The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan

Author: M. W. Shores
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108912699
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 536

Book Description
Rakugo, a popular form of comic storytelling, has played a major role in Japanese culture and society. Developed during the Edo (1600–1868) and Meiji (1868–1912) periods, it is still popular today, with many contemporary Japanese comedians having originally trained as rakugo artists. Rakugo is divided into two distinct strands, the Tokyo tradition and the Osaka tradition, with the latter having previously been largely overlooked. This pioneering study of the Kamigata (Osaka) rakugo tradition presents the first complete English translation of five classic rakugo stories, and offers a history of comic storytelling in Kamigata (modern Kansai, Kinki) from the seventeenth century to the present day. Considering the art in terms of gender, literature, performance, and society, this volume grounds Kamigata rakugo in its distinct cultural context and sheds light on the 'other' rakugo for students and scholars of Japanese culture and history.

Rakugo

Author: Lorie Brau
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1461634105
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
An introduction to the theatrical art of comic storytelling that originated in the Edo period, Rakugo sheds light on Japanese culture as a whole: its aesthetics, social relations, and learning styles. Enriched with personal anecdotes, Rakugo explicates the art's contemporary performance culture: the image, training and techniques of the storytellers, the venues where they perform, and the role of the audience in sustaining the art. Laurie Brau inquires into how this comic art form participates in the discourse of heritage, serving as a symbol of the Edo culture, while continuing to appeal to Japanese today. Written in an accessible manner, this book is appropriate for all levels of student or researcher.

Rakugo, the Popular Narrative Art of Japan

Author: Heinz Morioka
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 500

Book Description
Rakugo is the traditional Japanese art of storytelling. The stories are also called rakugo, or hanashi, and they are performed by professional narrators called rakugoka or hanashika. The customary place where rakugo stories are told is the vaudeville-type variety called the yose.

One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each

Author:
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 014139594X
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 317

Book Description
A new edition of the most widely known and popular collection of Japanese poetry. The best-loved and most widely read of all Japanese poetry collections, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu contains 100 short poems on nature, the seasons, travel, and, above all, love. Dating back to the seventh century, these elegant, precisely observed waka poems (the precursor of haiku) express deep emotion through visual images based on a penetrating observation of the natural world. Peter MacMillan's new translation of his prize-winning original conveys even more effectively the beauty and subtlety of this magical collection. Translated with an introduction and commentary by Peter MacMillan.

Descending Stories

Author: Haruko Kumota
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
ISBN: 1642120871
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Book Description
A NEW ERA Time, which had stopped for Kikuhiko and Sukeroku, begins to move again at last. Sukeroku retakes his place on stage, and the warmth of the audience's love reminds him of what it means to be a storyteller. The stage is set for his triumphant return to Tokyo with Kikuhiko, and there, together, they can build the future of rakugo they've been dreaming of. But before they can, a ghost from both Kikuhiko and Sukeroku's past returns, threatening to drag them both under...The story of Kikuhiko, Sukeroku, and Miyokichi reaches its final act!

Sand and Pebbles

Author: Robert E. Morrell
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438413653
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 410

Book Description
Sand and Pebbles presents the first complete English rendering of Shasekishū--the classic, popular Buddhist "Tale Literature" (setsuwa). This collection of instructive, yet often humorous, anecdotes appeared in the late thirteenth century, within decades of the first stirrings of the revolutionary movements of Kamakura Buddhism. Shasekishū's author, Mujū Ichien (1226-1312), lived in a rural temple apart from the centers of political and literary activity, and his stories reflect the customs, attitudes and lifestyles of the commoners. In Sand and Pebbles, complete translations of Book One and other significant narrative parts are supplemented by summaries of the remaining (especially didactic) material and by excerpts from Mujū's later work. Introduced by a historical sketch of the period, this work also contains a biography of Mujū. Illustrations, charts, a chronology, glossary of terms, notes, an extensive bibliography and an index guide the reader into a seldom seen corner of old Japan. Mujū and his writings will interest students of literature as well as scholars of Japanese religion, especially Buddhism. Anthropologists and sociologists will discover details of Kamakura life and thought unrecorded in the official chronicles of the age.

