< Onna-doraku (Comic Monologue Accompanied by the Shamisen) > Onna-doraku is an entertainment with shamisen music, singing and dancing by one or more female performers. At rakugo theaters called yose, the program shows rakugo performances in black letters while other variety acts are written in vermillion. Due to this custom, entertainments other than rakugo were classified as "iromono (lit. colored)," and onna-doraku used to be played as one of such iromono acts. Onna-doraku was actively performed in Tokyo (formerly Edo) as well, but the art is now extinct in Tokyo due to a lack of successors. (Onna-doraku and Osaka) In the Kamigata (Kansai) region, onna-doraku was at its peak during the Taisho period (1912–1926), and was gradually merged with such entertainments as manzai (comic dialogue) and mandan (comic monologue). Since around 1965, performer AZUMA Hinako (1924–1980) became popular with her "onna-hodan (lit. female free talk)" developed through arrangement of onna-doraku, holding a shamisen in her hand and satirizing social conditions in her speech. The best part of her performance is said to have been her stylish humor; she would talk without playing the shamisen, even while pretending to play it at any moment, and would slowly hold her plectrum in the middle of her talk but would not play it after all.

Organized & Sponsored by Yamamoto Nohgakudo Association, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industy & City of Osaka, in cooperation with Osaka Convention and Tourism Bureau Copyright (C) 2008-2009 Yamamoto Nohgakudo Association All Right Reserved.