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The Dynamics of Gender and Power in Zeami's Reflections on Performance

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The Dynamics of Gender and Power in Zeami's Reflections on Performance Dissertation The Dynamics of Gender and Power in Zeami’s Reflections on Performance By Hanna McGaughey, M.A. The University of Trier 2020 Thesis Committee: Prof. Andreas Regelsberger, Ph.D. Prof. em. Stanca Scholz-Cionca, Ph.D. This dissertation was submitted to the University of Trier (Fachbereich II) on November 17, 2017 and defended in a rigorosum on February 13, 2018. ii For Margit and Doug iii iv Deutsche Zusammenfassung Die Dissertation untersucht Zeamis (ca. 1363 – ca. 1433) Auffassung des Tanzes der himmlischen Frau im historischen KonteXt der Muromachi-Zeit. Seine Version dieses Tanzes basiert auf einer Aufführung von Inuō , einem Darsteller der O mi-Schauspieltruppe, und sollte das Repertoire seiner eigenen Schauspieltruppe um eine starke, weibliche Figur mit himmlischen Zügen erweitern. Im ersten Kapitel zeige ich auf, wie Zeami, geprägt von seinem Erfolg als seXualisiertes Kind im Dienste der politischen Elite (chigo), die Beziehung zwischen Darsteller und Publikum im Sinne von Gender versteht. In seinen Traktaten beschreibt Zeami, wie ein Schauspieler eine komplementäre Beziehung zwischen Patron und Darsteller (feminin/maskulin bzw. Yin/Yang) schafft. Diese Beziehung steigert sich in eine Ekstase der geglückten Kommunikation zwischen den beiden Polen, welche einer seXuellen Vereinigung gleicht. Als nächstes lege ich dar, wie Zeami Inuō s Beziehungen zwischen seinen Mäzenen, dem Daimyo Sasaki Doyō in Kapitel zwei und dem Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in Kapitel drei, wahrnimmt. Inuō wurde von Doyō s Vorliebe für imposante Kunst beeinflusst, jedoch erkannte Zeami auch, dass Inuō Doyō s Maskulinität mit femininer Eleganz komplementieren konnte. Inuō wandte eine Darstellung der Subversion in seiner Beziehung mit Yoshimitsu an, sowohl als öffentliche Person als auch in der Ästhetik der Aufführung, um seine rebellische Reputation, angepasst an das unter der kriegerischen Elite herrschende konfliktträchtige Klima, zu erhalten. In seinem Stück „Aoi no ue“ gibt er Yoshimitsu die Rolle des Prinzen Genji und konfrontiert ihn mit den Konsequenzen des Verrats an der Dame Rokujō , die als Dämonin erscheint, weil v Genji sie verlassen hatte, und spielt so auf die aristokratische literarische Tradition des Genji monogatari an. Diese Aufführung stellt Zeamis frühere Auffassung in Frage, nämlich dass die eXtreme Maskulinität von Dämonen und die elegante Femininität, eXemplifiziert in der Aristokratie, bei der Schaffung der Figuren getrennt gehalten werden muss. Im vierten Kapitel, zeige ich auf, wie Zeami in der Rolle der himmlischen Frau in gleicher Weise die Dominanz (Maskulinität) und Unterwerfung (Femininität) in der körperlichen Ausdruck eines einzelnen Darstellers vereinigt. Es folgt daraus, dass der Tanz der himmlischen Frau nicht nur die Maskulinität seines Patrons mit Femininität, sondern auch die politische Macht seines Patrons einer anderen dominierenden Macht gegenüberstellt. Somit beschreiben Stücke, in denen die himmlische Frau auftritt, diese Macht nicht als maskulin sondern als himmlisch. vi English Abstract This dissertation details how Zeami (ca. 1363 - ca.1443) understood his adoption of the heavenly woman dance within the historical conditions of the Muromachi period. He adopted the dance based on performances by the O mi troupe player Inuō in order to expand his own troupe’s repertoire to include a divinely powerful, feminine character. In the first chapter, I show how Zeami, informed by his success as a seXualized child in the service of the political elite (chigo), understood the relationship between performer and audience in gendered terms. In his treatises, he describes how a player must create a complementary relationship between patron and performer (feminine/masculine or yin/yang) that escalates to an ecstasy of successful communication between the two poles, resembling seXual union. NeXt, I look at how Zeami perceived Inuō’s relationships with patrons, the daimyo Sasaki Dōyo in chapter two and shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in chapter three. Inuō was influenced by Dōyo’s masculine penchant for powerful, awe-inspiring art, but Zeami also recognized that Inuō was able to complement Dōyo’s masculinity with feminine elegance (kakari and yūgen). In his relationship with Yoshimitsu, Inuō used the performance of subversion, both in his public persona and in the aesthetic of his performances, to maintain a rebellious reputation appropriate within the climate of conflict among the martial elite. His play “Aoi no ue” draws on the aristocratic literary tradition of the Genji