Unspeakable acts : the avant-garde theatre of Terayama Shūji and postwar Japan

Terayama Shûji (1935–1983) was one of postwar Japan’s most gifted and controversial playwrights/directors. Since his death more than twenty years ago, he has been transformed into a cult hero in Japan. Despite this notoriety, __Unspeakable Acts__ is the first book in any language to analyze the theater of Terayama in depth. It interrogates postwar Japanese culture and theater through the creative work of this unique yet emblematic artist. By situating Terayama in his historical milieu and by using tools derived from Japanese and Western theories of psychoanalysis, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, and aesthetics, Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei has woven a sophisticated and provocative study.

Hard Bargaining in Sumatra is an artfully written and penetrating examination of interactions between Western travelers and Toba Batak wood carvers in the souvenir marketplaces of Samosir Island, North Sumatra. Toba Batak carvings, ranging from simple human figures of wood to elaborately engraved water buffalo horns, are described in tourist guidebooks and by Toba Batak vendors alike as traditional and antique, despite many recent changes and inventions in form.

This pathbreaking work investigates how notions of place and self are constructed by the travelers and the Bataks in the context of ethnic tourism. The author proposes that these interactions be understood in light of Louis Marin's concept of utopics, suggesting that tourist venues such as hotels and marketplaces are neutral spaces where both locals and visitors can act out behaviors that would ordinarily be constrained by their respective cultures. Rich in ethnographic description and employing a lively narrative style, Hard Bargaining in Sumatra is essential reading for students and scholars with interests in anthropology, cultural studies, globalization and tourism research, art history, and identity studies.

Terayama Shûji (1935{u2013}1983) was one of postwar Japan{u2019}s most gifted and controversial playwrights/directors. Since his death more than twenty years ago, he has been transformed into a cult hero in Japan. Despite this notoriety, Unspeakable Acts is the first book in any language to analyze the theater of Terayama in depth. It interrogates postwar Japanese culture and theater through the creative work of this unique yet emblematic artist. By situating Terayama in his historical milieu and by using tools derived from Japanese and Western theories of psychoanalysis, anthropology, sociology, gender studies, and aesthetics, Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei has woven a sophisticated and provocative study Contents Acknowledgments Notes on Japanese Usage Introduction Part 1. Performing Terayama Terayama Performing 1. Cultural Outlaw in a Time of Chaos 2. Masks and Mothers 3. Outcasts and Aliens 4. Tombstones Carved Only of Words Part 2. Translations The Hunchback of Aomori La Marie-Vision (translated by Don Kenny) Heretics Excerpts from The Labyrinth and the Dead Sea: My Theatre Works Cited and Selected Bibliography Index to Part 1 Index to Excerpts from: The Labyrinth and the Dead Sea About the Author