Who Is Taro Kaja (Tarō Kaja)?
A careless but quick-witted servant
Taro Kaja is the servant role that appears most often in kyogen, Japan's traditional comic theater. The name does not belong to one specific person. It refers to the chief retainer serving a master, and plays featuring this role are also called shomyo kyogen or "Taro Kaja plays." The word "kaja" originally meant a young man and later also came to mean a young servant. Taro Kaja is careless and sly, yet somehow impossible to dislike.
In Episode 1, Suehirogari, he searches for a "suehirogari" without knowing it means a folding fan, and a swindler sells him an old umbrella. When he is scolded, he sings and dances the festive song he was taught and restores his master's good mood. In Episode 2, Busu, he licks the sugar his master called deadly poison, then comes up with the excuse of tearing a hanging scroll and smashing a tea bowl. In Episode 3, Bo-shibari, he drinks sake with Jiro Kaja even with both arms tied to a pole. In Episode 4, Kazumo, he drives off the Mosquito Spirit with a giant fan, and in the end he throws his master to the ground.
Episodes featuring this character5
NEWEpisode 1
Told to Buy a Fan. He Bought an Umbrella.Suehirogari (The Fan)
Taro Kaja is sent to the capital to buy a "suehirogari," without knowing it means a folding fan. A smooth-talking swindler sells him a battered old umbrella for a fortune, and the Daimyo explodes. Thrown out of the house, Taro Kaja makes one last move with the song the swindler taught him.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
Even Its Breeze Kills. So We Peeked.Busu (The Poison Jar)
Before heading out, the Daimyo leaves behind a tub of "busu," a poison so deadly that even the breeze off it will kill you. Left to watch the house, Taro Kaja and Jiro Kaja are terrified, but they can't stop wondering what's inside. Once they find out, they turn their master's lie right back on him. It's one of Japan's best-loved kyogen comedies, a favorite in school textbooks.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 3
Can't Reach My CupBut I Can Reach Yours — Bō Shibari (Tied to a Pole)
Every time the Daimyo leaves home, his sake mysteriously goes down. So before heading out, he ties Taro Kaja's arms to a pole and Jiro Kaja's hands behind his back. Neither can lift a cup to his own mouth, but each can reach the other's. This kyogen play about two servants teaming up is 600 years old.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 4
Mid-Bout, He Turned Into a MosquitoKazumo (The Mosquito Wrestler)
A show-off daimyo demands a strong new retainer by the end of the day, so Taro Kaja runs out to the highway and finds a sumo wrestler who claims he's never lost. There's just one problem: he's actually a man-sized Mosquito Spirit.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 5
The Lord Who Cheated Off a Servant's ShinHagi Daimyo
A vain lord who can't write a single line of poetry walks into a poetry challenge armed with his servant's fan ribs and, somehow, a shin. Only you know the answer in Hagi Daimyo, a 600-year-old comedy about cheating.
19 pages