Takemoto-za

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Takemoto-za was a bunraku theatre in Osaka, opened in 1684 by Takemoto Gidayū. It staged works by famous writers such as Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sōsuke (Namiki Senryū I), and Takeda Izumo I. Playwrights often worked together as a committee. The theatre had a rival, Toyotake-za, built by a former student of Takemoto Gidayū. In the 1740s, Namiki Senryū I helped shape its style and is believed to have led the creation of three landmark Bunraku plays: Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (1746), Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (1747), and Kanadehon Chūshingura (1748). These works were later adapted for kabuki. Bunraku remained popular until about 1764, when it began to decline. Takemoto-za closed in 1767, reopened briefly, and then closed again.