in the book Kōshoku Gonin Onna (English translation, Five Women Who Loved Love). About twenty years later the playwright Ki no Kaion took great liberties with the story to create a play for the traditional puppet theater entitled Yaoya Ohichi. In 1773, three playwrights, Suga Sensuke, Matsuda Wakichi, and Wakatake Fuemi further revised Ki no Kaion's play to produce Date musume koi no higanoko. In these two versions, Oshichi does not commit arson but does climb a fire tower on a snowy night to ring the alarm bell to get the city gates opened in order to save the life of her lover, whom she cannot otherwise reach because of the nightly curfew. The penalty, however, for sounding a false fire alarm is death, a fate Oshichi chooses to face. In the puppet plays, the character of Oshichi is presented not as the seemingly impetuous, foolish girl of the historical record, but instead as a noble figure whose selfless devotion saves the man she loves. Later playwrights also developed the Oshichi story for stage, Tamenaga Tarobei in Junshoku Edo Murasaki and Tsuruya Nanboku in Katakiuchi Yagura daiko.
Hongo
Hongō is a district of Tokyo located in Bunkyō-ku, due north of the Tokyo Imperial Palace and west of Ueno. Hongō was a ward of the former city of Tokyo until 1947, when it merged with another ward, Koishikawa, to form the modern Bunkyō....
neighborhood of Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
at the beginning of the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. She attempted to commit arson after falling in love with a boy. This story became the subject of joruri
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
plays. The year of her birth is sometimes given as 1666.
Story
In December 1682, she fell in love with Ikuta Shōnosuke (or Saemon), a temple page, during the great fire in the Tenna EraTenna
was a after Enpō and before Jōkyō. This period spanned the years from September 1681 through February 1684. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
, at Shōsen-in, the family temple (danna-dera). The next year she attempted arson, thinking she could meet him again if another fire occurred. She was caught by the police and burnt at the stake in Suzugamori
Suzugamori execution grounds
The were one of many sites in the vicinity of Edo where the Tokugawa shogunate executed criminals, anti-government conspirators and Christians in the Edo period. Others sites included Shibaguchi, Honzaimokuchou, Itabashi, near the Torigoe Myoujin shrine, in front of Saihouji in Kondobashi, and...
for her crimes.
As the magistrate is plenteous in mercy, he knew she is sixteen years old, but asked her, ”You must be fifteen years old, aren't you?” at the judgment.
Because boys and girls under fifteen years old were not subject to the death penalty in those days. At that time strict family registration system was incomplete, confirmation of age by bureaucrat was enough to her self-enumeration. She made a return of one's age. As she couldn't get him message in a metaphor, he was at a loss, and asked her again with strong wording. ”You must be fifteen years old, aren't you?” But she could not take a hint again, and honestly stated one's age, then he have no alternative but to sentence her stake.
Novels
Three years after that occurrence, Ihara SaikakuIhara Saikaku
was a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose .-Biography:Born the son of the wealthy merchant Hirayama Tōgo in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku, and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized...
described this case in the book Kōshoku Gonin Onna (English translation, Five Women Who Loved Love). About twenty years later the playwright Ki no Kaion took great liberties with the story to create a play for the traditional puppet theater entitled Yaoya Ohichi. In 1773, three playwrights, Suga Sensuke, Matsuda Wakichi, and Wakatake Fuemi further revised Ki no Kaion's play to produce Date musume koi no higanoko. In these two versions, Oshichi does not commit arson but does climb a fire tower on a snowy night to ring the alarm bell to get the city gates opened in order to save the life of her lover, whom she cannot otherwise reach because of the nightly curfew. The penalty, however, for sounding a false fire alarm is death, a fate Oshichi chooses to face. In the puppet plays, the character of Oshichi is presented not as the seemingly impetuous, foolish girl of the historical record, but instead as a noble figure whose selfless devotion saves the man she loves. Later playwrights also developed the Oshichi story for stage, Tamenaga Tarobei in Junshoku Edo Murasaki and Tsuruya Nanboku in Katakiuchi Yagura daiko.