Week 4 reading questions

Here are some questions to think about as you read the play.

1. How do the poetic devices shape the atmosphere of the narrative, especially the climactic "final journey" scene?

2. Why does Chikamatsu include so many allusions to classical poetry?

3. What about all his references to contemporary entertainment, especially his own plays?

4. Do all the fragments of the narration seem unified to you?

5. Given that there is no suspense (audiences already knew how the play would end), what is the function of the recitation of events leading to the suicide? What maintains the interest of the audience/reader?

6. Along with Saikaku, Chikamatsu epitomized the so-called realism of Edo-period entertainment. What are the realistic elements of this play? Can we dub a theatrical form that relies on puppets as realistic? Can we describe a narrative rife with so many literary and poetic elements as a medium for conveying realistic action?

7. What does the play imply about Edo-period gender roles. How are women and men represented? How does its representation of gender differ from what we saw in Saikaku?

8. Does Jihei and Koharu's relationship correspond to our notion of romantic love? Does ninjô (human emotion) equal love? How are emotional bonds between men and women portrayed? Are they presented as something different from the emotional bonds between parent and child, siblings, etc.?

9. How would you compare the representation of Jihei and Koharu's bond to the representation of Jihei's bond with Osan?

10. Is giri (obligation) only portrayed negatively?

11. Does the play ultimately come down on the side of giri or ninjô? Or does it offer a more complicated depiction of the interplay of these two principles?

12. What role does social class play in the drama? How in particular are chônin (urban commoners) portrayed? Does the play idealize them?

13. Does iro (desire) figure in the drama?

14. Does death replace sex as the climax of the play?

15. Are the religious allusions compelling? Were you convinced that there was a sincere spiritual component to the suicide? Is that the point?

16. How is the climactic suicide portrayed: romantic gesture, unnecessary tragedy, courageous act, or fated outcome?

17. How does Jihei and Koharu's suicide compare with the representation of violent acts depicted in the Great Mirror of Male Love?

And here are a few more questions to think about after you have watched the DVD in class on Tuesday.

18. What is the visual impact of the puppets? How does the use of puppets, as compared to live actors, affect your response to the material, especially the climactic suicide?

19. As you will note when you see the clip, one narrator recites all the elements of the script (dialogue, narrative description, stage directions, etc.). What is the effect of this convention?

20. Most premodern Japanese drama is musical. What is the impact of the musical elements, particularly the musical interludes when there is no recitation?

21. How does the performance cater to the expectations of the audience? Can you guess why this particular theatrical form would appeal so strongly to Edo-period audiences?