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Notes on “Yoshitsune & the Thousand Cherry Trees: a Reading” Notes on “Yoshitsune & The Thousand Cherry Trees: A Reading” Notes on “Yoshitsune & The Thousand Cherry Trees: A Reading” Odanaka Akihiro Translated by Alan Cummings On These Notes Uchiyama Mikiko’s essay, “Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees: A Reading” was originally included in her 1989 work Jōrurishi no jūhasseiki (A Jōruri History of the 18th Century), which was awarded the 22nd Kawatake Prize by the Japanese Society for Theatre Research. Over a quar- ter of a century has passed since its fi rst publication, but the passing of time has in no way lessened the essay’s impact. Bunraku (properly called jōruri, but here I will refer to it as bunraku for the convenience of English-speaking readers) began as epic poetry, but as Japanese society matured in the 18th century, it took on elements of drama in the Western sense. Uchiyama uses close readings of the play to reveal the unique and intricate development that bunraku underwent in this period, and it is this which has ensured her essay’s continued relevance. To put it another way, her essay explores how Aristotle’s concepts of epic and drama co-existed in bunraku. Uchiyama writes in the extremely condensed, free style that is characteristic of Japanese scholarship on classical literature and theatre. In order to introduce her work to English-speaking readers, we considered restructuring and adding additional material to her original essay. But in the end we decided that this would seriously compromise Uchiyama’s style, and instead we opted to add detailed footnotes and this introduction to explain the world of the play and the essay’s origi- nality. About Uchiyama Mikiko Uchiyama, a major scholar of bunraku and traditional Japanese theatre, is currently professor emerita of Waseda University. Her most important works include A Jōruri History of the 18th Century and Bunraku nijuseiki kōki no kagayaki – gekihyō to bunrakukō (Bunraku: The Glory of Late 20th Century Bunraku – Theatre Reviews and Essays) (Waseda Daigaku Shuppanbu, 2010). Another mark of her status as a scholar of Japanese literature and traditional performing arts are her contributions to the important Shin Nihon koten bungaku taikei series, including her co-edited volumes on the playwrights Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sōsuke (with Tsunoda Ichirō, 1991) and on Chikamatsu Hanji (with Nobuhiro Shinji, 1996). These have become the standard texts of these plays for contemporary scholars and readers. Other major scholarly contributions by Uchiyama include her editorial work on the ten-volume collection of contem- porary scholarship on kabuki and bunraku, Iwanami kōza kabuki / bunraku (Iwanami Course: Kabuki / Bunraku), and the edited volume, Jōruri shirōto kōshaku (Amateur Lectures on Jōruri). This was a col- lection of writing by jōruri chanters, compiled by the pre-war ultra-nationalist and bunraku patron, Sugiyama Shigemaru (1864-1935, also the father of the surrealist novelist, Yumeno Kyūsaku). However, Uchiyama’s involvement with bunraku is not just on the textual level – she also has a long engagement with theatrical practice. There is probably no other contemporary scholar who has as much direct involvement with the theatre. For a long time she reviewed bunraku performances for the Yomiuri shinbun, and it is said that news of her presence in the audience always raised the tension back- – 3 – English Journal of JSTR stage at the National Theatre. She has also been involved in the revival of plays that had fallen out of the repertoire, leading research groups with performers and helping to create accurate performance texts. One recent example was Toyotake Rotayū’s 2009 performance of the third act of Wada gassen onnamai zuru, performed as part of the Waseda University Theatre Museum Global COE program. Uchiyama has created her own unique brand of scholarship through a focus both on bunraku texts and also on contemporary performance. This can be seen in the essay translated here, which constructs its arguments not just on textual analysis but also on the dynamics of bunraku performance. The World of The Tale of the Heike A major barrier to contemporary audiences’ enjoyment of classical theatre in both Japan and the West is the large amount of tacit knowledge required. For example, without a detailed knowledge of the Trojan Wars, audiences will fi nd it diffi cult to enter into the dramatic world of classical Greek tragedies. We can say the same thing about Japanese traditional theatre. For example, many plays are based upon classical literary sources like Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) about the 12th century war between two warrior clans, or Taiheiki (The Taiheiki) about another nationwide confl ict in the 14th century.1 Without a knowledge of these sources, it can be diffi cult to fully enjoy