A Dramaturg in Japan
Osaka and its Theatre(s): Bunraku
Leave a Comment
So, first off, I’ve been receiving a lot of nice comments about this blog since I’ve started! Granted, the feedback has mostly been from supportive friends and no one that I don’t know personally but still, I want to say thank-you for the positive compliments on starting this blog. As a friend Sarah called it, apparently some of you find this “legitimately interesting” so I’ll continue to update, even when I should be doing other final assignments as this semester in school wraps up–most of the work I have left to do is for my independent study in dramaturgy. What irony!
So, on with the entry.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet that Dave and I have tenatively picked out the city in which we will teach English, called Osaka. More stats on the city later, but suffice it to say that it is second only to Tokyo in population, and not far away from the fair capital at that.
To be more specific.
I did some (very) minor research on the city’s theatres, and I found a few seemingly good large ones. I plan on doing a bunch of entries on the theatre available in Osaka, and I’m going to start with Bunraku theatre, since it was the only type of theatre I hadn’t heard of before.
The National Bunraku Theatre is conveniently located right in Osaka, and it dates back to 1684, being the first facility to host this form of theatre.
Simply put, Bunraku theatre is a form of puppet theatre. As I said, it dates back to the late 1600s but it went out of style for a while. It was revived by a man named Bunrakuza in the late 19th century, and thus the form of puppetry is named after him. Nowadays the Japanese will refer generally to any type of puppetry as Banraku, but it’s actually meant for the puppetry specifically in Osaka. Puppet troupes in Japan outside of Osaka will refer to their type of puppetry with other names.
The puppets can be small (think: two feet) or bigger (think: four feet and up) and usually take three people to manipulate. The person who works the feet is the lowest ranking puppeteer, followed by the person working the left hand, followed by the person bringing the head and face to life. In respective order, these are the ashizukai, the sashizukai, and the omozukai. To get to be an omozukai, it can take thirty years of training.
I think the puppets themselves are just beautiful:
What does the guy on the left have on his feet?
I love the script in her hands
I plan on updating this post during this week with more information; right now I have to run off. For now, here are some interesting links if you feel so inclined.
Here is the link to Japan’s National Theatre website. I’ve set it to go directly to their section of Bunraku. And to get a dose of your local puppetry theatre (local at least if you’re in Maritime Canada like me), here‘s the website for Mermaid Theatre, which might I add has done some private performances for the emperor of Japan and his family.
Thanks for reading! Shameless self-promotion: Don’t forget to bookmark me or subscribe. Cuz you know you want to.
The Dramaturg
Leave a Comment
As promised, in this entry, I will shed a little bit of light on this enigmatic position in the theatre–the dramaturg. I feel somewhat qualified to answer, as I have been a dramaturg thrice in the Acadia Theatre Company (ATC), and right now I’m taking an independent study (what a bizzare/great concept; I’m the only one in the class) on the topic. But before I begin, I’ll put down some reccommended reading if you’re really that interested:
- Dramaturgy & Performance by Cathy Turner & Synne K. Behrndt, co. 2008 by Palgrave MacMillan
- Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre by Mary Luckhurst, co. 2006 by Cambridge University Press
- Any good books on Brecht (though some authors don’t include his contribution to dramaturgy, which is unthinkable)
- Any good books on Lessing
As per usual, I find it necessary to note that this is meant to be an informative yet informal discussion of dramaturgy. I am not an expert, but anything I write here is either a) from a book or creditable website, b) from a relevant professor, or c) my own deductions and criticisms on the information I gathered from a) or b).
So now, no more preambling. I’m going to put this under a cut, so click the link below if you want to read more. This could be a doozy.
The Language
2 Comments
(Please ignore the fact that this is my second entry in the same day. I tend to get excited when I start new blogs and then slowly lose interest later.)
All told, I don’t know much about the Japanese language. I know “Arigatou Mister Roboto,” plus your other standards… ninja, samurai, kimono, sayonara, and from some film I watched as a little kid that greatly stereotyped the Japanese, I know that “hai” means “yes.”
I’m going to take this moment to put in an unsolicited ad for the program I’m using to learn some basic Japanese. It’s for the DS, so if you don’t have that, I’m afraid you’re out of luck.
hey, I wasn't the one who put in the profile names
It’s called “My Japanese Coach,” and while of course it was acquired via my handy-dandy R4 chip, it’s been quite useful. It only teaches vocab (so far) so it’s probably limited in practical application, but greatly appreciated for my purposes. It also allows you to practice speaking the words and comparing your pronunciation, plus you can try writing it out in actual Japanese script. As you can imagine, I’m quite awful.
I’m only on lesson number three or something, which is numbers. Look at me, I can count to ten: ichi, ni, san, yon, go, rotu, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu! And I swear I did that without looking.
I don’t know any of my friends who have an immediate desire to learn Japanese, but you’ll find that there are several language coaches available for the DS, so if you want to learn French, Spanish, or German instead, you’re in luck.
The Plan
2 Comments
At this point, the title in my blog is misleading. I am not an official dramaturg, nor am I in Japan. Rather than accuse me of being an imposter, I shall explain myself.
Both of these things–being a dramaturg and being in Japan–I hope to be in the future. For now, wishful thinking will have to suffice. However, since I am a woman of action (and as this blog will prove, many words as well), I will be making steps to accomplish this: my name is Amelia, and my boyfriend Dave and I plan to travel to Japan sometime in the fall of 2010. I’m thinking way too far ahead, I know. We hope to find jobs teaching English. This won’t be too difficult for him as he’s already taught in South Korea in previous years, but it will be a new adventure for me.
However, I am currently finishing my Theatre Studies undergrad at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, and my work and studies here have made me inclined to the field of dramaturgy. (What is a dramaturg, and what is dramaturgy, you ask? Given the title of this blog, I would imagine you didn’t read this far unless you had some inkling of what it was, but just in case you were just the curious type, I’ll indulge in a later entry. Bear with me.) Since the plans to travel to Japan somewhat hinder accomplishing something concrete in the way of dramaturgy, be it an MA or an internship, I decided I would take this opportunity to dub myself a freelance dramaturg. If all goes to plan, I will be throwing myself into the world of Japanese theatre, both modern and traditional.
During my free time (ha!) before I leave for Japan, I will be researching to know what to expect. The blog entries will consist of info on modern Japanese theatre, Kabuki, and Noh, and whatever else I can get my hands on. Perhaps there will be a few tangent entries as well, but all relating to dramaturgy at least, I can assure.
Once I am there, I plan to write at least once a week, updating on what I find. This way I can keep myself committed to dramaturgy–at least informally–until I return. Dave and I also plan on doing some travelling to other countries in Asia, like India and South Korea, so I’ll do what I can in those countries as well.
Clearly, I am far too excited to go. But this will be good, yes?
If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for being interested in my soon-to-be-travels, and please do continue to follow my blog if you feel so inclined. Dramaturgy is a theatrical field that is even misunderstood within the world of theatre, and this is just my contribution to help it be better understood.
Sayonara for now!
me!
A Dramaturg in Japan 