Kabuki: Five Classic Plays

Published by University of Hawaii Press 1992

Kabuki

Five Classic Plays

Translated by: James R. Brandon

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824842833

Overview
Contents

About this book

While its actors made their entrace down the Flower Way over three hundred years ago, little of kabuki's repertory has been available to English readers. Not only are adequate translations difficult to produce, but also because the spoken parts of the drama constitute but a portion of that grand spectacle, English renderings often have an elliptical quality.These five plays, however, were translated from tapes made by James Brandon at actual performances, imparting to them an unusual immediacy. The superb translations are further enhanced by detailed commentary and stage directions that reflect music and sound effects as well as positions of actors on stage and their stylized gestures and posturing, all of which are such a vital part of a live performance.

A concise introduction includes the history of kabuki, its religious background and ties with prostitution, its themes and playwriting systems, and its performance conventions, actors, music, and dance. Appendixes provide a fascinating focus on various sound effects and music cues in performance. More than one hundred production photographs vividly convey the action and emotion of one of the world's greatest stage arts. First published in 1975, this volume remains a classic.A reprint to the 1975 edition. Accepted into the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, Japanese Series.

Author / Editor information

Brandon James R. :

James R. Brandon is emeritus professor of Asian theatre at the University of Hawai‘i.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Illustration Credits Publicly Available Download PDF	VIII
Preface to the Paperback Edition Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	XIII
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Sukeroku: Flower of Edo SUKEROKU YUKARI NO EDO ZAKURA Tsuuchi Jihei Ii and Tsuuchi Hanemon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Saint Narukami and the God Fudō NARUKAMI FUDŌ KITAYAMA ZAKURA Tsuuchi Hanjurō, Yasuda Abun and Nakada Mansuke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani ICHINOTANI FUTABA GUNKI Sōsuke Namiki, Namiki Sōhzō I, Geiji Namiki and Asada Itcho Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Love Letter from the Licensed Quarter KURUWA BUNSHÒ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
The Scarlet Princess of Edo SAKURA HIME AZUMA BUNSHŌ Tsuruya Namboku Iv, Sakurada Jisuke Ii and Tsuuchi Genshichi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Appendix A Sound Effects: Ki patterns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	351
Appendix B Sound Effects: Tsuke patterns Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	354
Appendix C Geza Music Cues Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	357
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
Selective Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	371
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	375

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 392

eBook

Published: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 9780824842833