Japanese musician and great master of his era for shamisen (three-stringed lute). Toyozawa Danpei played a major role in the revival of popularity of ningyō jōruri in the 1880-1890s, working first for the Bunraku-za and then the rival company, the Hikoroku-za. Totally devoted to the art, he inspired a generation of artists, not only musicians but also narrators and manipulators. He composed a number of scores for Bunraku and the rare modern scripts that he introduced into the repertoire. Tsubosaka reigenki (Miracle at Tsubosaka Temple, 1887), for example, was inspired by an older version.

(See Japan.)