Leiden University Student Repository

Groot, Kirsten (2019)

The Love Suicide at Amijima as a Performance: the construction of Chikamatsu’s characters.

Bachelor thesis | Japanstudies (BA)

This thesis looks at Chikamatsu Monzaemon's domestic puppet play "The Love Suicide at Amijima" as a multi-level performance. It revisits the textual interpretations of Donald H. Shively and Donald Keene, and the musical interpretation of Andrew Gerstle, while adding a study of visual elements for a full interpretation. It argues that textual elements alone do not lead to an adequate interpretation. Furthermore, it argues that Chikamatsu's stylized representation of reality, as opposed to a naturalistic one, does not impact the quality negatively, as is suggested by Shively.

bunraku

premodern japan

chikamatsu monzaemon

representation

interpretation

puppet theater

domestic plays

Author

Groot, Kirsten

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Media, Arts, Culture & History

Supervisors

Müller, Doreen

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en