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Shinjū
''Shinjū'' (心中, the characters for "mind" and "centre") means "double suicide" in Japanese, as in '' Shinjū Ten no Amijima'' (''The Love Suicides at Amijima''), written by the seventeenth-century tragedian Chikamatsu Monzaemon for the ''bunraku'' puppet theatre. In common parlance ''shinjū'' is used to refer to any group suicide of people (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. In Japanese theatre and literary tradition, double suicides are the simultaneous suicides of two lovers whose ''ninjo,'' (personal feelings) or love for one another are at odds with ''giri'', social conventions or familial obligations. Double suicides were rather common in Japan throughout history and double suicide is an important theme of the puppet theatre repertory. The tragic denouement is usually know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laura Joh Rowland
Laura Joh Rowland is an American detective/mystery author best known for her series of historical mystery novels featuring protagonist set in feudal Japan, mostly in Edo during the late 17th century. She is also the author of two other historical mystery series, one featuring a fictionalized Charlotte Brontë, as well an ongoing series set in Victorian England around the time of the Jack the Ripper murders. Rowland is the daughter of Chinese American and Korean American immigrants. She grew up in Michigan and was educated at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology and a Masters in Public health. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana until Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed her house, but now lives in New York City.Sleeve note bio on audiobook of ''The Incense Game'', Dreamscape Media, 2012 Sano Ichirō The novels deal with the experiences of Sano Ichirō, a samurai and minor official who, by the end of the first novel, became the trusted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' (stagehands dressed entirely in black) 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 stylized sets and the period costumes and props simultaneously convey a classical theatricality and contemporaneous moderni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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) (historical romances) and 24 are ''sewamono'' (世話物) (domestic tragedies). 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. Biography Chikamatsu was born Sugimori Nobumori. to a samurai family. There is disagreement about his birthplace. The most popular theory. suggests he was born in Echizen Province, but there are other plausible locations, including Hagi, Nagato Provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Love Suicides At Amijima
''The Love Suicides at Amijima'' (''Shinjū Ten no Amijima'' or ''Shinjūten no Amijima'' 心中天網島) 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”. Adaptations The Japanese new wave filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda directed a stylized adaptation of the story as ''Double Suicide'' in 1969. Milwaukee, WI-based Dale Gutzman (book, lyrics) and Todd Wellman (score) debuted the musical adaption ''AmijimA'' in 2007. Listen to thWUWM interviewwith the creative team. The Australian National University's Za Kabuki performed a version of the play in 2005, directed by Mr. Shun Ikeda. References * pg 170–208 of ''Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu'' * Chikamatsu Monzaemon, ''The Love Suicides at Amijima'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Love Suicides At Sonezaki (1978 Film)
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. Plot The plot follows closely the original play. Tokubei (Ryudo Uzaki) works as a soy-sauce maker. He falls in love with indentured prostitute O-Hatsu (Meiko Kaji). After O-Hatsu's indenture is bought by a wealthy patron, they plan to commit suicide. Cast * Ryudo Uzaki - Tokubei * Meiko Kaji - O-Hatsu * Hisashi Igawa - Kyuemon * Sachiko Hidari - O-Sai * Isao Hashimoto - Kuheiji * Gen Kimura - Kichibei Production Masumura's treatment of the play is quite literal, and was considered by some (McDonald, 1994) the most faithful screen adaptation of any of Chikamatsu's plays second only to Kurisaki's puppet version two years later. Masumura's casting of Uzaki, a rock star, and Kaji, a young idol, signaled an energetic approach to the story, though the film was restrained by Masumura's standards and did not contain the element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinjū (novel)
''Shinjū'' (1994) is the title of the debut novel by American writer Laura Joh Rowland, a historical mystery set in 1689 ''Genroku-''era Japan. It is the first in Rowland's Sano Ichirō series. The plot follow Sano, a ''yoriki'' (a lower-ranking police officer) as he investigates a double murder disguised as a lovers' suicide, and in the process, uncovers a plot to assassinate ''Shōgun'' Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr .... References Historical mystery novels 1994 novels Fiction set in 1689 Novels set in Japan Novels set in the 17th century 1994 debut novels Japan in non-Japanese culture {{1990s-hist-novel-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder–suicide
