In Japan: an Introduction to Japanese Theatre
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Mariko Anno May 8, 2013 Five College Center for East Asian Studies Webinar “Playing” in Japan: An Introduction to Japanese Theatre Bibliography for Webinar Notes 1. For each theatrical form, there are basic introductory books, translations of plays, and specialized sources for further reading. 2. Names of Japanese are written in the order of “last name, first name,” as followed in the Japanese custom. 1. Noh Bethe, Monica and Richard Emmert. Noh Performance Guide Series. 7 Vols. 1: Matsukaze (1992); 2: Fujito (1992); 3: Miidera (1993); 4: Tenko (1994); 5: Atsumori (1995); 6: Ema (1996); 7: Aoinoue (1997). Tokyo: National Noh Theatre, 1992-1997. This Noh Performance Guide Series consists of seven booklets by Bethe and Emmert. These are helpful booklets for noh enthusiasts of all levels. Each booklet analyzes a play in depth, delving into background (i.e., author, scene, category) of plays, character descriptions, significance of the costume designs, masks, wigs, props, etc. Current performance practice among various actors’ and instrumentalists’ schools are investigated. Furthermore, Bethe and Emmert take the audience through a scene-by-scene snapshot, describing the movements and exchanges among the actors, as well as musical interactions. Brandon, James R., ed. Nô and Kyôgen in the Contemporary World. Foreword by Ricardo D. Trimillos. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997. A book examining the “relevance and significance” of noh and kyôgen in contemporary society. Articles written by scholars and practitioners in the field. Fenollosa, Ernest, and Ezra Pound. “Noh” or Accomplishment: A Study of the Classical Stage of Japan. 1st edition, London: Macmillan, 1916. 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1917. Reprint, Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc., 1916. One of the earlier English translations of noh plays. Pound acted as literary executor of Fenellosa’s posthumous work. Goff, Janet. Noh Drama and The Tale of Genji: The Art of Allusion in Fifteen Classical Plays. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991. 2 Hare, Thomas Blenman. Zeami’s Style: The Noh Plays of Zeami Motokiyo. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986. A “must-read” book for English-language readers in the noh world, covering information on Zeami’s treatise and categorizations of plays. Hare dissects noh plays at the shôdan (building blocks of a noh play) level notating the utai (chant) and musical patterns. Hare, Tom, trans. Zeami: Performance Notes. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Hoff, Frank, and Willi Flindt. “The Life Structure of Noh: An English Version of Yokomichi Mario’s Analysis of the Structure of Noh.” In Concerned Theatre Japan 2 (Spring 1973): 209-256. Article can be found on the web. One of the leading translations of the late Yokomichi Mario and Omote Akira’s book, Yôkyoku-shû (volume 1, 1960), investigating the structure of noh plays and their prescribed musical patterns. Keene, Donald. Nô: The Classical Theatre of Japan. Introduction by Ishikawa Jun. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1966. Keene, Donald, ed. Twenty Plays of the Noh Theater (with the Assistance of Royall Tyler). New York: Columbia University Press, 1970. Komparu, Kunio. The Noh Theater: Principles and Perspectives Noh. Text translated by Jane Corddry, and play translated by Stephen Comee. 1st edition, London: Weatherhill, 1983. Revised and Expanded, Warren, Connecticut: Floating World Edition, 2005. Good introductory book for those interested in noh. (The second edition can be purchased online through Amazon.com.) This is the English version of Komparu Kunio’s Japanese book, Noh e no izanai (Tankosha, 1980), translated by Corddry and Comee. Book is divided into three parts: (1) Principles and Perspectives, (2) Elements and Patterns, and (3) Structure and Performance. In part one, Komparu analyzes the aesthetic principles of noh, such as jo-ha-kyû (introduction – breaking away – denouement), and time and ma (space), which are salient features of Japanese art forms. Part two examines theatrical elements of noh, including noh stage, noh play categories, performers, music, movements, masks, costumes, and use of space. Last part analyzes the framework and structure of a noh play. Nakamura, Yasuo. Noh: The Classical Theater. Translated by Don Kenny, and introduction by Earle Ernst. New York and Tokyo: Walker/Weatherhill, 1971. Rath, Eric C. The Ethos of Noh: Actors and Their Art. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2004. 