the world of Japanese traditional theatre. Yoshitsune senbon zakura (Yoshitsune and The Thousand Cherry Trees) is based upon the world of The Tale of the Heike.2 Like the classical literary accounts of the Trojan Wars, including those by Homer, in Japan The Tale of the Heike came to function as a rich matrix for retellings in diff erent genres in later centuries. It tells the story of the war between the Heike (Taira) and Genji (Minamoto) warrior clans. Rather than being purely textual, The Tale of the Heike was transmitted as a performing art by a type of blind, itinerant performers known as biwa hōshi, in a similar fashion to The Song of Roland in medieval Europe. The two clans had long been rivals, but in the middle of the 12th century, under the leadership of a talented strategist called Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181), the Heike overwhelmed the Genji and seized political power for themselves. Aristocrats in the past had controlled power by marrying their daughters to emperors, and Kiyomori did the same thing and he and his clan enjoyed the luxurious fruits of their success. However, Kiyomori’s tyranny inspired the resentment of those at court, including the imperial family. After Kiyomori died from a violent fever (which people at the time read as divine punishment for his arrogance), the Genji rallied and seized back power. Kiyomori who was normally utterly scrupulous in his plans had made the miscalculation of allowing Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), the heir to the Genji clan, to survive. Yoritomo took up arms against the Heike, and without their great strategist the Heike lost battle after battle before fi nally being entirely destroyed. The tale can also be read as a war between the power of western Japan (including the capital at the time, Kyoto) and a new power which arose in eastern Japan (which includes contemporary Tokyo, though the city did not yet exist). The Heike were the leaders of the western warriors, and they were fi nally defeated at a naval battle which took place on the narrow straits (Dannoura) at the far western edge of Honshū. During that battle the leading Heike generals and the young emperor Antoku (1178-85, whose father had been forced by Kiyomori to renounce the throne) threw themselves into the sea and ——————————————————————————————— 1 There are several full and partial English translations of The Tale of the Heike. The most recent is Tyler (2012). There is also an English translation of the The Taiheiki (McCullough 1959). 2 Translated into English in Jones (1993). – 4 – Notes on “Yoshitsune & The Thousand Cherry Trees: A Reading” drowned. Yoritomo was the leader of the eastern warriors, and he and the victorious eastern warriors were subsequently able to supplant the Emperor and the aristocrats and establish the fi rst independent warrior government in eastern Japan. One of the heroes on the Genji side in the war was Yoritomo’s much younger brother, Yoshitsune (1159-89), and it is from him that the play takes its title. However, the interest of The Tale of the Heike lies in the process that takes the Heike warriors from their brief moment of glory and their high refi nement, not just as warriors but as aristocrats too, towards unavoidable destruction. Behind this movement lies the concept of impermanence (mujō): the idea that nothing is permanent, that fate cannot be resisted, and that we should feel compassion towards its vic- tims. We can see a similar theme in a later orally transmitted text that deals with the life of the hero Yoshitsune, the Gikeiki (The Tale of Yoshitsune).3 Yoshitsune’s martial exploits incur the jealousy of his brother Yoritomo. Due to his political naivety, he is made use of by the imperial family (in particular the retired emperor Goshirakawa (1127-92), the grandfather of the young emperor who drowned at Dannoura) who wish to seize power back from the warriors, and Yoritomo has him declared a traitor and expelled from the clan. Yoshitsune and a handful of his retainers are forced to fl ee northwards in search of sanctuary, but in the end they are destroyed. Once again the theme of mujō is brought to the fore, as a once powerful fi gure is brought low. Setting aside the literary value of The Tale of the Heike and The Tale of Yoshitsune (the former is far more refi ned), what both texts share is the Japanese sentiment that sympathy should lie not with the victor, but with those who fall from a position of power. If these texts can be said to contain a universality, it is found here, in this quality similar to what Aristotle described as tragedy. The Creation and Plot of Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees The bunraku play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees is based on The Tale of the Heike and The Tale of Yoshitsune, and was fi rst performed in 1747 at the Takemoto-za theatre in Osaka.
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