Events from the year 1703 in literature.
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The Encyclopædia Britannica has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Japanese dramatist". His most famous plays deal with double-suicides of honor bound lovers. Of his puppet plays, around 70 are jidaimono (時代物) and 24 are sewamono (世話物). The domestic plays are today considered the core of his artistic achievement, particularly works such as The Courier for Hell (1711) and The Love Suicides at Amijima (1721). His histories are viewed less positively, though The Battles of Coxinga (1715) remains praised.
Donald Lawrence Keene was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years. Soon after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he retired from Columbia, moved to Japan permanently, and acquired citizenship under the name Kīn Donarudo. This was also his poetic pen name and occasional nickname, spelled in the ateji form 鬼怒鳴門.
Masahiro Shinoda is a retired Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.
Shinjū (心中) is a Japanese term meaning "double suicide", used in common parlance to refer to any group suicide of two or more individuals bound by love, typically lovers, parents and children, and even whole families. A double suicide without consent is called muri-shinjū (無理心中) and it is considered as a sort of murder–suicide.
Meiko Kaji is a Japanese actress and singer. Since the 1960s, she has appeared in over 100 film and television roles, most prominently in the 1970s with her most famous roles as outlaw characters, best known for her performances in the film series Stray Cat Rock, Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion and Lady Snowblood. Kaji also performed as a singer, releasing records concurrently with her film career and beyond, even providing the official feature theme song tracks to a few of the films in which she also starred.
The Love Suicides at Amijima is a domestic play (sewamono) by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Originally written for the bunraku puppet theatre, it was adapted into kabuki shortly after its premiere on 3 January 1721. It is widely regarded as one of his greatest domestic plays and was hailed by Donald Keene as “Chikamatsu’s masterpiece”.
Double Suicide is a 1969 film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is based on the 1721 play The Love Suicides at Amijima by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. This play is often performed with puppets. In the film, the story is performed with live actors but makes use of Japanese theatrical traditions such as the kuroko who invisibly interact with the actors, and the set is non-realist. The kuroko prepare for a modern-day presentation of a puppet play while a voice-over, presumably the director, calls on the telephone to find a location for the penultimate scene of the lovers' suicide. Soon, human actors substitute for the puppets, and the action proceeds in a naturalistic fashion, until from time to time the kuroko intervene to accomplish scene shifts or heighten the dramatic intensity of the two lovers' resolve to be united in death.
The Battles of Coxinga is a puppet play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. It was his most popular play. First staged on November 26, 1715, in Osaka, it ran for the next 17 months, far longer than the usual few weeks or months. Its enduring popularity can largely be attributed to its effectiveness as entertainment. Its many scenes over more than seven years follow the adventures of Coxinga in restoring the rightful dynasty of China. It features effects uniquely suited for the puppet theater, such as the villain Ri Tōten gouging out an eye. Donald Keene suggests that the adventures in exotic China played well in isolationist Tokugawa Japan. While generally not considered as great in literary quality as some of Chikamatsu's domestic tragedies like The Love Suicides at Amijima, it is generally agreed to be his best historical play.
The Uprooted Pine is a play by Chikamatsu. It is a sewamono play like The Love Suicides at Sonezaki, written for the puppet theater. It was first performed on 1 February 1718.
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a jōruri play by the Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. The double suicides that occurred on May 22, 1703 inspired Chikamatsu to write this play and thus The Love Suicides at Sonezaki made its debut performance on June 20, 1703. Chikamatsu added new scenes in the 1717 revival including the villain's punishment. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki's reception was popular and helped springboard Chikamatsu's future success as a playwright. In the first year alone since the play's premirere, no less than seventeen couples committed double suicide. In fact, the bakufu banned Chikamatsu's shinjū plays in 1722 because of their content's popularity. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki was Chikamatsu's first "domestic tragedy" or "domestic play" (sewamono) and his first love-suicide play (shinjūmono). Until this play, the common topic for jōruri was jidaimono or "history plays" while kabuki performances showed domestic plays. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki separates into three scenes, staged over a day and a night. The two central characters are an orphaned oil clerk named Tokubei and Ohatsu, the courtesan he loves. There is a beginning scene that shows Ohatsu going on a pilgrimage that performances and translations often leave out. This play also includes a religious aspect involving Confucianism and Buddhism.
Wagoto (和事), or soft style, is a style of kabuki acting that emphasizes realistic speech and gestures. Wagoto actors typically do not employ the exaggerated makeup and costuming common to the more exaggerated aragoto (rough) style.
In Japan, suicide is considered a major social issue. In 2017, the country had the seventh highest suicide rate in the OECD, at 14.9 per 100,000 persons, and in 2019 the country had the second highest suicide rate among the G7 developed nations. However, on a global scale, Japan ranks lower on the suicide rate in 49th place, having a lower rate of suicides compared to some other developed nations.
Sakata Tōjūrō IV was a Japanese kabuki actor in the Kamigata style and was officially designated a Living National Treasure. Unlike most kabuki actors, he performed both male and female roles, and was renowned as both a skilled wagotoshi and onnagata. He was the fourth in the line of Sakata Tōjūrō, having revived the name after a lapse of over 230 years.
The Courier for Hell or Courier of Hell is a love-suicide play by the Japanese writer Chikamatsu Monzaemon, written in 1711. It follows a similar storyline to some of his other love-suicide plays, including The Love Suicides at Sonezaki and The Love Suicides at Amijima. The Courier for Hell was based on real events that took place in Osaka in 1710. It is one of the most celebrated of his domestic plays.
Donald Howard Shively was an American academic, historian, Japanologist, author and professor emeritus of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a leader of Japan studies in the United States.
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a 1978 Japanese historical romance film directed by Yasuzo Masumura starring Ryudo Uzaki and Meiko Kaji based on the Chikamatsu play of the same name.
Sonezaki Shinjū (曽根崎心中) may refer to:
The Love Suicides at Sonezaki is a 1981 near life-size Bunraku puppet film based on Chikamatsu's sewamono The Love Suicides at Sonezaki. Director Midori Kurisaki convinced Living National Treasure puppeteers Tamao Yoshida and Minosuke Yoshida to let her take their puppets outdoors for live action filming outside the traditional Bunraku theatre – the first time anyone had filmed such a performance in outdoor scenery.
A tamatebako (玉手箱) "jeweled hand box", "jewel box", "jeweled box", "treasure box", "casket", etc., is the name of a mysterious box that in the Japanese folk tale "Urashima Tarō", is a parting gift that the fisherman Urashima Tarō receives from mistress of the sea (Otohime), after his stay at the Dragon Palace, to which he was invited after saving a turtle.
