Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees: A Masterpiece of the Eighteenth Century Japanese Puppet Theater

by Stanleigh H. Jones Jr. (Editor)

Overview

This book carefully translates a seminal work of Japanese puppet theater, written in 1747, during the the genre's golden age. The editor includes background information on the play and a bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231515023
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2010
Series:	Translations from the Asian Classics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	286
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Stanleigh H. Jones Jr. is professor emeritus of Japanese at Pomona College. He studied Japanese at International Christian University in Tokyo and completed his Ph.D in Japanese literature at Columbia University. He is also the editor and translator of Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy and the author of The Bunraku Puppet Theatre of Japan: Honor, Vengeance, and Love in Four Plays of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees
Dramatis Personae
Prologue
Act One
Scene 1. The Imperial Palace
Scene 2. The Hermitage at North Saga Village
Scene 3. The Horikawa Mansion
Scene 4. Kawagoe Taro Comes as Envoy
Act Two
Scene 1. Before the Fushimi Inari Shrine
Scene 2. The Tokaiya
Act Three
Scene 1. The Pasania Tree
Scene 2. The Death of Kokingo
Scene 3. The Sushi Shop
Act Four
Scene 1. Michiyuki: The Journey with the Drum
Scene 2. The Zao Hall
Scene 3. The Conference at the Zao Hall
Scene 4. The Mansion of Kawatsura Hogen
Scene 5. The Fox
Act Five
Scene 1. In the Mountains of Yoshino
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A good translation of this magnificent play.

Monumenta Nipponica

Thoroughly researched and elegantly written... an excellent text for inclusion in a survey course of Japanese theatre.

Asian Theatre Journal

A translation of one of the three classics of Japanese puppet theatre, first performed in an Osaka playhouse in 1747, and banned in 1945 during the US military occupation as undemocratic and feudalistic. It is one of the few puppet plays still performed in Japan. Includes a few photographs from performances, and an introduction explaining the play's origin and history. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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