Modern Japanese Theatre and Performance

by David Jortner (Editor), Keiko I. McDonald (Editor), Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. Loyola Marymount University (Editor), Bruce Baird (Contribution by), Steven J. Clark (Contribution by)

Overview

At the heart of the development of modern Japanese culture, the theatre mirrors the issues and concerns of a society transitioning from the Tokugawa era to the modern period. Modern Japanese Theatre and Performance fills a gap in current Japanese theatre scholarship; the book discusses the role of women in modern theatre, buto dance, experimental theatres that combine traditional theatre with modern forms, and plays by Abe Kobo, Mishima Yukio, and Senda Koreya. With important contributions from both established and emerging scholars, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in theatre, modern performance, or Japanese studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739123003
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	05/17/2007
Series:	Studies of Modern Japan
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 8.93(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Kevin J. Wetmore is professor of theater at Loyola Marymount University. Keiko I. McDonald is professor of East Asian languages and literatures at the University of Pittsburgh. David Jortner is professor of communication arts and theater at Allegheny College.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction: Modern Japanese Theatre (Revisited) Part 2 Shingeki History Chapter 3 Why Did Sewamono Not Grow into Modern Realist Theatre? Chapter 4 The Rhetoric of the Real Chapter 5 Moment(um) of Memory: Metapatterns in Japanese Theatre Since the 1960s Chapter 6 The Quest for Salvation in Japan's Modern History: Four Plays by Akimoto Matsuyo Chapter 7 Poison Women and National Identity in Postwar Japanese Performance Chapter 8 Senda Koreya and the Tenko Paradigm Part 9 Experimental Theatre(s) and Border Crossings Chapter 10 Structureless in Structure: The Choreographic Tectonics of Hijikata Tatsumi's Buto Chapter 11 Terayama in Amsterdam and the Internationalization of Experimental Theatre Chapter 12 Super-kyogen: Radically Traditional Utopian Comedies Chapter 13 Classical Japanese Performance in a Contemporary Context: A Traditional Strategy of Juxtaposition Part 14 Specific Plays and Productions in Modern Japan Chapter 15 Illegitimate Child of Shingeki: Soganoya Gokuro and His Nonkina tosan (Easygoing Daddy) Chapter 16 Reflections of and on the Times: Morimoto Kaoru's A Woman's Life Chapter 17 Steeplechase: Mishima Yukio's Only Original Modern No Play Chapter 18 "Destroying the Audience's Alibi": Empathy and Ethics in Abe Kobo's Mihitsu no koi Chapter 19 Divine Memory and Abject Reality: Miyagi Satoshi's Tenshu Monogatari and Simizu Shinjin's Bye Bye: The New Primitive Chapter 20 From Scaretto to Kaze to tomo ni sarinu: Musical Adaptations of Gone with the Wind in Japan Part 21 A Super-kyogen Script Chapter 22 Mutsugoro (Mudskippers)

Editorial Reviews

This fascinating collection of essays commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of J. Thomas Rimer's seminal work,Toward a Modern Japanese Theatre (1974). The essays capture the complex strategies by which Japanese theatre artists, ranging from shingeki to the postmodern, exercise their craft. This edition is a must for those interested in the changing landscape of performing arts in Japan.

Dr. Mari Boyd

This fascinating collection of essays commemorates the thirtieth anniversary of J. Thomas Rimer's seminal work, Toward a Modern Japanese Theatre (1974). The essays capture the complex strategies by which Japanese theatre artists, ranging from shingeki to the postmodern, exercise their craft. This edition is a must for those interested in the changing landscape of performing arts in Japan.--Dr. Mari Boyd, Sophia University

From the Publisher