EA 120 WEEK 7a Review of Chushingura videos Kanpei's Tragedy Explained: Part 4 Kanadehon Chûshingura Gion Ichiriki Teahouse Scene Explained: Part 5 Kanadehon Chûshingura Short excerpt from Ichiriki Teahouse scene with Okaru and Yuranosuke, her climbing down from teahouse room, as example of humor I. Comparison of Bushidô (Way of the Warrior) in the medieval versus Edo periods as context for Chûshingura, Yotsuya Kaidan, and various versions of the story of the young Heike warrior Atsumori's death in the 1185 Battle of Ichinotani. A. Samurai clearly have a code of honor in the medieval period, but the term Bushidô only comes into existence in the Edo period, and is really only codified in the Meiji period. One question we will consider today is why is it codified so late? How do theatrical representations of idealized samurai reflect changing ideology about the samurai code of honor? 1. Wikipedia: The word bushidô was first used in Japan during the 17th century in Kôyô Gunkan,[5][6][7] but did not come into common usage until after the 1899 publication of Nitobe Inazô's Bushido: The Soul of Japan.[8] II. Medieval Samurai Code of Honor A. The samurai code of honor as represented in the medieval Tales of the Heike: 1. Courage in Battle a. vying to be the first to attack (the first and second attackers) b. always looking for a good opponent: absolutely essential not to be defeated by someone socially inferior to you. 2. Suicide: rather than being defeated by someone socially inferior to you 3. Loyalty to family and loyalty to superior: is loyalty to a superior the most important value in the medieval warrior code? (Remember the quick guide to Japanese History during the warring states period!) a. counter examples from Tale of the Heike from the final sea battle at Dan no Ura 1) Tanzo, superintendent of Kumano Shrine goes over to the Genji because of an oracle (dolphins swim under the Heike boats and this is seen as a bad omen). Tanzo takes with him two thousand men on 200 boats. 2) The warrior Shigeyoshi's son Noriyoshi is captured by the Heike, and so he deserts to the Genji side with their secret defense plans. This desertion decides the battle, since many others desert when they see Shigeyoshi do so. b. In real battle situations being on the winning side is more important than loyalty to superiors, because that is how your family survives and succeeds. And keeping your family alive is the main goal. III. . The development of a samurai code of honor (Bushidô = “The Way of the Warrior”) in the Edo/Tokugawa period (1603-1868) A. Why does an explicit samurai code of honor develop in the Edo period, when samurai no longer fight? Why was one even needed? 1. No war for 250 years (very little social mobility) 2. Economic changes (why disinterest in wealth becomes a useful value for Bushidô) a. samurai separated from land, and turned into bureaucrats with fixed stipends of rice (problem of inflation, especially for lower ranking samurai) b. shift to mercantile (cash) econonomy: merchant house's growing power in the economy and as lenders to samurai 3. Neo-Confucianism encourages rigid hierarchy and loyalty to superiors a. Why would the Tokugawa shogunate encourage loyalty to superiors as the highest value? b. In a period of peace you can't move up the government hierarchy by fighting (overthrowing your superior); you can only move up by demonstrating the greatest loyalty to your superior B. Bushidô demonstrates that Samurai deserve to rule even if they don't fight (and don't have as much money as merchants), because of their superior moral code. a. Note that in the Meiji period, after the ending of samurai as a class, Bushidô is codified even further to create a national ideal that can be used to mobilize all Japanese militarily, regardless of class. b. 1899 publication of Nitobe Inazô's Bushidô: The Soul of Japan. IV. Comparison of Samurai values in Medieval and Edo period Japan: 1. Loyalty a. medieval: personal ties of loyalty important but family first, then superiors b. Edo: loyalty to superiors at all cost, even if your family suffers. Especially true of retainers to higher ranking samurai. 2. Suicide a. medieval: to avoid a disgraceful death in battle b. Edo: for the slightest infraction of the samurai code 3. Courage a. medieval: in battle b. Edo: because there are no battles to be fought, willingness to kill yourself (seppuku) is now the only way you can demonstrate courage 4. Disinterest in wealth a. medieval: land-based wealth is paramount b. Edo: Tokugawa shogunate separates samurai from land, and says true samurai have no interest in money V. Bushidô in Kanadehon Chûshingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) A. In Edo period (1603-1868) replacement of Buddhism (abhorence of killing and promoting detachment/getting free from feelings of anger) with Neo-Confucian morality (justifies rigid hierarchical order, okay to kill in a just cause) 1. Loyalty: highest value is loyalty to superiors 2. Suicide: committing suicide is ultimate way to prove courage and loyalty a. Chushingura: (Kampei, Heimon and Okaru,; all 47 retainers in the end) b. instead of self-suicide, can substitute your own son (Kumagai in Battle of Ichinotani); not clear if this ever happened in real life or if it is only a set plot element in Kabuki 3. "Righteous vendetta" is now okay, but must be okayed by government
4. Disinterest in wealth: in an act you haven't read, a merchant who wants to contribute money to support the retainers is tortured before they decide he's okay to give them money B. Review of Genres, Audience and Patronage in Edo Period 1. Genre expectations always influence plot elements
