Japanese rokyoku: the traditional Naniwa-bushi narrative song

Yako Sanji: Pilgrimage to the Great Temple (Part 1)First-generation Azumaya Ura Taro

The World of Madoka Kikuchi’s Rōkyoku, Part 4 / First-generation Azumaya Uratarō: “Yako Sanji (The Kindling Peddler)”

One of the figures who supported the postwar boom in rokyoku (traditional Japanese narrative singing).

He served three terms as president of the Japan Rokyoku Association.

He is regarded as the last master of the do-goe (also called dami-goe), a chesty, growling vocal style produced by tightening the throat.

In 1995, he passed the name Urataro to the second-generation successor, took the name Azumaya Sanso himself, and retired.

He died in 2004.

Samurai Sentiments from the Kaga DisturbanceThe Second Kyoyama Kōedewaka

Born in 1954.

In 1973, he entered apprenticeship under his father, the first Kyoyama Koedewaka, taking the name Fukutarō.

After his predecessor’s passing, he assumed the name of the second Koedewaka in 2004.

With a beautiful voice inherited from his father, he has long been a popular performer attracting attention among rōkyoku fans.

He is one of the few rōkyoku artists affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo.

Konya Takao (First Half)Takeharu Kunimoto

Goro Hidaka / Konya Takao (Complete Version)

When he passed away at the end of 2015 at the young age of 55, he was such a central figure in Tokyo’s rōkyoku world that not only the rōkyoku community but the entire entertainment scenes of both east and west mourned his untimely death.

The character he played on NHK E-Tele’s “Nihongo de Asobo,” Unariya Beben, lives on to this day.

The Miraculous Deeds at TsubosakaAyataro Naniwatei

Record of Miraculous Wonders at Ichisaka — Ayata Naniwatei

After losing his sight to illness in childhood and persevering through many hardships, he became a disciple of the first Naniwatei Ayazō in 1903 and, at 21, inherited the stage name Ayatarō.

A passage from his representative work depicting conjugal love, The Miraculous Deeds at Tsubosaka (Tsubosaka Reigenki), was so well known that even those who weren’t rōkyoku aficionados had heard it by the mid-Showa era.

One of the masters of the Showa period.

The demon couple of SendaiNanafuku Tamagawa

Nanafuku Tamagawa — The Ogre Couple of Sendai — Shamisen accompanist: Toyoko Sawamura

While working at a company, he studied rokyoku under Fukutarō Tamagawa, first performing as a kyokushi (shamisen accompanist) before later devoting himself fully to being a rokyoku performer.

He has organized and produced rokyoku events in venues large and small, and premiered new works, making it no exaggeration to call him one of the most dynamic rokyoku artists active today.

Kibun’s Homeward-bound ShipSaburō Tenryū

Born in 1915.

He changed his name after Saburō Tenryū, a prewar professional sumo wrestler (later a commentator), and kept this name until his death in 2014 at age 98.

In this recording, he experiments with an unusual arrangement featuring twin accompaniment by shamisen and electric guitar.

Umbrella Cherry BlossomTakako Sawa

Born in 1939.

Entered the tutelage of the second-generation Hiromasa Kikuharu in 1954, and in 1961 adopted the stage name Takako Sawa.

Known for a taut, ringing voice and a bright, spirited singing style.

Served two terms from 2008 as the 17th president of the Japan Rōkyoku Association, and has since supported the organization as an advisor.