EA 170 Week 6a Fall 2017

I. Stereotypical characteristics of women and men in kyôgen plays

DISCUSSION: A. Main characteristics of men:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

quotations:

Stone God p. 59:
Husband: “My wife’s such a shrew but then, when it comes to housework, she’s at it nonstop from morning to night. Lucky for me I can go off and have a good time, leaving everything to her. She’s gotten fed up with me and this morning she just took off.”

Stone God p. 42:
Wife: "That man goes traipsing off through the three realms and cares nothing for his home. He stays away night and day. Why he even makes me fix the leaks in the roof! That's the kind of man I married. I'll never be able to depend on him for anything."

 

DISCUSSION: B. Main characteristics of women:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 

C. What is the stereotypical relationship between the man and the woman?

1. She:

2. He:

3. Who has the upper-hand?

4. According to kyogen, how are marital disputes/difficulties handled in a village setting?

5. Divorce:

a. How is divorce different for peasant women than more elite women in the MUROMACHI period? Why would this be the case?

Stone God p. 60: “Lately she keeps begging for a divorce. But, as you well know, she’s the one who does all the work. When I told her I wouldn’t let her go, she got mad and this morning she went off in a huff somewhere.”

b. Do they end up divorced in the end?

D. Compare these women to the women of Noh and Tale of Genji

DISCUSSION:

1. How do these women compare to the negative qualities of women mentioned in “Rainy Night Discussion” in Tale of Genji?

a. What negative qualities aren't included in Kyogen?

2. How do Kyôgen women express anger? How is this different from how elite women in Tale of Genji express anger?

3. Who is representing women here? What is their class level? How might this affect how they are viewed/represented?

E. Comic inversion of Neo-Confucian ideology about roles of women

1. Muromachi/Edo period decline in economic and political power for aristocratic and samurai women is followed by the creation of new ideology about the proper role of women that retroactively supports that decline.

2. New ideology moves from the top down to merchants, artisans and peasants:

a) The “three obediences” for women: father, husband, son

b) Are these Kyogen women obedient?

1) Role of comedy:

2) Women’s economic power at lower levels of society:

The Drunken Wife p. 58: “Since it is quite impossible for a man to handle a household alone for even the briefest span of time, and since I have heard that the Soul Healing Buddha of Inaba Temple has powers wondrous to behold, today I have decided to go there and pray that he provide me with a new wife.”

3) Muromachi (15th and 16th centuries) effects of social turmoil on common people:

F. Summary:

III. The Battle of the Sexes: Analysis of Plays

VIDEO: Wawashii Onna

A. Kintozaemon

1. How is the bandit portrayed in this story? The woman? What is the moral to this story?

B. Chigiriki

1. What is the relationship of the husband and wife?

C. The Drunken Wife

1. How is this wife different than other kyogen women?

2. V

Visual parody of what play?

D. The Bearded Fortress (Higeyagura) (image, video starts at 28

1. Basic Plot: lower-ranking policeman very proud of beard; wife concerned with expenses

a. his side

b. her side

2. What is the play making fun of?

3. Who wins?

E. The Stone God  (Ishigami)

1. Basic Plot: Tarô, wife, Go-Between, local deity "Yasha" of Izumoji Sainokami Shrine

image of Bishamonten

2. What is the play making fun of?

3. Who wins?

C. Underlying issues:

1. Difficulties of married life -- domestic violence?

2. Issue of divorce:

a) eg. My Baby's Mother (Hôshigahaha)

b) function of go-between/mediator

Stone God p. 60: Go-Between: “She’s been coming recently, asking me to help her get a divorce but I’ve held her back, urging her that in spite of everything she should ‘endure! endure!’ And now, it seems that the strings of her endurance have snapped.”
 

2. Religion:

a. Stone God:  lower-level deity "Yasha" (probably related to Sarutahiko) at Izumoji Sainokami Shrine

b. role of dances in Kyogen

c. Shamanic village kagura dance and modoki (parody by clownish figure):  

1) role of Sarutahiko as origin of kagura and kagura dancers (link to kagura dance by Sarutahiko)

a) role of shamanic dances generally and the role of women in these dances

d. Summary