4. How (and why) did samurai Neo-Confucian values affect stories?
5. Development of "worlds" (sekai) in response to censorship, which forbade jidaimono about contemporary political events and living samurai or aristocrats a. definition: "conventional settings or 'worlds' (sekai) populated with selected historical and fictional figures used by many puppet--and particularly, kabuki--playwrights in creating new plays. By setting contemporary plots in early periods, the playwright could add new levels of meaning and avoid being censored by government authorities." (TJT p. 543) b. Chushingura is based on a real event known as the "Ako Incident" (see intro to play). In 1702 a lord was forced to commit suicide because he drew his sword in the presence of a shogunal deputy; 46 of his now masterless retainers bided their time, and then on the anniversary of their lord's death (1703), they attacked and killed the other lord. Three months later the government ruled that because they had not registered their vendetta with the government they all had to commit suicide. To avoid government censorship Chushingura was set in the world of the Taiheiki (covering historical events from 1318-1338) using both real/historical and fictional characters. VI. Review of Chushingura story A. Basic Story 1. Chûshingura major story characters:
B. What values does Chûshingura celebrate? C. Question to consider for today: Yotsuya Kaidan as a parody/commentary on Chûshingura (A Treasury of Loyal Retainers, 1748) 1. How does Yotsuya pervert and betray those values? 2. How does Yotsuya continue to support samurai values? VII. Yotsuya Ghost Stories (Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan) A. author: Tsuruya Nanboku IV (1755-1829) B. first performance: 1825, interwoven into a two-day performance of Chûshingura 1. situation of Tokugawa government: weak; will fall within 40 years
2. popularity of new kinds of Kabuki: ghost stories (kaidan), kizewamono (twisted or raw domestic dramas) and shiranami mono (bandit/outlaw dramas) a. In Yotsuya Ghost Stories Nanboku mixes all three new types, with lots of spectacular effects (quick changes etc.) and including sly references to contemporary scandals 1) In original, Kohei and Oiwa are played by the same actor, using quick costume and makeup changes. b. All three new types showcase the lower depths of Edo period class structure (low-level prostitutes, beggars and outcastes, bandits and thieves) and include a good deal of violence c. Nanboku introduces new male type (adding to aragoto and wagoto): the iroaku or "sexy bad guy" d. Although ultimately good triumphs and evil is punished, evil is given much more attention along the way and iroaku heroes are the center of the story
VIII. Basic Story of Ghost Stories at Yotsuya (Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan) Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan(5 minute summary of Sept 2021 performance of with Bando Tamasaburo and Ichikawa Ebizo) A. Characters and connection to Chushingura 1. Iemon (former retainer of Enya Hangan, now masterless) B. Central Story: Oiwa's husband Iemon is a former retainer of Enya Hangan, now a masterless samurai. She has just had a baby and is very weak. Iemon treats her badly but she stays with him because he has promised to help her find her father's murderer. In fact he is the murderer. Iemon is reduced to making umbrellas for a living, and so is tempted by the money of a rich doctor (Ito Kihei) living next door, whose daughter Oume wants to marry Iemon. The doctor tricks Oiwa into drinking a poison that horribly disfigures her face, so that Iemon won't want her anymore. She is accidentally killed when she runs into a sword sticking out of a pillar (people are always doing this in Nanboku's plays). Iemon kills his servant Kohei, after Kohei steals some herbal medicine that he believes will help his former master Matanojo to join the vendetta. Iemon kills Kohei so he can blame his wife’s death on Kohei. He then takes the bodies and nails them to either side of a door panel and dumps them in the river. (Based on a big scandal at the time -- a husband killed his wife and her lover and nailed them to a door and dumped them in the river in Osaka) But when he brings his