The medicine-peddler Uirô-uri

Series
18 kabuki plays

Series Number
17

Title in English
The medicine-peddler Uirô-uri

Title in Japanese
外郎売 Uirô-uri

Title in French
Le bonimenteur de remèdes Uirô-uri

The play
“Uirô Uri” was not at the beginning a drama but a short scene, which was staged for the first time in 1718. It starred Ichikawa Danjûrô II in the role of a uirô (anti-tussive herbal medicine) peddler, in reality Soga Gorô Tokimune in disguise. The highlight of the scene was a 1600-ideogram long tsurane (long declamatory speech spoken without a break, full of puns and tongue twisters) which became famous in its own right. The “Uirô Uri” scene was staged repeatedly by Ichikawa Danjûrô II and his descendants. It was staged for the first time as an independent drama, which was entitled “Uirô”, in September 1922, starring Ichikawa Sanshô V. “Uirô Uri” was finally revived by Ichikawa Danjûrô XII, who had a new script written for him and staged in May 1985 for his shûmei (name-changing ceremony). It was a great success and, thanks to this new version, it became a popular item in the current Kabuki repertoire.

The story
A group of retainers of Lord Suketsune are preparing for a hunt. Just then they hear the voice of Toraya Tôkichi, a peddler selling uirô, particularly good for the stomach and throat. They are interested in this peddler as these vendors were famous for their fast-talking sales speeches and so they decide to call him. In reality, the peddler is the younger of the two brothers, Soga Gorô Tokimune, in disguise. They wish to hear his tongue-twisting sales speech. He says that between the city of old Edo and the Kamigata region of Kyôto and Ôsaka, uirô is produced here in Odawara. The singers tell of the origins of the famous medicine, uirô and how it was first imported from China. One tablet of the drug is to be placed beneath the tongue. When it enters the stomach it will cure all manner of ailments and especially make the throat feel smooth and refreshed. It can be taken with all fish, fowl or mushrooms and he concludes that this medicine is like a blessing from heaven. The speed of the tongue-twisters will be faster than a wheel rolling down a mountain path – even faster than a spinning top – with the energy of a barefoot man running for his life. He says that his tongue too is beginning to roll along and that he is now ready to start his speech which begins with a series of syllabic games. This tongue-twisting speech, for which the whole audience has been waiting, is one of the longest and most complex in Kabuki. It is a mark of the actor’s skill to deliver it with speed and clarity.