A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual murder, kills one or more persons either before or while suicide, killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Murder linked with suicide of a person with a homicidal ideation * Murder which entails suicide, such as Suicide attack, suicide bombing or the deliberate crash of a vehicle carrying the perpetrator and others * Murder of an officer or bystander during the act of suicide by cop * Suicide after murder to escape criminal punishment(s) * Suicide after murder as a form of self-punishment due to guilt * Suicide before or after Proxy murder, murder by proxy * Suicide after or during murder inflicted by others * Murder to receive a Capital punishment, death sentence willfully * Suicide pact, Joint suicide in the form of murder, killing the other with consent, and then suicide, killing oneself Suicide-lawful killing has three conceivable forms: * To kill one's assailant through Right_of_self ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yanaka Five-storied Pagoda Double-suicide Arson Case
The was a dramatic case of arson in 1957 of a five-storied wooden pagoda in Yanaka Cemetery, Taitō, Tokyo. The pagoda was set on fire by two lovers who committed suicide together – their bodies were found in the remains of the structure. Five-storied pagoda Originally part of the Buddhist temple Tennō-ji, the five-storied pagoda was built in 1644. It burned down in 1771 and was rebuilt some 20 years later in 1791. This last version, built of Japanese zelkova wood was, at almost 35 meters, the tallest of its kind in the Kantō area. In 1908, the five-storied pagoda was donated by Tennō-ji to the city of Tokyo and became the model for Kōda Rohan's novel ''The Five-Storied Pagoda''. It was a famous city landmark and the very symbol of Yanaka Cemetery, but it was completely destroyed by fire at around 3 o'clock in the morning on July 6, 1957. Arson case The pagoda burned to the ground on July 6, 1957. Next to the middle pillar of the pagoda, among the ruins, were fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suicide Pact
A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed. General considerations Suicide pacts are an important concept in the study of suicide, and have occurred throughout history, as well as in fiction. An example of this is the suicide pact between Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and Baroness Mary Vetsera. Suicide pacts are sometimes contrasted with mass suicides, understood as incidents in which a larger number of people kill themselves together for the same ideological reason, often within a religious, political, military or paramilitary context. "Suicide pact" tends to connote small groups and non-ideological motivations, as do bonding as married or romantic partners, as family members or friends, or even as criminal partners. Legal aspects In England and Wales, suicide pact is a partial defense, under section 4 of the Homicide Act 1957, which reduces murder to manslaughter. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. Early life Shinoda attended Waseda University, where he studied theater and also participated in the Hakone Ekiden long distance race. Career He joined the Shōchiku Studio in 1953 as an assistant director, where he worked on films by such directors as Yasujirō Ozu. He debuted as a director in 1960 with ''One-Way Ticket for Love'', which he also scripted. His focus on youth and the cultural and political turmoil of 1960s Japan made him a central figure in the Shōchiku New Wave alongside Nagisa Ōshima and Yoshishige Yoshida. He worked in a variety of genres, from the yakuza film (''Pale Flower'') to the samurai film (''Assassination''), but he particularly became known for his focus on socially marginal characters and for an interest in traditional Japanese theater, which found its greatest expression in ''Double Suici ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suicide In Japan
In Japan, 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. During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, rates of suicide spiked heavily, increasing by 34.7% in 1998 alone and remaining relatively high for over a decade. After peaking in 2003, suicide rates have been gradually declining, falling to the lowest on record (since 1978) in 2019. Monthly suicide rates in Japan increased by 16% between July and October 2020, due to a number of reasons attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy percent of suicides in Japan are male, and it is the leading cause of death in men aged 20–44. Historically, cultural attitudes towards suicide in Japan have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre In Japan
This article is an overview of traditional and modern Japanese theatre. Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment ; kabuki, a dance and music theatrical tradition; , puppetry; and , a spoken drama. Modern Japanese theatre includes (experimental Western-style theatre), shinpa (new school theatre) and (little theatre). In addition, there are many classical western plays and musical adaptations of popular television shows and movies that are produced in Japan. Traditional forms of theatre Noh and Noh and theatre traditions are among the oldest continuous theatre traditions in the world. The earliest existing scripts date from the 15th century. Noh was a spiritual drama, combining symbolism from Buddhism and Shinto and focusing on tales with mythic significance. , its comic partner, served as a link between the theological themes of the Noh play with the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