3 Rimer, J. Thomas, and Yamazaki Masakazu, trans. On the Art of the Nô Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984. Rimer and Yamazaki translate nine of Zeami’s treatises, some of which have never been translated into the English language. Pinnington, Noel J. Traces in the Way: Michi and the Writings of Komparu Zenchiku. Cornell East Asia Series 132. Cornell University. Ithaca: East Asia Program, 2006. Smethurst, Mae J., editor, and Christina Laffin, co-editor. The Noh Ominameshi [A Flower Viewed from Many Directions]. Cornell East Asia Series 118. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003. Tyler, Royall, editor and translator. Japanese Nô Dramas. London: Penguin Books, 1992. A “must-have book” if one plans to watch a noh play in the original language. Book gives a brief introduction on noh, followed by English translations of 24 plays, providing a good general representation of the noh repertoire. Quinn, Shelley Fenno. Developing Zeami: The Noh Actor’s Attunement in Practice. Honolulu. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2005. 2. Kyôgen Kenny, Don. A Guide to Kyogen. Foreword by Donald Richie. Tokyo: Hinoki Shoten, 1979. A pocket-sized book containing kyôgen synopses. Kenny refers to kyôgen as “comedy vignettes,” performed between pensive, somber noh plays, developed alongside its noh counterpart. Kenny’s translations include drawings of kyôgen plays from literature. Kenny, Don. A Kyogen Companion. Tokyo: National Noh Theatre, 1999. A more refined and expansive book of synopses compared to Kenny’s A Guide to Kyogen (1979) pocket-sized book. Many of the synopses from Kenny’s first book (1979) are edited and included in this new edition with pictures of modern day performers. This book contains a section on the history of kyôgen written by Kazuo Taguchi. 3. Kabuki Brandon, James R., and Samuel L. Leiter, eds. Kabuki Plays On Stage. Vol. 1: Brilliance and Bravado, 1697-1766; Vol.2: Villainy and Vengeance, 1773-1799; Vol.3: Darkness and Desire, 1804-1868; Vol.4: Restoration and Reform, 1872-1905. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2002. Two leading scholars in the kabuki world, Brandon and Leiter, edit this four-volume series of kabuki translations. Each volume begins with an introduction specific to its content. Furthermore, each kabuki translation begins with an introduction to the play, list of characters, and photographs. 4 Brandon, James R., and Samuel L. Leiter, eds. Masterpieces of Kabuki: Eighteen Plays On Stage. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004. (look up) Translations of 18 kabuki plays. Glossary found in back. Brandon, James R., William P. Malm, and Donald H. Shively. Studies in Kabuki: Its Acting, Music, and Historical Context. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1978. This book explores the historical, performative, and musical aspects of kabuki. Different scholar writes each section. Shively surveys the social environment of the Tokugawa (Edo) period that brought forth kabuki and the “floating world.” Brandon discusses the various kata (patterns) that developed during this period, distinguishing the characters’ rank and personality. Music of kabuki consists of many genres, which Malm endeavors to categorize their functions, structure, and instrumentation as on-stage or off-stage music. Ernst, Earle. The Kabuki Theatre. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1974. Ernst discusses the development of kabuki, incorporating materials from history and life during the period. Furthermore, he analyzes the physical structure of the kabuki stage, explaining how the removal of pillars and roof led to its present structure. Oxford University Press first published this book in 1956. Halford, Aubrey S., and Giovanna M. Halford. The Kabuki Handbook. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle, 1956. Brief abstracts on 30 kabuki plays in English. Kominz, Laurence R. The Stars Who Created Kabuki: Their Lives, Loves and Legacy. Tokyo, New York, London: Kondansha International, 1997. Kominz investigates the history of kabuki and its genres, focusing on performers who created the styles representing kabuki today (i.e., Ichikawa Danjûrô, Sakata Tôjûrô, Yoshizawa Ayame). Leiter, Samuel L., ed. A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. Well-written articles by kabuki scholars from various angles. Leiter, Samuel L. New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of Kabuki Jiten. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997. Long awaited revision of Kabuki Encyclopedia: An English-Language Adaptation of Kabuki Jiten (1979). All entries are organized alphabetically regardless of subjects (i.e., terms, plays, performers). Detailed appendix on kabuki’s chronology, plays, and 5 genealogies are included. “Subject Guide to Main Entries” can be found in the back of the book for cross-reference. New entries and updated materials have been included. Leiter, Samuel L., trans. The Art of Kabuki: Famous Plays in Performance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Analyses of four kabuki plays. These facilitate in the understanding of Japanese theatrical conventions.