new young wife Oume home, she appears to be Oiwa, so he kills her. Then Iemon discovers he's been tricked by Oiwa's ghost and he's killed Oume. When he goes to tell his father-in-law, he sees Kohei and kills him. But again, he's been tricked by the ghost into killing his new father-in-law. So he escapes.In a later scene along the canal, Iemon is fishing when he pulls out the door he nailed Oiwa and Kohei to. This allows for a "hayagawari" quick change for the actor playing both Kohei and Oiwa. Canal scene images For the rest of the play, Kohei and Oiwa come back in various forms to haunt Iemon. Basically they torment Iemon with hallucinations that cause him to hurt himself and others. In the climactic dream sequence, Oiwa first appears as a beautiful young woman in an idyllic setting, but then transforms back into her vengeful ghost form, emerging from a burning lantern. Snake Mountain Hermitage scene woodblock images, performance images Kabuki Kool (Yotsuya Kaidan starts @ 7)
C. parallel story lines with Chushingura
D. What to watch for in video
E. How does Yotsuya Ghost Stories problematize: 1. Virtue of loyalty and disinterest in wealth?
2. Value of traditional vendettas?
4. The power of wealth?
F. How are samurai values supported? 1. parody always assumes shared values -- the audience knows how you're supposed to act -- and then presents the opposite. But this means that samurai values are assumed to be the correct values, even as the characters go against them. 2. In the original performance context, the values of Chushingura were standing behind Yotsuya Ghost Stories 3. In the end, Iemon does get his comeuppance by Oiwa's brother-in-law Yomoshichi, so evil is punished. And all his co-conspirators are dead as well. G. Ghosts in Kabuki versus Noh 1. What do these ghosts look like? What is their motivation? a. Kohei gets medicine for Matanojo, so he can participate in vendetta b. Oiwa drives Iemon insane and then Yomoshichi kills him [image] VIDEOS Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan (short excerpts from a recent performance, in Japanese no subtitles) Cocoon kabuki performance Yotsuya Kaidan at Bunkamura that appears to have been influenced by the 2002 performance below (trailer). Shinpa Kabuki style, with onnagata but combining elements from Kabuki and modern theater (in Japanese). It has a really interesting treatment of the dream sequence. @1 intro of story; Oiwa drinks medicine @75; @77 begins to feel pain; @93:30 Iemon sees her face and says he doesn't care about revenge:@109 Takuetsu tells Oiwa that she's disfigured and @110:30 forces her to look in the mirror; @121:blackens teeth and combs hair; @126 wrings blood out of her hair; 134 Iemon prepares to sleep with Oume Taisho Yotsuya Kaidan part 1, part 2 (2002 Bunkamura performance, in Japanese with no subtitles) This is not Kabuki (female actors and modern Japanese in Shinpa style) but intentionally includes many kabuki-like effects, including showing the hand-driven revolving and stage-tricks such as the board gettting pulled out of the river (part 2 at 17:00). It is a full performance of the Yotsuya Kaidan story; most modern kabuki performances eliminate the secondary story of Oiwa's sister and simply concentrate on Oiwa's transformation and haunting of Iemon, but that secondary story is fully included here. It eliminates the idyllic dream vision from Kabuki. @88:30 Oiwa drinks poison; @102:30 Takuetsu sees her face @105:30 Iemon's speech about revenge; @1:18 Oiwa sees her face; @1:23 tooth blackening and hair combing; @1:27:30 reveals her face; @1:42 kills Oume and her father; PART 2 @17:45 canal scene B&W 1956 version: @ 23 Oiwa gives thanks for medicine and drinks; @ 33 Iemon has come back and sees her face; @ 61:30 sees herself in the mirror; @75:30 she wrings blood out of her hair BROKEN LINK Invitation to Kabuki: Intro to Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan (includes three famous scenes: hair combing, the wooden board in canal, danmari) Miike Takashi "Over Your Dead Body"( trailer 2014) with Ichikawa Ebizo as Iemon and Shibasaki Ko as Oiwa. Play within a play concept: actors who are performing Yotsuya Kaidan duplicate it in real life. |
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