Jōrurihime monogatari

Japanese literature

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The term "Jōrurihime monogatari" refers to a 15th-century romantic tale in Japanese literature. The leading character of this tale is Lady Jōruri. This story gave its name to "jōruri," a type of chanted recitative that evolved into a script for bunraku puppet drama. Initially, jōruri was chanted to the accompaniment of a biwa (Japanese lute). With the introduction of the samisen (a three-stringed lute) in the 16th century, both the music and scripts became more intricate. When puppets were added to performances in the late 16th century, jōruri gained a dramatic quality, incorporating themes of loyalty, vengeance, love, and miracles, with increasing amounts of dialogue and descriptive commentary.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Japan
Commerce, cities, and culture
…of the 17th century, the Jōrurihime monogatari (a type of romantic ballad), which drew on the traditions of the medieval narrative story, was for the first time arranged as a form of dramatic literature accompanied by puppetry and the samisen (a lutelike musical instrument). It continued to develop until the…
Read More
…of the 17th century, the Jōrurihime monogatari (a type of romantic ballad), which drew on the traditions of the medieval narrative story, was for the first time arranged as a form of dramatic literature accompanied by puppetry and the samisen (a lutelike musical instrument). It continued to develop until the…
Read More