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Five Modern Noh Plays
''Five Modern Nō Plays'' is a collection of plays written by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. Mishima wrote these plays between 1950 and 1955 and presented them as modern plays in Tokyo. Of these five, only ''The Damask Drum'' was expressed in the traditional Nō fashion. ''The Lady Aoi'' was expressed as a Western-style opera. The plays take older Nō plots or traditional and foreign fairy tales and bring them to a modern setting. Famed Japan scholar Donald Keene translated "Five Modern Nō Plays." Plays *Sotoba Komachi: A poet meets Komachi, a repulsive-looking old woman, at a Tokyo park at night. She expresses the memory of when she had been lovely 80 years ago. She reminisces on a night in the 1880s, and together with the help of the poet (who acts the part of the Military Officer with whom she fell in love), they relive that night. The poet realizes that she is still beautiful, and sees past her ragged clothes and wretched body. But expressing her beauty can only result ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yukio Mishima
, born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, but the award went to his countryman and benefactor Yasunari Kawabata. His works include the novels and , and the autobiographical essay . Mishima's work is characterized by "its luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, its fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles, and its obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism and death", according to author Andrew Rankin. Mishima's political activities made him a controversial figure, which he remains in modern Japan. From his mid-30s, Mishima's right-wing ideology was increasingly revealed. He was proud of the traditional culture and spirit of Japan, and opposed what he saw as western-style materialism, along with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatrical Property
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes, and electrical equipment. Term The earliest known use of the term "properties" in English to refer to stage accessories is in the 1425 CE morality play, '' The Castle of Perseverance''. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' finds the first usage of "props" in 1841, while the singular form of "prop" appeared in 1911. During the Renaissance in Europe, small acting troupes functioned as cooperatives, pooling resources and dividing any income. Many performers provided their own costumes, but other items such as stage weapons or furniture may have been acquired specially and considered "company property". Eric Partridge ''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English: Second Edition''. Random H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arts In Japan
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both highly dynamic and a characteristically constant feature of human life, they have developed into innovative, stylized and sometimes intricate forms. This is often achieved through sustained and deliberate study, training and/or theorizing within a particular tradition, across generations and even between civilizations. The arts are a vehicle through which human beings cultivate distinct social, cultural and individual identities, while transmitting values, impressions, judgments, ideas, visions, spiritual meanings, patterns of life and experiences across time and space. Prominent examples of the arts include: * visual arts (including architecture, ceramics, drawing, filmmaking, painting, photography, and sculpting), * literary arts (includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Culture
The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ancestry of Japanese people remains mysterious; however, there are two competing hypotheses that try to explain the lineage of the Japanese people. The first hypothesis proposes a dual-structure model, in which Japanese populations are descendants of the indigenous Jomon people and later arrivals of people from the East Eurasian continent, known as the Yayoi people. Japan's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Yayoi people who settled in Japan between 1000 BCE and 300 CE. Yayoi culture spread to the main island of Honshū, mixing with the native Jōmon culture. Modern Japanese have an estimated 80% Yayoi and 20% Jōmon ancestry. The second hypothesis posits a tripartite model of genomic origin. This hypothesis proposes that con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Of Japan
This article is an overview of traditional and modern Japanese theatre. Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment ; kabuki, a dance and music theatrical tradition; , puppetry; and , a spoken drama. Modern Japanese theatre includes (experimental Western-style theatre), shinpa (new school theatre) and (little theatre). In addition, there are many classical western plays and musical adaptations of popular television shows and movies that are produced in Japan. Traditional forms of theatre Noh and Noh and theatre traditions are among the oldest continuous theatre traditions in the world. The earliest existing scripts date from the 15th century. Noh was a spiritual drama, combining symbolism from Buddhism and Shinto and focusing on tales with mythic significance. , its comic partner, served as a link between the theological themes of the Noh play with the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Friend Hitler
