Week 6a: Costumes,
make-up and form in Kabuki acting I: aragoto and wagoto male roles b) Saint Narukami [TJT 68-94], Japanese c) Review Love Suicides at Amijima Video: "Form in Kabuki Acting," excerpts from Narukami, Love Suicides etc. Reading Questions for Saint Narukami 1. What appears to be the attitude toward Buddhism as expressed in this play? How is Narukami, as an esoteric priest, portrayed? The low-ranking acolytes, Black Cloud and White Cloud? Compare these Kabuki portrayals with the priests and lower-ranking servants in Noh and Kyôgen plays. 2. According to this play, how are dragon and thunder gods related to rain? How are they controlled? 3. Consider the similarities and differences with Thunderbolt (Kaminari) and Kamo, which also depict a thunder god. How are they each portrayed by means of costume, mask/makeup, movement? How is the thunderstorm that occurs in each play conveyed visually and through sound? Week 6b: Costumes, make-up and form in Kabuki acting II: onnagata female roles
a) Chûshingura “At the Farmhouse” and “Ichiriki Brothel Scene”: To see a one-page list of the characters and their “real-life” counterparts click here. As you read along you might make short notes to help you remember who each one is. There are also images of the Kabuki and Bunraku versions of the play on the website. Reading Questions 1. Read Brazell’s introduction to “At the Farmhouse” for a synopsis of the entire play and the real life incident on which the play was loosely based. 2. What are the most noticeable differences between this historical play (jidai mono) and the domestic play (sewa mono) Love Suicides at Amijima? E.g. how does the dramatic world/time period differ? The personality and social class of the characters? DISCUSSION QUESTIONS DUE THURSDAY (February 14) Please cite quotations and page numbers to support your argument! 1. Think about the samurai code of ethics as expressed in this play. In particular, how does the concept of giri appear to be different in this play than in Love Suicides at Amijima? 2. How do the characters Okaru, Kampei (her husband), and Heimon (her brother) deal with the conflict between their duty/loyalty to their superiors (giri) and their desires/human emotions (ninjô)? Why is Heimon initially not allowed to join the vendetta? What role does Okaru play in the vendetta? 3. How are women represented in this play? Specifically, compare Okaru in Chûshingura with Koharu in Love Suicides. As courtesans how are they represented? What moral code do they each live by? How does the giri/ninjo dilemma apply in each case? Look for specific examples from the plays to support your arguments. Noh Dôjôji and Kabuki The Maiden at Dôjôji (Musume Dôjôji) READING QUESTIONS The Maiden at Dojoji is a “dance play” (shôsagoto) version of the Noh Dôjôji story. 1. Consider how "women" are represented by the different dances/moods/poetry of the Kabuki version of A Maiden at Dôjôji. What different kinds of women are portrayed here? 2. Looking at the images in the book and on the website, how does the Kabuki version transform the stage setting of the Noh play? 3. What remains of the woman's obsession with the bell, and desire for revenge found in the Noh version of the story? How are priests and religion portrayed in the Kabuki version? |
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