A Review of the Major Plays of Chikamatsu

A detailed Summary of A Review of the Major Plays of Chikamatsu

Chikamatsu Monzaemon was born in Echizen, Japan in 1653 with the name of "Sugimore Nobumori" and was to become perhaps the greatest dramatist in the history of the Japanese theater. Most of his early history is unknown. His father, a samurai, gave up his feudal responsibilities in the late 1660s and moved the family to Kyoto. As a teenager Chikamatsu may have been introduced to the theater while serving in a nobleman's house. He probably met an actor of joruri or Puppet Theater.

Chikamatsu is often compared to Shakespeare. Although there are many differences in their writings, like Shakespeare, Chikamatsu has become known as a great playwright of the distant past. A major difference in their writings is that Shakespeare's dramas revolve around nobles and important people in his society. Chikamatsu writes about the common people of his era and recent history. The author, Donald Keene, says that another big difference in their writing is that Chikamatsu mainly wrote for the puppet theater. The fantastic feats that his characters carry out are more believable when acted out by puppets rather than live actors like Shakespeare's. "The special demands of this theater obliged Chikamatsu to conce

Scene two starts in the evening of the same day and Ohatsu is back at Temma House where she works. Still upset at what has happened, she goes outside after seeing Tokubei. They cry and he tells her that the only option left for him is suicide. Tokubei hides under the porch that they were sitting on. Kuheiji and his friends arrive. Kuheiji continues to say openly that Tokubei is wrong. Ohatsu says she knows he is innocent. Then she asks herself aloud if Tokubei is determined to die. Hidden from the others, he answers by drawing her foot across his neck. Kuheiji says that if Tokubei kills himself he will take care of Ohatsu. She called him a thief and a liar. She says she is sure that Tokubei intends to die with her as she does with him. Overwhelmed by her love, Tokubei responds by touching her foot to his forehead.

ive his plays in a manner which sometimes weakens their literary value: spectacular scenes of mayhem or superhuman feats may be intensely exciting when seen in a puppet performance, but when read as one reads a Western play they often seem absurdly exaggerated." (1)

Gonza is to perform the tea ceremony on behalf of Ichinoshin, a noble who is in Edo. He asks to see the family tea scrolls. Family members are normally the only people allowed to read the tea scrolls. Ichinoshin's wife, Osai, agrees on the condition that Gonza agrees to marry her 15-year old daughter. Gonza agrees to the marriage even though he is engaged to another woman.

This play by Chikamatsu was the first of the new type of domestic drama plays centering on the conflicts between human emotions and the severe restrictions and obligations of Japanese society. The great success of this play led to many more dramas on the tragic love affairs of merchants and courtesans.

These plays attracted a lot of common people when they were first written. They tended to lose their appeal to the masses, as the events depicted were not so recent. After his death in 1725, several developments in joruri, including the introduction of the three-puppeteer puppet, caused Chikamatsu's plays to be largely ignored. The majority of his plays are now partially lost, mostly surviving only when adopted in part by others. Almost all of the music for his plays has been lost. Some of the history plays remain popular and are still presented on the stage, though often as kabuki rather than joruri.

At the beginning of the second act Osan plays with her children while Jihei pretends to sleep. Magoemon arrives and informs Osan of a rumor that Jihei will ransom Koharu. This will free Koharu from the contract of prostitution. Jihei denies the rumor and Magoemon leaves. Jihei sobs underneath his blanket and tries to lie to Osan again. Osan is not fooled and confesses that she has written a letter to Koharu. She tells Jihei that she has scraped together one hundred and fifty gold coins by selling her best kimono and the children's winter clothes to ransom Koharu. Gozaemon, Osan's father, arrives and puts a sto

Some common words found in the essay are:
Donald Keene, Yari Gonza, Takemotoza Theater, Tahei Magoemon, Temma House, Sonezaki Shinju, Chikamatsu Chikamatsu's, Osan Jihei, Sugimore Nobumori, Osaka Ohatsu, love suicides, puppet theater, tea ceremony, 1705 chikamatsu, shinju ten amijima, soy sauce, scene tokubei, common people, japanese society, ransom koharu, tea scrolls,

Approximate Word count = 2030
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels