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Styles and Structures Project Notes

This document summarizes three Japanese history-based plays that originated from puppet theater and were later adapted to kabuki style: Kanadehon Chūshingura, Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura, and Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. It provides background information on the historical events that inspired each play, including the revenge of 47 ronin after their lord's forced suicide, the defeat of the Taira clan by Minamoto Yoshitsune, and the false accusations and exile of court noble Sugawara no Michizane.

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Becky Skolnick
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46 views1 page

Styles and Structures Project Notes

This document summarizes three Japanese history-based plays that originated from puppet theater and were later adapted to kabuki style: Kanadehon Chūshingura, Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura, and Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami. It provides background information on the historical events that inspired each play, including the revenge of 47 ronin after their lord's forced suicide, the defeat of the Taira clan by Minamoto Yoshitsune, and the false accusations and exile of court noble Sugawara no Michizane.

Uploaded by

Becky Skolnick
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Styles and Structures Project Notes: All three are history-based plays that started in the

traditional puppet style theater before being adapted to the kabuki style

● Kanadehon Chūshingura:
○ The most popular revenge-loyalty story in Japan
○ Is based upon events that occurred at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
○ The summary/history behind it: In 1701 lord Asano Naganori was placed in
charge of ceremonial duties at the shogun’s castle in Edo (present-day Tokyo). He
sought instruction from the master of ceremonial duties, Kira Yoshinaka, but did
not offer Kira the normal bribe he was used to receiving. Kira humiliated Asano
so much that Asano drew his sword and wounded Kira. Although it was not a
large wound, the penalty for drawing a sword in the shogun’s castle was: suicide
for the offending lord, confiscation of property, and dispersal of retainers Asano’s
retainers decide to avenge their master’s death and adopted a strategy that
culminated in a raid on Kira’s mansion eighteen months later. They decapitated
Kira and then paraded through the streets of Edo to the grave of their master at
Sengakuji Temple where they placed the severed head on Asano’s grave. The
shogun could not permit the retainers to go unpunished because the vengeance
represented a choice between loyalty to a vassal lord versus that to the supreme
ruler, the shogun. The retainers were ordered to commit suicide and complied.
● Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura:
○ The play is derived from the Sekai of the Heike Monogatari, a classical epic that
chronicles the rise and fall of the samurai clan Taira. It eventually describes the
defeat of the Taira in the Genpei War at the hands of the Minamoto clan led by
Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the title character of the play.
● Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami :
○ The play is set in the 9th century and is based on the life of Heian period court
noble and government official Sugawara no Michizane (referred to as Kan Shōjō
in the play), who was exiled to Kyūshū when he lost favor at court and was
falsely accused of conspiring to seize the throne.
■ Some characters were added for dramatic elements that did not exist
historically in the story

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