Week 6 Discussion questions (Winter 2023)

The Kyogen plays we are reading for this week parody Noh and make fun of serious issues such as ending up in hell after you die, or exorcism and pacification of angry ghosts and demons, or controlling sometimes unpredictable and violent kami. Answer the following questions for Mushrooms [Trad J Thtr, 245-254), Thunderbolt (Trad J Theater, 61-67), and Yao ( see also reading questions, images and performances, and the introductions for more info on individual plays):

1. Using types of kyogen plots discussed in class (King Emma, mai-kyogen ghosts, yamabushi exorcists, demons and deities) what type is this play? Is it parodying a category of Noh (deity, warrior, female ghost, misc, demon)? Can you point to a specific play? Provide support for your answer with quotations + page numbers.

2. What other kinds of humor do you see? Visual humor? Linguistic humor (i.e. onomatopoeia, puns, allusions etc)? Stage actions? How do the plays use this humor to make fun of religion? Provide examples/quotations to support your points (with page numbers).

3. What elements reverse your expectations given what you know about Noh? Provide examples/quotations to support your points (with page numbers).

4. What do these plays say about the common people's view of the supernatural (ghosts and deities)? Provide examples/quotations to support your points (with page numbers).