Art History 371: Transforming Traditions: Art and Visual Culture in Japan

"A study of the traditional, bombastic theater of Japan, with attention given to the symbolism of the performances."-Summary

"The Artist’s Touch, the Craftsman’s Hand: Three Centuries of Japanese Prints from the Portland Art Museum is published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name, held at the Portland Art museum. The first major publication to draw exclusively from this remarkable public resource, the Artist’s Touch, The Craftsman’s Hand presents a selection of more than 250 of the most historically important and visually compelling Japanese prints in the collection. "-Book Jacket

"Shows costumes, make up, and examples of Kabuki productions. Commentary and dialogue in English with accompanying traditional Kabuki music. Recommended for Asian studies."-Summary

"This collection of fifteen essays was written over nearly four decades by one of America’s best-known scholars of Japan’s kabuki theatre. Illustrated with numerous photographs, prints, and line drawings, it includes an overview of kabuki and its impact on world theatre, interviews with and biographical accounts of famous actors, discussions of kabuki acting and staging techniques, an examination of kabuki violence, accounts of English-language kabuki productions, studies of theatrical architecture, a survey of amateur kabuki in rural communities, and a comparison of kabuki with the eighteenth-century English theatre. Each essay has been revised, some considerably, and three previously unpublished essays have been provided."-Back of Book

“For those who want to find their way in the labyrinth of kabuki we have included a general introduction to kabuki and kabuki prints and then retelling of thirty-seven popular kabuki plays. Each of the plays has been illustrated by woodblock prints of important scenes and roles. An extensive index on playwrights, actors and play titles, as well as roles, subjects and locations.”-Preface and Acknowledgements

"Translation of: Shirazā itte kikaseyashō." - Note

v. 1. Brilliance and bravado, 1697-1766 -- v. 2. Villainy and vengeance, 1773-1799 -- v. 3. Darkness and desire, 1804-1864-- v. 4. Restoration and reform, 1872-1905. - Contents
"The kabuki theatre of Japan, one of the world’s greatest dramatic traditions, presently has an active repertory of 250 to 300 plays and dances, of which less than 20 have been translated into English. In addition, somewhat more than a dozen texts of the puppet theatre(widely known as bunraku), later adapted by kabuki, have been translated. Even taken together, this small number does not compare with the hundreds of translations of nō and kyōgen plays. Our intention on these four volumes is to begin to redress this gap by bringing to the reader translations of 51 previously untranslated kabuki plays. It is the first time in over twenty years that a collection of new kabuki translations is being published…. The plays chosen for inclusion are also representative of major playwrights, chronological periods of playwriting, play types (history, domestic, and dance dramas), and performance styles. Plays from both Edo (Tokyo) and Kamigata (Osaka and Kyoto) Kabuki are included."-Preface

"Leiter (theater, Brooklyn College and CUNY) presents the first English-language collection of disparate essays exploring Japan's kabuki theater. Fifteen of the 20 essays were previously published between 1955 and 2000; the remaining five are published here for the first time. The materials cover four main areas--history, performance, theaters, and plays--and include a translation of one kabuki play to illustrate kabuki techniques. The text includes photographs of kabuki performance and Edo-period woodblock prints. The eighteen contributing authors include international experts in Asian theater, Japanese language, Japanese culture and Japanese literature."- Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"Overview of the special characteristics of Japan's kabuki theater, illustrated by pre-recorded performance excerpts and demonstrations by two noted kabuki actors, Onoe Baikō VII and Onoe Shōroku II. Baikō, a famous onnagata (player of women's roles), is seen onstage in full costume and makeup, and in street clothes in the television studio, performing an excerpt from Sukeroku in which he plays a courtesan taunting an old man. Shōroku, in turn, performs the old man's role among several examples of kata, movement sequences expressing a meaning, mood, or moment. Baikō depicts the virtuosic and expressive uses of the fan in kabuki dance, including the pouring and drinking of wine, a sequence in which Shōroku joins. After viewing an excerpt from General Kumagai's battle camp, filmed in the 1940s, Shōroku comments on the acting of Nakamura Kichiemon as the protagonist, and demonstrates his own interpretation. He and Baikō perform a battle between a lord and an evil demon. A sequence demonstrating a display of maximal speed and power is first played by Shōroku in the studio, then seen in full costume and makeup onstage."-Summary