A History of Japanese Theatre

Author: Jonah Salz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316395324
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 1066

Book Description
Japan boasts one of the world's oldest, most vibrant and most influential performance traditions. This accessible and complete history provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese theatre and its continuing global influence. Written by eminent international scholars, it spans the full range of dance-theatre genres over the past fifteen hundred years, including noh theatre, bunraku puppet theatre, kabuki theatre, shingeki modern theatre, rakugo storytelling, vanguard butoh dance and media experimentation. The first part addresses traditional genres, their historical trajectories and performance conventions. Part II covers the spectrum of new genres since Meiji (1868–), and Parts III to VI provide discussions of playwriting, architecture, Shakespeare, and interculturalism, situating Japanese elements within their global theatrical context. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and prints, this history features interviews with key modern directors, an overview of historical scholarship in English and Japanese, and a timeline. A further reading list covers a range of multimedia resources to encourage further explorations.

Fallen Words

Author: Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
ISBN: 9781770460744
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A NEW COLECTION OF STORIES FROM THE FOREFATHER OF THE JAPANESE LITERARY COMICS MOVEMENT In Fallen Words, Yoshihiro Tatsumi takes up the oral tradition of rakugo and breathes new life into it by shifting the format from spoken word to manga. Each of the eight stories in the collection is lifted from the Edo-era Japanese storytelling form. As Tatsumi notes in the afterword, the world of rakugo, filled with mystery, emotion, revenge, hope, and, of course, love, overlaps perfectly with the world of Gekiga that he has spent the better part of his life developing. These slice-of-life stories resonate with modern readers thanks to their comedic elements and familiarity with human idiosyncrasies. In one, a father finds his son too bookish and arranges for two workers to take the young man to a brothel on the pretext of visiting a new shrine. In another particularly beloved rakugo tale, a married man falls in love with a prostitute. When his wife finds out, she is enraged and sets a curse on the other woman. The prostitute responds by cursing the wife, and the two escalate in a spiral of voodoo doll cursing. Soon both are dead, but even death can't extinguish their jealousy. Tatsumi's love of wordplay shines through in the telling of these whimsical stories, and yet he still offers timeless insight into human nature.

The Sun Will Rise Again

Author: Kristine Ohkubo
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781540747952
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
World War II was without question the deadliest war in history. Of the estimated 70 million people killed, 50 to 55 million were civilians. The United States managed to stay out of the war that was ravaging the rest of the world until the day when the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, "a date which will live in infamy." What prompted the Japanese to wage war with the United States? Was the attack really a surprise or was it a carefully orchestrated event by Washington to anger the American public enough to want to go to war? Did the Japanese government truly believe that they would prevail against the military might of the United States? The losses the Japanese military experienced during the Pacific War were unforeseeable. The suffering endured by the Japanese people was unimaginable. By the end of World War II, Japan had persevered through eight years of war, taking into account the Second Sino-Japanese War which began in 1937. The country lay in ruins and the morale of its people was at an all-time low, but in the land of the rising sun, THE SUN WILL RISE AGAIN! Follow Japan's journey from a nation vanquished to a nation victorious in this book that details the grim realities of war, politics, racism, and blind devotion.

Sociolinguistics in Japanese Contexts

Author: Takesi Sibata
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110821303
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 508

Book Description
The Contributions to the Sociology of Language series features publications dealing with sociolinguistic theory, methods, findings and applications. It addresses the study of language in society in its broadest sense, as a truly international and interdisciplinary field in which various approaches – theoretical and empirical – supplement and complement each other. The series invites the attention of scholars interested in language in society from a broad range of disciplines – anthropology, education, history, linguistics, political science, and sociology. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Natalie Fecher.