EA 120 Reading Wk 1

Reading questions

NOTE: THESE ARE TO HELP YOU FOCUS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE READING. THEY DO NOT NEED TO BE WRITTEN OUT TO BE TURNED IN.

SCROLL DOWN FOR LINK TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR FRIDAY SECTIONS

Royall Tyler:

Read this for a general overview of Noh theater (also spelled "Nô"). I will expect that you have read this and understand the basic terms and history of Noh!

1. pp. 7-12: Make sure you familarize yourself with the terms for the main roles in Noh: waki, wakizure, shite, tsure, chorus, ai (kyogen), and note the section on "inconsistencies of grammatical person."

2. p. 13: Familiarize yourself with how Noh plays are traditionally classified: 1) waki-nô (god or deity plays); 2) shura-mono (warrior plays); 3) kazura-mono or onna-mono (woman plays); 4) yonbanme-mono (fourth category miscellaneous plays, usually set in the historical present and often involving crazy people); 5) kiri-nô (concluding plays, often involving demons).

3. In "The Religion of the Plays" (pp. 15-16) why isn't Buddhism necessary for God plays? For other plays, what is the main Buddhist issue?

Carmen Blacker, The Catalpa Bow

1. Be able to identify the following terms from The Catalpa Bow: shaman, miko, ascetic (21-22); kami (34-42), tama (43-44), okina (44), muenbotoke and onryo (48).

2. What are the two kinds of shamans in Japan? Which came first? What are the two kinds of trances associated with each? How did miko lose their status and power?

3. What hints are there that Noh developed out of shamanic rituals?

4. In chapter 2, Blacker discusses three of the four main types of spiritual entities. What are they and how do they relate to human beings? How are these spiritual entities different from western ghosts? How are they the same?

Adachigahara

1. Look for elements of shamanism as described by Carmen Blacker in the play.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 1b

a. Karen Brazell, Traditional Japanese Theater (TJT), "Historical Perspectives" pp. 3-24

b. Izutsu (The Well Cradle)[TJT 143-157 or JND 120-132] photo story, images, Japanese

c. Kinuta (The Fulling Block) [JND 156-170] images, photo story

Karen Brazell begins by giving an overview of Japanese theater in relation to Japanese history ("Historical Perspectives"). This is probably more detailed than you need, but if you do not have much background in Japanese history, it will give you a solid historical framework. You should concentrate on pp. 3-13 for now; we'll come back to pp. 14-24 when we get to Kabuki and Bunraku.

1. Look for ways that Brazell connects the development of theater, particularly Noh theater, to shamanic rituals.

2. What roles have women played in the development of Japanese theater? Pay particular attention to the shirabyôshi, since she is the model for the women in Izutsu and Dôjôji.

3. Who was Zeami? What was his influence on the aesthetics of Noh?

4. What role did Noh play in the Edo period?

WEEK 1 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS on Izutsu and Kinuta