Tokiwazu-bushi is one of the Japanese traditional musical performances, a school of Edo-Joruri.
Tokiwazu music is composed of tales, and several characters.
In the first place, 'Joruri' means 'a tale', 'a storytelling', and 'a person who tells a story'.
And it consists of three elements, 'storytelling with melody' , 'serif' , and 'medium between two of them'.
Reciters called 'Tayu' tell a story through singing with Shamisen (a stringed instrument) accompaniments.
Tokiwazu was founded by 'Tokiwazu-Moji-tayu the first' in 1747.
After that, it developed as the accompaniment for Buyo (the traditional dance) in Kabuki (the Japanese opera),
especially in the serious scene.
Modern Tokiwazu performers usually consists of six or seven people. Three or four people of them are Tayu (chanter)
and other people are called Shamisen-kata (player).
Tokiwazu-bushi is like a Kabuki enjoyed only by listening, and is the music of imagination.
Therefore it could be said that TOKIWAZU has the quite similar background (establishment era, form of performance,etc) to the Opera music.