Circles of Fantasy : Convention in the Plays of Chikamatsu / C. Andrew Gerstle.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gerstle, C. Andrew, author.

Series:

Harvard East Asian Monographs ; 116.

Harvard East Asian Monographs ; 116

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chikamatsu, Monzaemon, 1653-1725--Criticism and interpretation.

Chikamatsu, Monzaemon.

Chikamatsu, Monzaemon, 1653-1725--Musical settings.

Jōruri--History and criticism.

Jōruri.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Distribution:

Leiden; Boston : BRILL, 1986.

Other Title:

Convention in the Plays of Chikamatsu

Place of Publication:

Boston : Harvard University Asia Center, 1986.

Summary:

The vibrant merchant culture of Tokugawa Japan gave rise to many new forms of art, none more fascinating than the puppet theater, Jōruri, created chiefly by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the foremost playwright of popular Japanese drama. In this analysis of Chikamatsu's artistry, Dr. Gerstle focuses on features hitherto neglected by Western scholars the musical structure of Jōruri, integral to the form, mood, and movement of the drama. For extensive translations from the various types of Chikamatsu's dramas, Gerstle supplies the musical notations, which illuminate the sophisticated conventions of this unique and timeless artistic form. Chikamatsu's art, combining puppets, text, samisen music, and chanting/narration, encompasses three major types of drama--history, contemporary-life, and love-suicide plays--each with distinct structural features. Gerstle shows how the music of Jōruri, a mixture of the samisen and chanting/narration, supplements the texts and expresses a dramatized action or emotion through complex changes in pitch, tempo, and style of delivery. Richly illustrated with woodblock prints, this is a fascinating study, which will be welcomed by scholars of Japanese culture, literature, and musicology.

Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

Musical Conventions

Mosaic Form

Cyclical Imagination

Descent to Paradise

Circles of Felicity

Preface to A Collection of Bamboo shoots (1678) / Uji Kaganojō

Preface to The 1687 Gidayū Collection of Jōruri Scenes

Notes

Theatrical Terms

Major Musical Notation

Structural Units of Jōruri Plays

Bibliography

Index

Harvard East Asian Monographs.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-68417-250-0

OCLC:

706868590

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9781684172504 DOI