Chikamatsu

by C. Andrew Gerstle

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725), often referred to as "Japan's Shakespeare" and a "god of writers," was arguably the most famous playwright in Japanese history and wrote more than 100 plays for the kabuki and bunraku theaters. Today, the plays of this major literary figure are performed on kabuki and bunraku stages as well as in the modern theater, and forty-nine films of his plays have been made, thirty-one of them from the silent era.

Translations of Chikamatsu's plays are available, but we have few examples of his late work, in which he increasingly incorporated stylistic elements of his shorter, contemporary dramas into his longer period pieces. Translator C. Andrew Gerstle argues that in these mature history plays, Chikamatsu depicted the tension between the private and public spheres of society by combining the rich character development of his contemporary pieces with the larger political themes of his period pieces.

In this volume Gerstle translates five plays―four histories and one contemporary piece―never before available in English that complement other collections of Chikamatsu's work, revealing new dimensions to the work of this great Japanese playwright and artist.

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1724

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chikamatsu’s plays were most commonly presented by puppets with a narrator (or chanter) speaking the narration as well as the character lines – male and female. The narration is descriptive, even of the action on stage. It does not simply fill in blanks between scenes and cover offstage business as in most Western plays. It’s like having a novella or short story read and performed at the same time, but with a bit more dialogue.

It is an intriguing format. Combined with the samisen musical accompaniment, songs, dance, the colorful costumes and life-like movement of the puppets, it’s easy to see why this is so popular even to this day. (It should be noted that the complex multi-person puppets used today were developed after Chikamatsu’s death. These three-person puppets are called bunraku. What Chikamatsu did was called joruri.)

The chanting or narrating, from what I’ve seen online, goes beyond simply acting out the lines. There is chanting, singing, pitch changes, etc. I don’t understand that aspect completely. Chikamatsu plays were also performed in Kabuki theatre with live actors. The actors apparently read their own parts, and I believe there was a narrator but I suppose his role was not as encompassing.

It’s a form that provides an immense range of possibilities, from drama to battles to magic. If you are interested in the Asian arts, or drama in general, I’d recommend this book. This edition is very well done and the translation seems very good.

Here are the plays as I read them:

The Battles at Kawa-nakajima – *** This is a kind of a reverse Romeo and Juliet. The two lovers end up causing a feud/war between the two Samurai clans. It’s a rambling piece that reminds me of medieval tales of courtly love, honor duels, arcane codes of conduct, and exaggerated combat scenes. But like the tales of knights, the code of honor seem arbitrary and unrealistic. That said, however, it is tale of adventure and love that makes for entertaining reading. Kensuke and his mother are by far the most interesting characters (though her suicide still baffles me).

Twins at the Sumida River – ** This is strange tale. How many plays do you know that feature a scene in which a slave trader sells two young girls to sex slavery, and then beats a young boy (and heir to the clan leadership) to death? This happens right on stage – not off stage. It is otherwise full of evil demons, evil characters, madness and murder.