A History of Japanese Theatre

Description

Japan boasts one of the world's oldest, most vibrant and most influential performance traditions. This accessible and complete history provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese theatre and its continuing global influence. Written by eminent international scholars, it spans the full range of dance-theatre genres over the past fifteen hundred years, including noh theatre, bunraku puppet theatre, kabuki theatre, shingeki modern theatre, rakugo storytelling, vanguard butoh dance and media experimentation. The first part addresses traditional genres, their historical trajectories and performance conventions. Part II covers the spectrum of new genres since Meiji (1868–), and Parts III to VI provide discussions of playwriting, architecture, Shakespeare, and interculturalism, situating Japanese elements within their global theatrical context. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and prints, this history features interviews with key modern directors, an overview of historical scholarship in English and Japanese, and a timeline. A further reading list covers a range of multimedia resources to encourage further explorations. contents List of figures List of tables Contributors Contributors’ biographies Foreword Acknowledgments Note on Japanese terms List of abbreviations Timeline Editor’s introduction part I Traditional theatres Preface to Part I Japanese civilization arises 1 Ancient and early medieval performing arts Interlude Katari narrative traditions: from storytelling to theatre 2 Noh and Muromachi culture Interlude Noh and kyogen costumes and masks 3 Kyogen: classical comedy Interlude Iemoto : the family head system 4 Kabuki: superheroes and femmes fatales Interlude Nihonbuyo: classical dance Interlude Okinawan theatre: boundary of Japanese theatre 5 Bunraku: puppet theatre Interlude Misemono and rakugo : sideshows and storytelling Interlude Kamigata geinō : Kyoto-Osaka style Interlude Traditional theatre tomorrow: interview with Takemoto Mikio part II Modern theatres Preface to Part II 6 Birth of modern theatre: shimpa and shingeki Interlude Modern comedies and early musicals Interlude Takarazuka: all-girls’ revue and musicals 7 Rise of shingeki : Western-style theatre Interlude Manzai and Yoshimoto vaudeville comedy 8 Wartime colonial and traditional theatre Interlude Kami-shibai : picture-card storytelling 9 Maturing shingeki theatre Interlude Postwar musicals and commercial theatre 10 Sixties Th eatre Interlude Butoh: dance of darkness and light 11 Contemporary theatre Interlude Tokyo: world theatre capital Interlude Charting Tokyo theatre today: 24 November 2012 Interlude Modern theatre tomorrow: interview with Oriza Hirata part III Arcs and patterns 12 Premodern playwriting practices 13 Traditional meta-patterns 14 Modern plays as literature 15 Modern meta-patterns Interlude Dōjōji: Th e lady and the bell part IV Theatre architecture Preface to Part IV Evolution of Japanese theatre architecturePreface to Part IV Evolution of Japanese theatre architecture 16 Premodern patterns of spectatorship and space 17 Modernization of theatrical space, 1868–1940 18 Postwar theatres: development and diversifi cation Interlude National theatres and funding part V Theatre criticism 19 Premodern practitioner principles: Zeami to Chikamatsu 20 Modern criticism: wrestling with Western realism 21 English language scholarship: a critical overview Interlude University scholarship and training part VI Intercultural influences 22 Seven stages of Shakespeare reception 23 Traditional training internationally 24 Intercultural theatre: fortuitous encounters Interlude Early infl uence from Europe Interlude Asian energy versus European rationality: interview with Ninagawa Yukio Epilogue: Frozen words and mythology Further reading Index