Yōsaka

Yōsaka (逮坂, c. 1330s - 1383) was a Kantonese playwright, author and actor of the Hanjō period. Although his real name is unknown, there are many variations on his pseudonym, including Shishizu, Yōchin, and Yōsan. He is the father of the well-known actor and playwright Mizuzake no Tanyō (汝逮).
Yōsaka's career began when he founded a hongyū theatre group in the national capital of Jūkei in the 1350s. The troupe travelled throughout the western region of Kanton before moving back to the capital and forming the Yōsaka Theatre Company, which would later become the de facto school of jūkyū theatre. Yōsaka himself grew in popularity, with his written scripts being adapted into successful plays, and began making trips around Jūkei to give performances. His 1367 play, Yume Ryōji, is one of his most famous and depicts a large fictional account of the life of the poet Tō no Yume. In 1370, the manza Yūtei no Hōsō went to see this Yōsaka play and was so impressed by it that he decided to personally fund the rest of Yōsaka's career.
Yōsaka was the first playwright to incorporate the traditional, rustic styles of hongyū and rinyora from peasant celebrations. He trained his son Tanyō in his own style, and Tanyō eventually succeeded him as director of the Yōsaka Theatre Company and the school of jūkyū. Yōsaka died of unknown causes in 1383; historians believe that the cause was most probably cancer.
Category:People