ENGL 233 / THEA 203, Performance History I (Anna Griffith)

This book is a feminist reading of gender performance and construction of the female role players, onnogata, of the Kabuki theatre. It is not limited to a 'theatre arts' focus, rather it is a mapping and close analysis of transformative genders through several historical periods in Japan (the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries). [From Publisher]

Significant study of Kabuki playwriting of the Edo Period (1603-1867), based around an examination and translation of the only extant treatise fully devoted to the subject, the 1801 Kezairoku, Sakusha no Shikih (Valuable Notes on Playwriting, A Playwrights' Methodology.) [From Publisher]

A Cultural History of Theatre' presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. The set of six volumes covers a span of 2,500 years, tracing the complexity of the interactions between theatre and culture. 1. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in Antiquity' (500 BC - 1000 AD) 2. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages' (1000 - 1400) 03. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in the Early Modern Age' (1400 - 1650) 4. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in the Age of Enlightenment' (1650 - 1800) 5. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in the Age of Empire' (1800 - 1920) 6. 'A Cultural History of Theatre in the Modern Age' (1920 - 2000+). [From Publisher]

Foreword / Paul S. Atkins -- Introduction / A.L.S. -- Noh plays: Tadanori; Kakitsubata; Iwabune; Tamura; Tomoe; Hatsu-Yuki, or, virgin-snow; Oyashiro, or, the great shrine; Ko-kaji; Murozumi; The Shojo and the big jar; Kamo no chomei; Dojoji -- Kyogen or comic interludes: The bag of leave-taking; Ebisu and Daikoku; The second-class master blindman and the monkey; The stone god; Hana-Ko; The six shavelings; Asahina; The persimmon-seller; Pins and needles; The stag hunter; The thief and the child; The fowler; The priest's staff; Under the hat; The ointment vendor; Raku-ami; The acolyte's water-drawing; The cuttle-fish; Dontaro; The liquor-pipe; The gargoyle; Tsu-en; The Buddha-maker; Akutaro -- Kabuki: The cherry shower; The potter Kakiemon; The village of drum-makers; Raizan. [From Publisher]

The appeal of Asian Theater in America today confirms that the theatre of the Far East is a remarkable and catalytic experience for a Western audience. Staging Japanese Theatre presents two complete plays in the theatrical forms of Noh and Kabuki. Each play appears in Japanese with English translations on facing pages and is pre-ceded by a brief history of the theatre form and the evolution of the production. The text contains an abundance of photographs, diagrams, and the stage directions from the IASTA performance. [From Publisher]

Atsumori by Seami Motokiyo (1363-1444)
Ikuya by Zembō Motoyasu (1453-1532)
Tsunemasa by Seami
Kumasaka by Zenchiku Ujinobu (1414-1499?)
Eboshi-Ori by Miyamasu (sixteenth century?)
Benkei on the Bridge (Hashi-Benki) by Hiyoshi Sa-ami Yasukio (Date unknown, probably first half of the fifteenth century)
Kagekiyo by Seami
Hachi no Ki by Seami
Sotoba Komachi by Kwanami Kiyotsuga (1333-1384)
Ukai (The Cormorant-Fisher) by Enami no Sayemon (c. 1400)
Aya no Tsuzumi (The Damask Drum) attributed to Seami, but perhaps earlier
Aoi no Uye (Princess Hollyhock) revised by Zenchiku Ujinobu (1414-1499?)
Kantan (unknown, before 1600)
The Hōka Priests (Hōkazō) by Zenchiku Ujinobu (1414-1499) [no ? this time]
Hagoromo by Seami
Tanikō (The Valley-Hurling) Part I by Zenchiku
Ikeniye (The Pool Sacrifice) Part I by Seami
Hatsuyuki (Early Snow) by Kopara Zembō Motoyasu (1453-1532)
Haku Rakuten by Seami

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. [From Publisher]

Introduction : landmarks of memory -- Masks and memory -- Secret manuscripts -- The power of secret manuscripts -- Bloodlines -- Mass-produced mystery -- Print and order -- Rituals -- Conclusion : Noh's modern myths