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Have you ever seen a play with almost no words at all? Within the 14th century Japanese history, theater, and also the plays were evolving drastically. The Noh theater was one of the most entertaining and traditional genres of japan in the 14th century.
During the 14th century the Noh Theater was patronized by the samurais who were considered high up in social rank. During this time period there was a war that broke out. This was called the Onin war and lasted from (1467-1477). China was amongst the countries that japan had contact with. One of the results of the Onin war was destruction which caused the country to fall into a chaos which was known as Sengoku (age of country at war). The Sengoku was so devastating to the country that the shogun or ruler family, Ashikaga, lost their power. There were many influences on the history in this period. The Ashikaga family had a major influence on the period. The Ashikaga or “shogun” had been rulers for almost 200 years. The shogun family built a villa that was very prestigious for the art and culture at this time. Another influence was Ze...
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...
Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The emperor was just a figurehead for the shogun. The shogun was a powerful military leader that ruled in the emperor’s name. Daimyo were powerful landlords. The daimyo often led armies of samurai. These samurai were trained professional warriors who served daimyo and shoguns. The samurai had to follow a certain code of rules for samurai called Bushido. One of their rules included to always have self-discipline to become a good samurai. The samurai warriors wore light armor, helmets (usually shaped like an animal), and had two swords around their waist. Their armor had a lot of detail and color to it, like their unique helmets. After the samurai comes the peasants, which included farmers and fishermen. They usually always work, then pay takes to the shogun. They usually gave the shogun what they earned from working like food or crops. What made their jobs a bit difficult was their topography. Japan’s topography included many mountains, undersea volcanoes, and barely any flat land to farm on. The Japanese didn’t only work they also practiced their religion. For example, they practiced Confucianism, Buddhism (...
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son of Heaven did not mean he had all the power of the empire. Instead he lived a laid back life where the bureaucrats vied for power and wealth amongst themselves and he merely managed them. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also saw elites battling it out for power, but this time on the battlefield with armies of samurai. These battles put Japan in a period much like the Warring States period in early Chinese history, where families fought and fought for power almost endlessly. The political weakness in China contributed to its economic failure as well. With no force to manage to seas, pirates were free to raid trade ships and villages along the coast line, weakening the Chinese economy that relied on a transport system to supply the country. These two major forces led to China’s fragmentation and eventual takeover by the Manchu. In contrast, the battles happening in Japan were not harmful to the economy as much as they were in China. This is due to the fact that the Japanese daimyos were independent...
customs and traditions hidden in the roots of the Japanese empire. The Tang Dynasty displayed a
The top structure of the society includes the Shoguns, Daimyos and Samurais. ‘Shogun’ was the title granted by the Emperor to Japan’s top military commander (Web-japan.org, 2013). Initially Emperors controlled the country but over time Shoguns became more powerful than the Emperor and took over the whole government, the Shogun was generally the real ruler of the country until 1867 when feudalism was abolished (Web-japan.org, 2013). Daimyos were the lords and their roles were to manage and maintain the law, collect taxes and aiding in armed forces for the Shogun (Ask.com, 2013). Samurais were the members of the military class, they were the warriors of traditional Japan. The roles of the Samurais were to protect and serve their daimyos or lords usually in wars (Answers.yahoo.com, 2013).
Nō dramas emerged in Japan in the ca. 14th century and were performed in shrines and temples in Kyōto and Nara. The plots of nō plays were based on historical events, literature, legends, and contemporary events. At the time when nō plays were being written, many authors drew upon references or allusions from various literary sources such as Genji monogatari, Ise monogatari, and the Kokinshū. Two examples of nō plays that were based on Genji monogatari are Matsukaze and Nonomiya. After reading Matsukaze and Nonomiya, it is interesting that both plays share a similar plot even though they are written by different authors. Matsukaze, or also known as Pining Wind, was written by Zeami Motokiyo (1363 – 1443) around 1412 and according to Tyler, “[t]he background of Pining Wind includes a play which is now lost, Shiokumi (‘Gathering Brine’)” by Kiami (Tyler 183). The nō play Nonomiya, or also known as The Wildwood Shrine, is believed by most people to have been written by Komparu Zenchiku (1405 – 1468), who is the son - in - law and apprentice to Zeami. Both Matsukaze and Nonomiya share a similar story line and literary sources, but differ in how they were applied to contribute to the play’s plot, setting, characters, and relaying the emotion of the characters.
