1/23/2020 (2) (DOC) Japanese theatre | Risha Mae Dumolong - Academia.

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Japanese theatre
Risha Mae Dumol…

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Japanese theatre
Noh - it is considered the most important Japanese contribution to world theatre.

Sakura - one of the popular traditional songs of Japan. Translated as Cherry Blossoms in English, it is
traditional song that produces distinct characteristics used in Asian style making melodies also known as
pentatonic scale.
Ipponchoshi – the continuous pattern, used in speeches building up to an explosive climax in the
aragoto style.
Nori – technique adapted from the chanting, it implies a very sensitive capacity of riding the rhythms of
the shamisen
Shamisen- string instrument
Shamisen With Plectrum
The shamisen, a Japanese flat-backed, long-necked lute, is a descendant of the Chinese san-hsien, which

existed as early as the 13th century. The shamisen has a catskin belly and back, and three strings that
are struck with a bachi (a bone plectrum, pictured). The shamisen is a traditional instrument in Kabuki
theater.
KABUKI STORIES
The stories told in kabuki plays fall into two main categories: jidaimono (historic drama) and sewamono
(domestic drama). Jidaimono deal primarily with the nobility and revolve around such themes as heroic
acts, sacrifice, honor, and loyalty. The outstanding jidaimono drama is Kanadehon Chūshingura (The
Treasury of Loyal Retainers, 1748). Its subject is the long-drawn-out revenge finally accomplished by 47
rōnin (warriors who lack a master). Their master, a feudal lord who had been insulted by another lord
and disgraced at court, has been compelled to commit suicide. After many vicissitudes (changes in

fortune), themartyrs
them heroic 47 rōnintosucceed in killing
the supreme their master’s
samurai virtue of enemy.
loyalty. Their own was
This story masselaborated
suicide in 1703 made
into an 11-act
extravaganza that lasts all day long.
CHINESE THEATER
Music theater has been the focal point of Chinese musical life since the 13th century. Its highest
expression is Chinese opera, which has been performed for ritual and ceremonial functions and for
secular entertainment, in both urban and rural areas, and enjoyed by both the elite groups and
commoners. Zaju, the first fully developed form of Chinese opera, emerged during the Yuan dynasty
(1279-1368). Kunqu (Kun opera), the most influential and most highly esteemed Chinese classical
theater, flourished and underwent much stylistic development during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Peking operaunder
(1644-1911) (jingxi),
thethe best-known
imperial Chinese
patronage. opera
Since thegenre, wascentury
mid-20th developed during
it has beenthe Qing dynasty
considered China’s
national opera.
Peking opera is the best-known genre of Chinese dance-drama. Developed in the mid-19th century from
earlier varieties of Chinese opera, it includes spectacular acrobatics as an important part of the action.
In ancient times, Chinese musical instruments were classified according to the materials used in their
construction: metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, clay, skin, and wood. The older instruments include long
zithers (qin, zheng, se), straight-necked lutes (ruan, qin pipa, sanxian), flutes (dizi), panpipes (paixiao),
mouth organs (sheng), and percussion instruments such as bells (zhong), chimes (qin), clappers (ban),
drums (gu), and gongs (luo). Of later origin are various fiddles (erhu, jinghu, gaohu, banhu), bent-necked
lutes (pipa) hammered dulcimers (yangqin) reed pipes (bili) and shawms (suona) most of which
https://www.academia.edu/35799447/Japanese_theatre 1/2
1/23/2020 (2) (DOC) Japanese theatre | Risha Mae Dumolong - Academia.edu
lutes (pipa), hammered dulcimers (yangqin), reed pipes (bili), and shawms (suona), most of which
resulted from cultural contacts with Central Asia and India.
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https://www.academia.edu/35799447/Japanese_theatre 2/2