Readings
a) [Trad J Thtr] Yotsuya Ghost Stories (Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan) Act I (456-483)
b) synopsis of entire plot of Yotsuya Ghost Stories (scroll down to "summary"). Note that the summary refers to a vendetta, but does not clearly indicate that the vendetta is the Chûshingura vendetta. Iemon was a former retainer of Enya Hangan but is not participating in the vendetta; his servant Kohei used to serve another retainer of Enya Hangan who is too ill to participate in the vendetta (which is why Kohei steals Iemon's family medicine); and Oiwa's sister's husband Yomoshichi is also a former retainer of Enya Hangan actively involved in the vendetta. None of these characters appear in
Chûshingura itself, but their connection to the vendetta sets Yotsuya Ghost Stories in the world (sekai) of Chûshingura.
c) Review English synopsis of the Chushingura story and the introduction to "At the Farmhouse" [TJT starting p. 375]
Chûshingura was written at the height of the power of the Tokugawa family, during a period in which the arts, and particularly the performing arts, flourished. In contrast, Yotsuya Ghost Stories was written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV around 1825, in a period generally considered to be "decadent" -- the Tokugawa government was struggling to stay in control of the country and no longer had much interest in keeping up strict standards of censorship.
Yotsuya
Ghost Stories:
As explained in the introduction to the play, Yotsuya Ghost
Stories was originally written to be performed in between acts of Chûshingura (1748), sometimes translated as "The 47 Ronin" or "A Treasury of Loyal
Retainers," and so it is useful to review the basic plot of Chûshingura in order to understand what Yotsuya is parodying. Chûshingura is
a fictionalized account of an historical incident, known as the "Ako Incident" that occurred in 1703. In
the play version of events on the day of an important shogunal ceremony,
the evil Ko no Moronao so insults and goads the young Lord Enya that Enya
feels compelled to draw his sword and attack Moronao. Moronao escapes serious
harm, but because Enya drew his sword when a representative of the Shogun was
present, Enya is forced to commit ritual suicide. His house is broken up and
his retainers all become masterless samurai (ronin). Nevertheless,
they remain loyal to their dead master, who they believe has been unfairly
punished, and after a year of great hardship and self-sacrifice, on the anniversary
of Enya's death they stage a raid on Moronao's mansion and kill him. Afterwards
they all commit ritual suicide (seppuku).
(For images of the Kabuki and Bunraku versions of the story, click here.)
Reading Questions
1. From your reading and class, what samurai values does Chûshingura celebrate?
2. Given that Yotsuya Ghost Stories was written as a kind of parody (or at least subversive commentary) on Chûshingura, as you read the story, look for ways that samurai values (for example, loyalty at all costs, a belief in righteous vendettas, a disinterest in wealth) are perverted and betrayed. On the other hand, how are they supported?
3. Compare the representation of the Yotsuya ghosts to that of ghosts in Noh and Kyogen. For example, how do the ghosts of Oiwa and Kohei die? How are they transformed into ghosts? How do they get their revenge in Yotsuya? Is there any interest in pacification of the ghosts? How are they portrayed visually? [for images, click here]
Week 7b Atsumori in Noh, Bunraku, and Kabuki
a.The Kabuki and Bunraku version:
1) Synopsis of Ichi no Tani Futabagunki (Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani)
English
2) The Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani Acts 1 and 2, translated by James Brandon
English
(Act 1 Scene 2 Suma Bay (TJT 442-455) is the most important to the comparison, but I'll be showing scenes from Kumagai jinya in class)
b.The original story from Heike monogatari:
1) "The Death of Atsumori": English
2) "The First Attackers":English
c. Review the Noh Atsumori: [JND 37-48 or TJT 126-142]
(click here for an interactive text in English with images and Japanese)
Read the synopsis first -- it will give you a helpful overview of the story--and then the “Suma Bay” scene (or simply read both acts in the Brandon translation). Then go back and reread the original story in Heike monogatari and the Noh version. You should pay close attention to how the Kabuki version has changed the original story. In class we'll be thinking about why those changes would have been made. Note that the Kabuki correlates to the original story in Heike monogatari and the noh version as follows:
Act 1 Scene 1 in Kabuki (Ichinotani) = "The First Attackers" in Tale of Heike
Act 1 Scene 2 in Kabuki (Ichinotani) = "The Death of Atsumori" in Tale of Heike = the death scene reenacted in the Noh Atsumori
Act 2 (Kumagai jinya/Kumagai's camp) in Kabuki version has no correllation to either Tale of Heike or the noh Atsumori
Note that Kumagae Naozane is referred to as Kumagai Jiro Naozane and his son as Kumagai Kojiro Naoie in the Kabuki play.
1) What is the main conflict in the original story of Atsumori's death from Tale of the Heike? Why does Kumagae hesitate to kill Atsumori? Are cowardice or loyalty a consideration? What are his feelings afterward? What roles do Kagetoki and/or Hirayama play?
2) When does the Noh play Atsumori take place? What (and who) is the focus of the conflict? How do these changes reflect the Buddhist didacticism of Noh?
3) What is the main conflict for Kumagai in the Kabuki play? How is this conflict resolved? Was loyalty an issue in the earlier versions? What role does Kata Hirayama play in this conflict? What elements remain from the original story?
4) List all the ways the Kabuki version is different from the original story in Tale of Heike and the Noh play Atsumori.
5) How might each of these changes reflect the changing political context and the religious values of the time (Edo/Tokugawa Period)?