太夫

たゆう

Also written 大夫

Meanings

1. Noun high-ranking noh actor See also: 能太夫 (のうだゆう).
2. head of a school of noh performance
3. high ranking courtesan (esp. in Yoshiwara; Edo period)
4. jōruri narrator; manzai narrator See also: 浄瑠璃 (じょうるり). See also: 万歳 (まんざい).
5. female role actor in kabuki See also: 女形 (おんながた).
6. lord steward (formerly the fifth court rank)
7. head of a sarugaku troupe See also: 猿楽座 (さるがくざ).
8. senior priest at a Shinto shrine See also: 禰宜 (ねぎ).

Kanji

• 太 thick. Read as タ.
• 夫 husband

Words containing 太夫

• 義太夫 (ぎだゆう) gidayū (type of reciting used in the puppet theater)
• 義太夫節 (ぎだゆうぶし) gidayū ballad drama (narrative accompanied by a shamisen used in the bunraku puppet theater)
• 義太夫語り (ぎだゆうかたり) gidayū reciter

And 3 more.

Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists