近松の浄瑠璃における見立ての方法

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the mitate technique in Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s Joruri. Mitate, a characteristic expression used in Japanese literature, refers to likening one thing to another, and it was in use as early as in the Waka period. While mitate expressions could be found even in the Edo period in Kanazōshi and Haikai, they were merely a means of expressing metaphor. After the mid-to-late Edo period, mitate began to include visual elements and mystery elements. While there has been considerable research on the mitate expressions that appear in the mid-to-late Edo period literature of Gesaku, Kabuki, and Ukiyoe, there has not been sufficient review of the literature of the early Edo period, especially of the play Joruri. Therefore, in this paper, we categorize the mitate technique in Chikamatsu’s Joruri into ① the mitate of the opening act, ②mitate in a <world> setting, and ③ mitate used in direction, and reviewed them to examine the characteristics of the expressions used. In Japanese literature, which has a strong tendency to create new works based on preceding works, mitate was a technique that created polysemantic interest. Only through a multi-layered analysis of the text from the perspective of mitate can we finally understand the intention of the author in the work.