Kawatake-Mokuami's “Sewamono” Dramas in the Meiji Period

Abstract

The best works of Kawatake-Mokuami, one of the major “kyōgen” playwrights in the transitional period from early modern to modern times, are a series of “sewamono” dramas in the Meiji Period. They can be classified into the two types; the dramas set in the former period and those dealing with current affairs. This paper will outline the development of these two kinds of “sewamono” dramas which started to be written after the death of Ichikawa-Kodanji the Fourth at the end of the Edo Period.