Masterpieces of Kabuki : Eighteen Plays on Stage / James R. Brandon, Samuel L. Leiter.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Brandon, James R., editor.

Leiter, Samuel L., editor.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2004]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Masterpieces of Kabuki contains eighteen outstanding dramas taken from the landmark four-volume series Kabuki Plays On Stage. Together they cover the entire spectrum of kabuki drama from 1697 to 1905, the period during which kabuki's dramaturgy flourished prior to the onset of Western dramatic influence. Major playwrights, chronological periods of playwriting, and a variety of play types (history, domestic, and dance dramas) and performance styles are represented. All but one are in the current repertory and regularly staged. The volume includes introductions to each play and a new general introduction highlighting kabuki's historical development and relating the plays to their performance context. As the subtitle implies, the plays are translated as if "on stage." Stage directions indicate major scenic effects, stage action, costuming, makeup, music, and sound effects. In some cases, complex stage actions such as stage fights are given in detail. The plays collected here are all marvelous examples of dramatic writing, intended to be acted on the stage before audiences. They reveal kabuki's eras of brilliance and bravado, villainy and vengeance, darkness and desire, and restoration and reform. All continue to stir audiences to admiration and excitement.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction / Brandon, James R. / Leiter, Samuel L.

Just a Minute! Shibaraku / Saltzman-Li, Katherine

The Stone-Cutting Feat of Kajiwara Kajiwara Heizò Homare no Ishikiri From Miura no Òsuke Kòbai Tazuna The Plum-Blossom Reins of Miura no Òsuke / Lee, William

Summer Festival: Mirror of Osaka Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami / Iezzi, Julie A.

Japan's Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety Honchò Nijûshikò / Griffith, Paul M.

The Precious Incense and Autumn Flowers of Sendai Meiboku Sendai Hagi / Johnson, Matthew

The Revenge at Tengajaya Katakiuchi Tengajayamura / Cummings, Alan

A Message of Love from Yamato Koi Tayori Yamato Òrai / Brandon, James R.

The Picture Book of the Taikò Ehon Taikòki / Leiter, Samuel L.

The Scandalous Love of Osome and Hisamatsu Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri / Durham, Valerie L.

Kasane / Oshima, Mark

Masakado / Pronko, Leonard C.

The Tale of the Martyr of Sakura Sakura Giminden / Philips, Anne

The Three Kichisas and the New Year's First Visit to the Pleasure Quarters Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai / Hibino, Kei / Cummings, Alan

The Fishmonger Sògorò Sakanaya Sògorò FROM Shin Sarayashiki Tsuki no Amagasa Moonlit Umbrella at the Dish Palace, New Version / Bach, Faith

The Mirror Lion, A Spring Diversion Shunkyò Kagami Jishi / Griffith, Paul M. / Rimer, J . Thomas

Glossary

Selected Bibliography

Contributors

Index

List of Plays in Kabuki Plays on Stage

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

ISBN:

0-8248-4523-4

OCLC:

1013947955