monogatari, giving Yoshimitsu the role of Prince Genji and confronting him with the consequences of betrayal in the form of a demonic, because jilted, lady Rokujō. This performance challenged Zeami’s early notion that the eXtreme masculinity of demons and elegant vii femininity as eXemplified by the aristocracy must be kept separate in character creation. In the fourth chapter, I show how Zeami also combined dominance (masculinity) and submission (femininity) in the corporal capacity of a single player when he adopted the heavenly woman dance. The heavenly woman dance thus complemented not only the masculinity of his male patrons with femininity but also the political power of his patrons with another dominant power, which plays featuring the heavenly woman dance label divine rather than masculine. viii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. xii Notes on Translated Names, Dates, and Ages ............................................................... xvii Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 0.1 Context .................................................................................................................................... 4 0.2 Problem and Response ................................................................................................... 22 0.3 Chapter Overview ............................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 1: The Player-Patron Relationship ........................................................... 30 1.1 Zeami in Yoshimitsu’s Performance of Flower ....................................................... 37 1.1.1 The Imagumano Sarugaku Performance .......................................................................... 37 1.1.2 Zeami in Yoshimitsu’s Performance of Flower ................................................................. 41 1.1.3 Zeami and Nijō Yoshimoto ...................................................................................................... 44 1.1.4 Transience in Zeami’s Use of the Floral Metaphor ......................................................... 51 1.2 The Significance of Audience ........................................................................................ 54 1.2.1 Sanjō Kintada’s Critical Diary Entry .................................................................................... 55 1.2.2 Zeami’s Focus on Elite Patrons .............................................................................................. 59 1.3 Power in Engaging with Audiences ............................................................................ 62 1.3.1 Secrecy ............................................................................................................................................ 62 1.3.2 The Secret Teachings on Yin and Yang ............................................................................... 69 1.4 Zeami on Gender ............................................................................................................... 72 1.4.1 Masculine and Feminine Moments ....................................................................................... 72 1.4.2 Masculine and Feminine Characters ................................................................................... 77 1.5 In Sum ................................................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 2: Sasaki Dōyo and Inuō's Styles ............................................................... 82 2.1 The basara lord Sasaki Dōyō and Inuō ...................................................................... 87 2.1.1 Basara and the Kenmu Code ................................................................................................... 87 ix 2.1.2 Tanabata celebration ................................................................................................................ 90 2.1.3 Hosting the enemy ...................................................................................................................... 91 2.1.4 Shōjiji flower viewing ................................................................................................................ 93 2.1.5 Representation and Power ...................................................................................................... 96 2.2 Zeami's Comparison of Ōmi and Yamato Sarugaku .............................................. 99 2.2.1 Dōyō's aesthetic taste and Inuō's abilities ....................................................................... 101 2.2.2 Ōmi and Yamato comparison ............................................................................................... 110 2.2.3 Kakari and Yū gen ....................................................................................................................
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