Mizuzake no Tanyō

**Mizuzake no Tanyō** [水沿の汝逮, c. 1368 - 1440] was a renowned actor and playwright of the late Nittori period. He was the only surviving son of the playwright, author and actor Yōsaka, who mentored Tanyō extensively through his childhood.

Yōsaka introduced him to *hongyū* theatre performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Yōsaka, also being an actor with known talent, took on Tanyō as a member of his troupe, the Yōsaka Theatre Company, in 1379 when the boy was eleven. As the company was already very popular in the Kaimon area, Tanyō had no issue in taking directorship of the troupe in 1380 after his father's retirement, along with the help of more experienced actors.

In 1383, the same year in which Yōsaka died, Tanyō was introduced to the heir of the Yūtei administration, Prince Matsume, two years his senior and with whom it is generally believed he had a love affair. Prince Matsume, who would go on to become the last *manza* of the Yūtei government, invited Tanyō to the Imperial Court. There, Tanyō received a classical education in literature and philosophy, while continuing to act both in the theatres of Kaimon and Jūkei, and in private performances for the Yūtei court.

From 1384 until his sudden exile in 1429, Tanyō remained in official residence at the Imperial Court, although he travelled all over Kanton to perform and direct his own plays. In 1390, Tanyō received funding from the newly-crowned *manza* Matsume to invest in the upkeep of his father's company, then renamed to the Yōsaka Group, which allowed the actors involved with the troupe to keep working. In 1401, at the age of 33, Tanyō began the fulltime leadership of the troupe, a role to which he was well-suited. Tanyō never married or fathered children.

## Writing

Tanyō mixed a variety of classic and modern themes in his writing, and was inspired by traditional Kantonese folktales which would heavily inform his own stories. He incorporated some themes from Buddhism, Kiren, and folk religion into his works. The exact number of plays that he wrote is unknown, but is likely to be between 30 and 50. He wrote some scholarly articles on *jūkyū*, an emerging form of theatre during his time, and a performance art which he was famously enthusiastic about.

After the death of Yūtei no Matsume in 1420, the Yūtei administration was dismantled and supplanted by the Sadama clan. Sadama no Saika was less favourably inclined to Tanyō's drama, eventually excluding him from court in 1425. Tanyō successfully sought out patronage from wealthy merchants and continued his career under their support. He became well-known and well-respected in Kantonese society, travelling extensively across the country with the Yōsaka Group. However, Sadama no Saika remained hostile toward Tanyō; he held Tanyō's nephew Sanno in high regard, and disagreed with Tanyō's refusal to declare Sanno as his successor to the directorship of the troupe. Possibly due to this disagreement, Saika sent Tanyō into exile to Kagenan in 1429. After Saika's death in 1438, Tanyō returned to mainland Kanton, and died in Kaimon in 1440.

## Major works

* *Kuruu Sori* [筈森, *The Dark Forest*)
* *Akoko* (あここ, *The Cradle*)
* *Achika yo Koyō* [雀鳥よ泍杨, *Achika and Koyō*)
* *Sora ni Kumo no Yume* (空に儚の菌, *Yume, a Cloud in the Sky*), a sequel to his father's work *Yume Ryōji*
* *Sokutsuko* (即汗, *Twin Cedars*)