is a 1968 neoclassical drama written and produced by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. The play depicts the historical figures Adolf Hitler, Gustav Krupp, Gregor Strasser, and Ernst Röhm, and uses them as mouthpieces to express Mishima's own views on fascism and beauty. Published in book form on October 13, 1968, the play was first produced on stage the following year and ran January 18–31, 1969. In one of these productions, Mishima himself played Adolf Hitler. Meaning and symbolism Mishima was inspired by the assassination of Ernst Röhm in the Night of the Long Knives, and was intrigued by Hitler. Since Mishima's earlier play '' Madame de Sade (Sado Koshaku fujin)'' featured an all-female cast, he wanted ''My Friend Hitler'' to have an all-male cast, stating that he wanted to refute criticism claiming that he could not portray both genders. The play takes place over the summer of 1934 at the Berlin chancellery. The reviews and critiques of the play vary, with some calling it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aoi No Ue
is a fictional character in '' The Tale of Genji'' (''Genji Monogatari''). Daughter of the Minister of the Left (Tō no Chūjō's sister) and Genji's first principal wife, she marries Genji when she is sixteen and he is only twelve. Proud and distant from her husband, Aoi is constantly aware of the age difference between them and very much hurt by Genji's philandering. For a short while, after giving birth to Genji's son, Yūgiri, and suffering episodes of spirit possession, Aoi becomes appealing in Genji's eyes. The episode of spirit possession itself ('' mono no ke'') is extremely controversial and brings forward two female characters of the tale: Aoi (Genji's wife) and Lady Rokujō (Genji's mistress). The relationship between the two women may be that between victim and aggressor, if one follows the traditional interpretation of spirit possession, or that between accomplices expressing their discontent with the Heian system of polygynous marriage (and with Genji, obviously). Aoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinchosha
is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), '' Uten Enten'' (1990), '' The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'' (1997), '' After the quake'' (2000), '' 1Q84'' (2009-2010) * Alex Kerr: '' Lost Japan'' (1993) Book series Magazines Weekly * – since 1956 * – manga, discontinued in 2010 * '' Focus'' – suspended Monthly * – Literary magazine since 1904 * * * '' nicola'' * (suspended) * * * * ''ENGINE'' – Automobile magazine, since 2000 * '' Foresight'' – Japanese edition discontinued in 2010 * - manga, since 2011 Web magazine * '' Foresight'' – Japanese edition since 2010 * ''Daily Shinchō'' – comprehensive news site basically excerpting from ''Shukan Shincho'' since 2015 Seasonal * ''Grave of the Fireflies'' In 1967, Shinchosha published a short story '' Grave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunio Kishida
Kunio Kishida (岸田 國士, Kishida Kunio, 2 November 1890 – 5 March 1954) was a Japanese playwright, dramatist, novelist, lecturer, acting coach, theatre critic, translator, and proponent of Shingeki ("New Theatre"/”New Drama"). Kishida spearheaded the modernization of Japanese dramaturgy and transformed Japanese theatre acting. He was a staunch advocate for the theatre to operate as a dual artistic and literary space. At the beginning of the Meiji era, efforts to modernize the Japanese theatre became a critical topic for Japanese playwrights, and these endeavors persisted well into the 1920s before Kishida wrote his first plays. However, his predecessors' attempts did not come to fruition, and Kishida is recognized as the first playwright to successfully reform the narrative, thematic, and performative trajectories of Japanese playwriting and acting through Shingeki. Kishida was known for his vehement opposition to traditional Japanese ''kabuki, noh'', and ''shimpa'' thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damask
Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave. Twill damasks include a twill-woven ground or pattern.Kadolph, Sara J., ed.: ''Textiles'', 10th edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2007, , p. 251Monnas, Lisa. ''Merchants, Princes and Painters: Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings 1300–1550''. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2008, pp. 295–299 History The production of damask was one of the five basic weaving techniques—the others being tabby, twill, lampas, and tapestry—of the Byzantine and Middle Eastern weaving centres of the early Middle Ages.Jenkins, David T., ed.''The Cambridge History of Western Textiles'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003, , p. 343. Used in daily nomadic life this form of weaving w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been many attempts to group the Japonic languages with other families such as the Ainu, Austroasiatic, Koreanic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance. Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century AD recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial Old Japanese texts did not appear until the 8th century. From the Heian period (794–1185), there was a massive influx of Sino-Japanese vocabulary into the language, affecting the phonology of Early Middle Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw extensive grammatical changes and the first appearance of European loanwords. The basis of the standard dial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotoba Komachi (Mishima)
Sotoba Komachi (卒塔婆小町) is one of the stories in Five Modern Noh Plays by Yukio Mishima. The original work was written by Kanami and was later reworked by Mishima Yukio for modern theatre. The kanji 卒塔婆 means stupa and小町 is the synonym of belle or beautiful woman. The story was written in 1952 and published in 1956. It was translated by Japanese literature expert Donald Keene into English in 1957. Sotoba Komachi is the third story of The Five Modern Noh Plays. In relation to Sotoba Komachi by Kanami The original work, Sotoba Komachi written by Kan'ami, was originally a conversation between two priests and a 99-year-old lady at a Buddhist shrine. She later admits that she is Ono no Komachi (one of the six great ''waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
