Organizer: Laurence R. Kominz, Portland State University
Chair: Jonah Salz, Ryukoku University, Kyoto
Discussant: James R. Brandon, University of Hawaii
Scholars and practitioners of Japanese theater are aided in their understanding of traditional forms through studying "secret treatises" (densho) for noh theatre, actor critiques (hyôbanki) for kabuki, and actors' memoirs (geidan) for kyôgen. This panel investigates the impact these writings have on contemporary and historical dramatic practices and the role they play in behind-the-scenes political maneuverings in each of these arts.
The panel presentations explore the importance of theatre writings for contemporary and past theatre practitioners, audiences, and for scholars of Japanese drama. Who were the audiences for these writings? How and when were secrets and traditions deployed in these texts? How do writings on performance employed to establish the authority and artistic identity of particular actors, family lines, and schools? Do critics write for each other, for the "public," or to influence and support actors? Finally, how can these texts inform the studies and practices of today's scholars and performers?
Noh Without Zeami: The Case of the Sixteenth-Century Hachijôkadensho
Eric C. Rath, University of Michigan
Recent efforts to understand the development of noh theatre have raised questions about the assumed centrality of the ideas of Zeami Motokiyo (d. 1443?). Zeami's name may be synonymous with noh today, but long before the full rediscovery of Zeami's writings in the twentieth century, the names of other, now unfamiliar actors, such as Kanze On'ami and Hosho Ren'ami were once invoked as authorities on the art of noh. Most scholars simply dismiss the deeds and writings attributed to On'ami and Ren'ami as apocryphal. Nevertheless, the creation of such lore about these noh authorities can be argued to be integral to the consolidation of noh as a performing art in the late sixteenth century. My paper pursues this thesis by examining the widely disseminated, late sixteenth-century treatise on noh-the Hachijôkadensho. I examine why the editors of the Hachijôkadensho favored fiction to fact (and ignored Zeami in the process) in their effort to bring discursive closure to conflicts within contemporary noh.
Genroku Kabuki: Critics' Collusions and the Artistic Career of Sakata Tôjûrô
Laurence R. Kominz, Portland State University
Competition between leading kabuki actors in the Genroku age (1688-ca.1725) was perhaps more intense than at any other time in the history of kabuki. It was a time of ferment and innovation in which actors could not achieve wealth and fame merely by working in artistic styles of their forebearers. To be acclaimed a great actor, and to earn the huge salaries that were for the first time available to "stars," performers had to create new acting styles and role types.
Perhaps the most radical new acting style was what might be termed "pure acting." It was called i-kyôgen, meaning "seated acting." To audiences accustomed to dance, music, and martial histrionics, it might have seemed slow and dull, but in the hands of the renowned Sakata Tôjûrô, i-kyogen swept Kyoto and Osaka by storm. It took more than on-stage virtuosity for this actor to triumph. Leading critics of the day published actor evaluations that enthusiastically supported this new approach to kabuki. This paper shows how the printed word, in hyôbanki (actor evaluation books), influenced the audience's reception of a radical departure in kabuki acting style. It examines the dynamics of collaborations among playwrights, actors, and their critics and producers, in terms of the stake each had in the popularization of a radically new concept of what theatre could and should be.
Jockeying for Publishing Place: Contemporary Actors' Memoirs
Jonah Salz, Ryukoku University, Kyoto
Kyogen masters of the Nomura, Shigeyama, and Izumi families have published a dozen books in the past few decades. "Living Taro Kaja," "Eighty-five Years of Kyogen Acting," and '"This is Kyogen" follow long, established traditions of first-person accounts (geidan) of actors' upbringing, personal reflections on specific plays, and an acting philosophy.
At the same time, these books can be read as contentions for authority and power of particular family lines, competing against each other in the scholarly and artistic marketplace. The Nomuras, beginning with Manzo VI's brilliant The Way of Kyogen vaulted kyogen to the level of noh as a philosophically profound art. The Shigeyamas pride themselves on their "familiar," user-friendly style, and tout their outsider status (based in Kyoto) and anti-authoritarian experiments in other genres. Motohide Izumi sought to establish himself as arbiter for contemporary kyogen, and to firmly ensconce his two daughters and son in the professional world. This paper examines the publishing history and rhetorical style of these geidan as expressions of sibling rivalry, discourse on family status, and attempts to situate kyogen within Japanese and international theatrical worlds.