"Kiyomoto-Bushi is a relatively late branch of Japanese narrative music which was heavily influenced by non-narrative or lyrical dance music. It was born and used in the context of the kabuki theatre in Edo (Tokyo) during the first half of the 19th century. In comparison with other music genres identified with the kabuki theater, kiyomoto-bushi is still rather unexplored in its specific characteristics by musicologists."-Preface

"The Man Who Saved Kabuki tells Bowers’s story, beginning with his arrival in Japan in 1940, when he first encountered and fell in love with kabuki. It reveals the hardships faced by kabuki and its actors because of wartime censorship, and concludes with an account of Bowers’s postwar achievements. Although Bowers is at the center of the story, this lively and skillfully adapted translation from the original Japanese treats a critical period in the long history of kabuki as it was affected by a single individual who had a commanding influence over it. It offers fascinating and little known details about Occupation censorship politics and kabuki performance while providing yet another perspective on the history of an enduring Japanese art form."-Back of Book

"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."-Back of Book

"Dance is an especially important part of the art of the onnagata, the male actor who plays female roles on the Kabuki stage. In this DVD Bandô Tamasaburô dances a broad range of both traditional and modern styles. Various styles of musical accompaniment feature the voice and and three-stringed shamisen."- Summary

"Staging Japanese Theatre: Noh and Kabuki is an look inside of what it means to be one of the audience member watching and one the actor performing on the Japanese stage. This book contains directions, diagrams, scripts and music relating to a couple specific plays. These props are very informative as to how people have been performing the plays over the years and how one might learn and better understand the beauty of the Japanese theartre."-Kelton Rockett

"John Wesley Harris’s introduction to Japanese traditional theatre is an exciting and useful book that will be welcomed throughout the world by educators, students, and the general public. This book is vital for both the classroom and the informed theatregoer. Harris traces both the historical and philosophical context for the drama, relating it to the Samurai tradition, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism…. We are introduced to the writers of plays in this tradition, and theatres in which the plays were and are performed. We are shown the structure of the drama, besides being offered sample programs for the major form: kyogen, noh, the early puppet theatre and bunraku.… We learn about the setting for each of the arts, the costumes, the music particular to each, how many performers are required, besides a hint of how long it takes to train them."-Preface

"There is much that is remarkable about this volume. Its roots date back to an international conference on Shakespeare and kabuki with the theme Traditions of Cross-dressing and Cross-gender Casting , held near Kobe, Japan, in August 1995. In January of that year Kobe had suffered a major earthquake resulting in significant loss of life and great damage to the infrastructure. At last, it is now possible to publish most of the papers that were presented at the Kobe conference (together with some additional contributions), which have been edited, and where necessary, revised for publication; and though so long delayed, the essays continue to represent key areas of research by some of the world s most distinguished scholars in their fields. The topics addressed include feminism, transvestism, cross-dressing, cross-gender casting, Elizabethan boy actors and kabuki onnagata. Importantly, the volume also contains a full transcription of the Open Forum session which concluded the conference, providing the reader with a quality debate on the main issues. Also included is a plate section featuring images from the 1991 London staging of an 1886 kabuki version of Hamlet, directed by Koji Orita, today Artistic Director of Japan s National Theatre, along with Orita s original presentation on the staging of his kabuki Hamlet, with an introductory commentary by Scott Johnson."-Summary

"This is an attempt to offer insight into the Japanese Kabuki star Tamasaburō Bandō, one of the last defenders of this ancient and disappearing performing tradition."-Summary