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Kodan is also known as Koshaku, which means the reading and explanation of religious texts. It began with readings and lectures of a teacher, reading from a text on a stand. These texts would include Buddhist, Confucian and Shinto classics, or edifying stories from Japanese or Chinese history. By the 18th and 19th centuries, Kodan became a type of entertainment performed in Yose variety theaters. A storyteller sat at a desk (a reminder of the days when Kodan performers were supposed to be reading from precious texts) and would alternate between explaining the story as an omniscient narrator and taking different roles as a dramatic play. The climax of a story would often be a fight scene in a shotgun style punctuated by beats of a fan or wooden blocks. This speaking technique is the most distinctive feature of Kodan. An adaptation of this speaking technique in Kabuki can be heard in the spoken sections of Kanjincho (JTRAD 027).
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JTRAD 052
There are many stories about the gang boss Shimizu Jirocho and his various retainers, including Mori no Ishimatsu. The performer is Kanda Hakuzan III (1872 - 1932), the most popular storyteller of his time and extremely famous star.
Performers:
Kanda Hakuzan III