| Sorori Shinzaemon | |
|---|---|
| 曽呂利 新左衛門 | |
 Illustration of Sorori Shinzaemon from 1849 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Sakai, Izumi Province, Japan |
| Died | c. 1597-1600 Japan |
Sorori Shinzaemon (Japanese: 曽呂利 新左衛門, fl. 1587–1597) was the stage name of Sugimoto Shinzaemon (杉本 新左衛門), a Japanese comedian and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is regarded as the progenitor of rakugo.
Biography
Sorori was originally a scabbard-maker of Sakai, a major commercial center. He studied the art of chanoyu under Takeno Jō'ō, and was also versed in kyōka. His scabbards were especially well-made and swords could be swiftly and easily drawn from them. Because of this, he was given the nickname sorori (そろり, lit. 'smooth'). At some point, he became a retainer of Hideyoshi and was renowned for his laconic wit.
Sorori is best known through the many anecdotes depicting his interactions with Hideyoshi. In one, a variation of the ancient wheat and chessboard problem is attributed to him. In another, after Sorori had farted in his presence, Hideyoshi beat him with a shaku. Sorori then composed a poem: "Having thus farted, I received two provinces: Harima on my head, and Bitchū on my ass" (おならして国二ヶ国を得たりけり頭はりまに尻はびっちう).
For many years, the relative scarcity of contemporary manuscripts mentioning Sorori resulted in a theory that he was actually the same person as Anrakuan Sakuden, another comedian of the period. However, according to Kitagawa Hiroshi [ja], a diary from 1587 belonging to the kuge Nishinotōin Tokiyoshi [ja] mentions that a person named Sorori gave amusing lectures and did a comical impression of Chinese person.
References
- ^ 童門 Dōmon, 冬二 Fuyuji (September 1, 2003). Sorori Shinzaemon: Hideyoshi no chiebukuro 曾呂利新左衛門: 秀吉の知恵袋 Sorori Shinzaemon: Hideyoshi's Fount of Wisdom. Japan: 実業之日本社. ISBN 4408534447.
- ^ 松村 Matsumura, 明 Akira (2020). Daijisen 大辞泉. Japan: 小学館 Shōgakukan.
- 樋口 Higuchi, 和憲 Kazunori; Miller, Waku (2016). Holy Foolery in the Life of Japan: A Historical Overview. International House of Japan. ISBN 4924971405.
- "なにわ大坂をつくった100人・曽呂利新左衛門 100 people who made Naniwa Osaka - Sorori Shinzaemon". 大阪21世紀協会 Osaka 21st Century Association. Retrieved 28 December 2024.