Kishōtenketsu

describes the structure and development of classic Chinese, Korean and Japanese narratives. The structure originated in China and was called ''qǐ chéng zhuǎn hé'' () and used in Chinese poetry as a four-line composition, such as Qijue. From there, it moved to Korea where it is called ''gi seung jeon gyeol'' (Hangul: 기승전결; Hanja: 起承轉結). Finally, the art style came to Japan, where it is referred to as , from which the English word derives.

Regionalities

There are variations of this dramatic structure based on region due to differences in how the Chinese characters are interpreted per the country and culture.

China

The Chinese interpretation is:

: means start or introduction, usually meaning the reason something started

: meant handling, process, or hardships

: turn, turning point, crescendo

: result.

Korea

The Korean interpretation is

기 : raising issues and introducing characters

승 : the beginning of the action (But not to solve a problem, necessarily more for self realization)

전 : a change in direction or reversal

결 : the thing to be concluded and any lessons gained through the process or results.

Japan

The Japanese interpretation of it is

is '': introduction, where 起 can mean rouse, wake up, get up

is '': development, where 承 can also mean acquiesce, hear, listen to, be informed, receive

is '': twist, where 転 can mean revolve, turn around, change

is '': Conclusion, though 結 can also mean result; consequence; outcome; effect; or coming to fruition; bearing fruit

Media the structure is used in.

The following is an example of how this might be applied to a fairytale.
* : introducing characters, era, and other important information for understanding the setting of the story.
* : follows leads towards the twist in the story. Major changes do not occur.
* : the story turns toward an unexpected development. This is the crux of the story, the or climax. In case of several turns in the narrative, this is the biggest one.
* , also called or ending, wraps up the story.

The same pattern is used to arrange arguments:
* : In old times, copying information by hand was necessary. Some mistakes were made.
* : Copying machines made it possible to make quick and accurate copies.
* : Traveling by car saves time, but you don't get much impression of the local beauty. Walking makes it a lot easier to appreciate nature close up.
* : Although photocopying is easier, copying by hand is sometimes better, because the information stays in your memory longer and can be used later.

In the structure of narrative and yonkoma manga, and even for document, dissertation, and music. The style in ''kishōtenketsu'' applies to sentence or sentences, and even clause to chapter as well since it gives a structure from introduction to conclusion.

The concept has also been used in game design, particularly in Nintendo's video games, most notably ''Super Mario'' games such as ''Super Mario Galaxy'' (2007) and ''Super Mario 3D World'' (2013); their designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Koichi Hayashida are known to utilize this concept for their game designs.

See also

*Dramatic structure
*Contrastive rhetoric
*Cross-cultural communication
*Jo-ha-kyū, contrasting 3-part structure
*Writing
*Yonkoma

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kishotenketsu
Poetic forms
Narratology
Japanese literary terminology