EA 190 Shakespeare & Japan: Discussion Questions Week 4

Thone of Blood is an adaptation, not an interpretation of the play: Kurosawa takes Macbeth as his point of departure, but creates a new autonomous work, with a new text.

Like Shakespeare, Kurosawa is creating a story that is set in the past, but is completely symptomatic of the contemporary context. He's mythologizing the past, to make points about the present. The questions for this week are meant to help you understand how he does this.

1. As you are watching Throne of Blood, make a list of the characters and who they parallel in Macbeth. Note any character differences that you see. In class, we will consider how the characters are different in the two works, and how this changes our understanding of the story (for example, Duncan versus Tsuzuki Kuniharu, Lady Macbeth versus Lady Asaji).

2. For a comparison of scenes in Throne of Blood and Macbeth, click here. As you are watching Throne of Blood, use this table to make a list of the scenes and characters Kurosawa eliminates. You should also make a list of what Kurosawa adds (note particularly where he extends scenes or adds framing and other kinds of shots). How do these eliminations and additions effect our understanding of Washizu and Asaji's actions?

3. As you are watching Throne of Blood, take notes about things you do not understand. What do you feel you need to know more about in order to understand what is happening in this film? (Note that I will be discussing the use of Noh theater, and the basic principles of Buddhism and Shamanism as they are portrayed in the film.)

Pick one of the topics listed below and go out and find everything you can on it. Be prepared to give a short presentation (at least 3 minutes) on your findings, including a list of URLs, articles, books, lecture notes etc. that helped you figure the issue out and how it helped you understand what is happening in the film better.  Visual aids are welcome. You will turn in your notes and the list of sources.

You will need to pick a topic and sign up by Tuesday April 23 11 pm, so I can arrange the presentations and figure out what I will need to add to supplement.  

The historical context of late 16th century Japan (the "Warring States Period"). Why do you think Kurosawa picked this period to set his film? How is it comparable to Scotland in the 12th century?

What was the position of women, and particularly samurai women, in this period (1180-1619)? How is Asaji typical of her time? Can you find a historical model for her in the medieval period?

Medieval Japanese castles. How did they function in the Warring States Period? How do they indicate status and hierarchy? How do shots of the castle (interior and exterior) structure the film?

The symbolism of samurai armor. Why was armor so important to samurai? The symbolism of armor will be more important in Ran, but how is armor (especially helmets) used visually to indicate status and represent character in Throne of Blood?

Investigate medieval samurai values in a time of war (1280-1619). Do Kurosawa's samurai follow medieval samurai values, or the more idealized values (Bushido) that developed in the later Edo period?

Samurai values in the modern and postwar periods. How were idealized samurai values in the modern period (1868-1945) used to ideologically to support Japan's wartime expansion? How might Throne of Blood, produced in 1957, be an allegory of the failure of samurai values in the modern era? How might it also be reflecting the period of 1955-57, after the end of the American occupation and leading up to the protests against the signing of the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty (AMPO) in 1960, which replaced the earlier Security Treaty of 1951.