Born into a samurai family of Echizen (Fukui). He later moved with his family to Kyoto and served court nobles.
While serving nobles he grew familiar with jōruri puppet theatre and became a writer; his Yotsugi Soga won acclaim.
He wrote Shusse Kagekiyo for the chanter Takemoto Gidayū, seen as the start of a new jōruri; their partnership captivated Osaka audiences.
He also wrote many kabuki scripts for the great Kyoto actor Sakata Tōjūrō.
He based Sonezaki Shinjū on a real double suicide in Osaka, and it was a sensation—the start of sewamono, plays of townspeople torn between love and duty.
He became house playwright of the Takemoto-za, devoting himself to jōruri.
He wrote Kokusen'ya Kassen, about a hero fighting to restore the Ming; it ran for seventeen months, a huge hit.
He wrote Shinjū Ten no Amijima, considered a masterpiece of the genre. Seeking to portray the truth of the heart, he reportedly said art lies between the false and the real.
He died in Osaka. He is sometimes called "the Shakespeare of Japan".
Ihara SaikakuSeki TakakazuMatsuo BashōTokugawa TsunayoshiArai HakusekiOgata KōrinYanagisawa YoshiyasuOgiwara Shigehide
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.