Japanese No Dramas

by Various (Author); Tyler, Royall (Translator)

• ISBN13: 9780140445398
• ISBN10: 0140445390
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-03-01
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

Japanese theatre or the drama of 'perfected art' flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries largely through the genius of the dramatist Zeami. An intricate fusion of music, dance, mask, costume and language, the dramas address many subjects, but the idea of 'form' is more central than 'meaning' and their structure is always ritualized. Selected for their literary merit, the twenty-four plays in this volume dramatize such ideas as the relationship between men and the gods, brother and sister, parent and child, lover and beloved, and the power of greed and desire. Revered in Japan as a cultural treasure, the spiritual and sensuous beauty of these works has been a profound influence for English-speaking artists including W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound and Benjamin Britten.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Japanese Names and the Pronunciation of Japanese	xi
General Introduction	1	(19)
List of Terms Used in the Stage Directions	20	(1)
Plan of the Stage	21	(1)
Ama. The Diver	22	(15)
Atsumori	37	(12)
Aya no tsuzumi. The Damask Drum	49	(9)
Chikubu-shima	58	(10)
Eguchi	68	(14)
Funa Benkei. Benkei Aboard Ship	82	(14)
Hagoromo. The Feather Mantle	96	(12)
Hanjo. Lady Han	108	(12)
Izutsu. The Well-Cradle	120	(13)
Kantan	133	(9)
Kasuga ryujin. The Kasuga Dragon God	142	(14)
Kinuta. The Fulling Block	156	(15)
Kureha	171	(12)
Matsukaze. Pining Wind	183	(22)
Nonomiya. The Wildwood Shrine	205	(10)
Saigyo-zakura. Saigyo's Cherry Tree	215	(10)
Seki-dera Komachi. Komachi at Seki-Dera	225	(12)
Semimaru	237	(14)
Sumida-gawa. The Sumida River	251	(13)
Tadanori	264	(13)
Takasago	277	(16)
Tatsuta	293	(16)
Yamamba. The Mountain Crone	309	(20)
Yashima	329	(15)
Bibliography and Comments on Texts Translated	344