Japanese Folk Plays: The Ink Smeared Lady and Other Kyogen : The Ink Smeared Lady and Other Kyogen

Interspersed between the stately, slower-paced dance dramas of Japan's Noh theater are the delightful comic plays or interludes known as Kyogen. These brief plays evolved from the bawdy skits that were rousingly enjoyed by theplebeian populaces of the cities in feudal Japan some hundreds of years ago when Noh itself was a pastime and entertainment exclusively reserved for the aristocracy. Today they still provide delightful relieffrom the sustained andconcentrated action of the Noh play that has changed very little throughout the centuries. Among the various forms of classical Japanese drama.;Preface; Note to the New Edition; Contents; Plan of the Sarugaku Stage; Key to the Plan of the Modern Kyogen Stage; Introduction; Introductory; Origin of Kyogen; History and Vicissitudes; Problems of Authorship and Texts; Sources; Aesthetic Value of the Kyogen; KYOGEN, The Comic Interludes of Japan; The Ink-Smeared Lady; The Ribs and the Cover; Buaku; A Bag of Tangerines; The Fox Mound; The Letter "I"; The Magic Mallet of the Devil; Gargoyle; THe Bird-Catcher in Hades; The Melon Thief; Mr. Dumbtaro; Busu; Liberate Highwaymen; The Deva King; An Unfair Exchange; Seed of Hojo; Pop! Click! '...It is to be hoped that the reappearance of this modest collection written as it is an amusing fashion will stimulate research and translation in kyogen literature.' --E.M. Copeland, University of Minnesota Interspersed between the stately, slower paced dramas of Japan's Noh theatre are the delightful comic plays or interludes known as Kyogen. These brief plays evolved from the bawdy skits that were rousingly enjoyed by the plebeian populaces of the cities in feudal Japan some hundreds of years ago when Noh itself was a pastime and entertainment exclusively reserved for the aristocracy. Today they still provide delightful relief from the sustained and concentrated action of the Noh play that has changed very little throughout the centuries. Among the various forms of classical Japanese drama, the flamboyant action and brilliant coloring Kabuki has perhaps enabled it to be the most easily understood; and the Noh, in a number of excellent translations, has become widely known for its poetic beauty. But the Kyogen, equally deserving of attention, have remained relatively unknown. Only now, with this new edition of Miss Sakanishi's excellent translations, are they at last readily available to the Western reader This collection of Japanese folk plays reveals a previously unknown and decidedly unaristocratic element to Japanese theater.

Interspersed between the stately, slower paced dramas of Japan’s Noh theater are the delightful comic plays or interludes known as Kyogen. These brief plays evolved from the bawdy skits that were rousingly enjoyed by the plebeian populaces of the cities in feudal Japan some hundreds of years ago when Noh itself was a pastime and entertainment exclusively reserved for the aristocracy.

Today they still provide delightful relief from the sustained and concentrated action of the Noh play that has changed very little throughout the centuries. Among the various forms of classical Japanese drama, the flamboyant action and brilliant coloring Kabuki has perhaps enabled it to be the most easily understood; and the Noh, in a number of excellent translations, has become widely known for its poetic beauty. But the Kyogen, equally deserving of attention, have remained relatively unknown. Only now, with this new edition of Miss Sakanishi's excellent translations, are they at last readily available to the Western reader.
This collection of Japanese folk plays reveals a previously unknown and decidedly unaristocratic element to Japanese theater. Interspersed between the stately, slower paced dramas of Japan's Noh theater are the delightful comic plays or interludes known as Kyogen. These brief plays evolved from the bawdy skits that were rousingly enjoyed by the plebeian populaces of the cities in feudal Japan some hundreds of years ago when Noh itself was a pastime and entertainment exclusively reserved for the aristocracy. Today they still provide delightful relief from the sustained and concentrated action of the Noh play that has changed very little throughout the centuries. Among the various forms of classical Japanese drama, the flamboyant action and brilliant coloring Kabuki has perhaps enabled it to be the most easily understood; and the Noh, in a number of excellent translations, has become widely known for its poetic beauty. But the Kyogen, equally deserving of attention, have remained relatively unknown. Only now, with this new edition of Miss Sakanishi's excellent translations, are they at last readily available to the Western reader. Preface Note to the New Edition Contents Plan of the Sarugaku Stage Key to the Plan of the Modern Kyogen Stage Introduction Introductory Origin of Kyogen History and Vicissitudes Problems of Authorship and Texts Sources Aesthetic Value of the Kyogen KYOGEN, The Comic Interludes of Japan The Ink-Smeared Lady The Ribs and the Cover Buaku A Bag of Tangerines The Fox Mound The Letter "I" The Magic Mallet of the Devil Gargoyle THe Bird-Catcher in Hades The Melon Thief Mr. Dumbtaro Busu Liberate Highwaymen The Deva King An Unfair Exchange Seed of Hojo Pop! Click! The Aunt's SakeThe Bag of Parting The Wounded Highwayman The Family Quarrel Thunder God Bibliography A list of Translations of Kyogen.