Savas, Minae. "Feminine Madness In The Japanese Noh Theatre." Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. Ohio State University, 2008. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 11 Mar 2014.
In the same way Japanese poetry often alludes to or derives from the canon of poetry that precedes it, noh plays are often based off of classical Japanese literary sources that form the framework for the play’s themes and moral message. Many of these plays reference poems from revered anthologies, such as the Shinkokinshū, within the play’s dialogue, but it is the monogatari or tales that provide the foundation for certain noh plotlines because of their vast array of character references and plotlines. These tales are the primary sources of information for two plays in particular written by the famous Japanese playwright Zeami: Atsumori and Matsukaze. The warrior-play Atsumori draws from the famous war epic The Tale of Heike to further an anti-war message grounded in the original text, as well as to further explore Buddhist themes of attachment and karmic ties. Matsukaze draws its origins and background from Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji and Ariwara no Narihira’s The Tales of Ise for location, tone, and themes of longing in order to juxtapose the Buddhist duality of attachment and detachment from this world.
Japan is known for its unique gardening style, their diverse plants, their food, and their beautifully woven tapestries. Yet, most do not know about the history of their drama. Japanese Noh theatre is one of the most precise and prestigious art forms. It has been this way since the fourteenth century when Zeami first created Noh theatre. Zeami’s most famous plays, such as Kinuta, are still performed today. Japanese drama has not changed much since the fourteenth century because it has made a lasting effect on the culture. Noh theatre had a major influence on fourteenth century Japan and has affected modern day drama.
Although noh is known for its long tradition and valued as part of Japanese culture, most Japanese people today would not enjoy the play due to its slow-tempo motions of the performers, language spoken, that is, medieval Japanese of between 14th and 16th centuries which modern Japanese speakers would not understand, and lack of its penetration in the society as entertainment. However, some knowledge of plots of the play, such classic literature works as Ise monogatari, Genji monogatari, or Heike monogatari, can make a noh performance enjoyable and appreciated as an intermediary “between the worlds between gods and men” (Handout 14). Although I have not viewed any of these stories as a noh play, I found mere reading of noh scripts with understanding of their sources very interesting in that it enabled me to connect new perspectives toward the event which is already described from the mainstream angles in a literature work. In this paper, I will discuss how those viewpoints differ from each other and the meaning of a story revised for a noh performance.
By nature, Japanese No drama draw much of their inspiration and influence from the classics. Many are based on episodes from the most popular classics, like Atsumori, based on the Tale of Heike, or Matsukaze, which was actually based on a collage of earlier work. Even within these episodes do we find references to yet more classic works of literature, from the oldest collections of poetry to adopted religious texts. That isn’t to say that No is without its own strokes of creativity—the entire performance is a unique adaptation, and the playwrights had to be both highly educated in the classics, yet geniuses at the creative aspect of weaving song/poetry, dance, religion and literature together into a heart-wrenching spectacle.
The Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan’s military dictatorship from 1603 to 1868, disliked this position of women and in 1629 they banned all women from acting on stage. However, Kabuki had become so popular that teenage boys started to act on stage to replace women, taking over all of their roles. In 1652, Kabuki featuring teenage boy, or Waskashu Kabuki, was banned. After that, only adult men could act on stage and this type of Kabuki, known as Yaro Kabuki, continues to be practiced today (www.artelino.com). In the 1750’s, the mawari-butai (revolving stage) was invented, and soon after that came the seri (stage trap) (Reischauer and Jansen 77). The mawari-butai is a machine cut out into the shape of a circle, which turns the part of the floor that is center stage. It is often used for scene changes to make them quicker, smoother and more appealing to the audience. The seri stage trap is used to raise and lower the actors and sets to the stage. It is also...
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...