Jōruri (music)

Jōruri (浄瑠璃) is a form of traditional Japanese narrative music in which a tayū (太夫) sings to the accompaniment of a shamisen. Jōruri accompanies bunraku, traditional Japanese puppet theater. As a form of storytelling, jōruri emphasizes the lyrics and narration rather than the music itself.

History
According to Asai Ryōi, the first performer to have ever employed the shamisen during his storytelling, instead of the biwa, was chanter Sawazumi. The story he narrated was "Jōruri Jū-ni-dan zōshi", one of the many existing versions of the Jōruri Monogatari, which tells the tale of the tragic love between Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Jōruri-hime. Following this event, every tale sung to the accompaniment of a shamisen became emblematic of the jōruri style.