|
Kan'ami Kiyotsugu
was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by and . He is the father of the well-known playwright . Theater Kan'ami's career began in Obata, Nabari-shi, Mie when he founded a sarugaku theater group in the Kansai region on the main Honshu island. The troupe moved to Yamato and formed the Yuzaki theater company, which would become the school of Noh theater. He grew in popularity and began making trips to Kyoto to give performances. In 1374, the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was in the audience of a performance and was so impressed by it that he became Kan'ami's patron. Kan'ami was the first playwright to incorporate the Kusemai song and dance style and Dengaku dances from rustic harvest celebrations. He trained his son Zeami Motokiyo in his style, and his son eventually succeeded him as director of the Kanze school of Noh. Kan'ami died in Suruga Province. Notable works *''Sotoba Komachi'' *''Ji'nen koji' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muromachi Period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi '' shōgun'', Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga. From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and Higashiyama cultures (later 15th – early 16th centuries). The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the '' Nanboku-chō'' or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind the Kenmu Restoration. The Sengoku period or Warring States period, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suruga Province
was an old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu, Kai, Sagami, Shinano, and Tōtōmi provinces; and was bordered by the Pacific Ocean through Suruga Bay to the south. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early period Suruga was one of the original provinces of Japan established in the Nara period under the Taihō Code. The original capital of the province was located in what is now Numazu, which also had the ''Kokubun-ji'' and the Ichinomiya (Mishima Taisha) of the province. Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, Suruga was ranked as a "major country" (上国), and was governed by a '' Kuni no miyatsuko'' and under the ''ritsuryō'' system was classed as a "middle country" (中国) In a 680 AD cadastral reform, the districts forming Izu Province were administratively separated from Suruga, and the provincial capital was relocated to the right bank of the Abe River in what is now Shizuoka City. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
14th-century Japanese Male Actors
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was a century lasting from 1 January 1301 ( MCCCI), to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Europe and the Mongol Empire. West Africa experienced economic growth and prosperity. In Europe, the Black Death claimed 25 million lives wiping out one third of the European population while the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France fought in the protracted Hundred Years' War after the death of Charles IV, King of France led to a claim to the French throne by Edward III, King of England. This period is considered the height of chivalry and marks the beginning of strong separate identities for both England and France as well as the foundation of the Italian Renaissance and Ottoman Empire. In Asia, Tamerlane (Timur), established the Timurid Empire, history's third largest empire to have been ever establis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noh Playwrights
is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ''nōgaku'' are sometimes used interchangeably, ''nōgaku'' encompasses both Noh and ''kyōgen''. Traditionally, a full ''nōgaku'' program included several Noh plays with comedic ''kyōgen'' plays in between; an abbreviated program of two Noh plays with one ''kyōgen'' piece has become common today. Optionally, the ritual performance ''Okina'' may be presented in the very beginning of ''nōgaku'' presentation. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating a story. Noh integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance, requiring highly trained actors and musicians. Emotions are primarily conveyed by stylized conventional gestures whil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1384 Deaths
Year 1384 ( MCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May – September 3 – Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383–85 Crisis in Portugal. * August 16 – The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China hears a case of a couple who tore paper money notes, while fighting over them. Under the law, this is considered to be destroying stamped government documents, which is to be punished by a caning with a bamboo rod of 100 strokes. However, the Emperor decides to pardon them, on the grounds that it was unintentional. * November 16 – 10-year-old Jadwiga is crowned "King" of Poland in Kraków following the death of her father, King Louis, in 1382. * December 25 – Use of the Spanish era dating system in the Crown of Castile is suppressed. Unknown Date * The Hongwu Emperor of China reinstates the Imperial examination system for drafting scholar-o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1333 Births
Year 1333 ( MCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May 18 – Siege of Kamakura in Japan: Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo, led by Nitta Yoshisada, enter and destroy the city, breaking the power of the Hōjō clan over the Kamakura shogunate. The Kamakura period ends, and the Kenmu Restoration under Go-Daigo begins. * June 6 – William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster, is murdered as part of the Burke Civil War in Ireland. * June 8 – King Edward III of England seizes the Isle of Man from Scottish control. * July 7 – The reign of Emperor Kōgon of Japan, first of the Northern Court (Ashikaga) Pretenders, ends. * July 19 – Wars of Scottish Independence - Battle of Halidon Hill: Edward III of England decisively defeats Sir Archibald Douglas. Berwick-upon-Tweed returns to English control. * November 4 – The River Arno floods, causing massive damage in Florence, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on '' factual information'' concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.Béjoint, Henri (2000)''Modern Lexicography'', pp. 30–31. Oxford University Press. Encyclopedias have existed for around 2,000 years and have evolved considerably during that time as regards language (written in a major international or a verna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eguchi (play)
''Eguchi'' (江口) is a Noh play of the third category, written by Zeami, around a fragment (the courtesan’s sermon) by Kan'ami. The play combines two legends, one related of the holy man Shōkū (concerning the identity of the courtesan of Mura with the bodhisattva Fugen) and the other related of the monk Saigyō: (the admonishment of the courtesan of Eguchi). Plot summary A travelling monk arrives by night at the port of Eguchi. Seeing a cairn, he enquires about its origin and is told that it commemorates the Lady of Eguchi, a former courtesan and poetess, who was subsequently considered to be a manifestation of a bodhisattva, specifically Fugen Bosatsu, Bodhisattva of Universal Virtue. During a rainstorm, the 12th-century monk Saigyō had asked for shelter at her house, but was refused entry. He reproached her with an impromptu poem, complaining that “you are stingy/even with the night I ask of you,/a place in your soon-left inn” Her devastating reply hinged on a Budd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motomezuka
''Motomezuka'' () is a Noh play of the fourth category, written by Kan'ami and revised by Zeami. The name is either a corruption of, or a pun on, ''Otomezuka'' ("The Maiden's Grave"), the original story from episode 147 of ''Yamato Monogatari''. The word ''motome'' refers also to courtship. Plot summary A priest from the western provinces, travelling to Kyoto, stops with his companions in the isolated village of Ikuta ("Field of Life") in Settsu Province. They meet a group of village girls who are plucking spring shoots from the snow. When they ask a girl for directions to the famous "Sought-for Grave", she leads them to the place in question and tells the story of Unai. Two men, Sasada and Chinu, declared their love for Unai in letters she received in the same hour. Unwilling to incur the jealousy of one by favouring the other, Unai declined to make a choice. Her parents had them compete for her hand, but each contest they proposed resulted in a draw. In torment, Unai drowned h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsukaze
is a play of the third category, the woman's mode, by Kan'ami, revised by Zeami Motokiyo. One of the most highly regarded of Noh plays, it is mentioned more than any other in Zeami's own writings, and is depicted numerous times in the visual arts. Plot The two main characters are the lingering spirits of the sisters and , who in the 9th Century lived on the Bay of Suma in Settsu Province, where they ladled brine in order to make salt. A courtier, Middle Counsellor Ariwara no Yukihira, dallied with them during his exile to Suma for three years. Shortly after his departure, word of his death came and they died of grief. They linger on as spirits or ghosts, attached to the mortal world by their emotional attachment to mortal desires: this is a common theme in Noh. The play opens with a traveling priest asking a local about a memorial he sees. The local explains that the memorial is to the two sisters. This is followed by a scene in which the sisters, ladling seawater into their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotoba Komachi
The aged Komachi rests upon the ''Sotoba Komachi'' is a waka'' poet Ono no Komachi. Because she is seated on a Buddhist stupa, a holy marker, she is challenged by the priests for creating bad karma, but in a witty debate uses Zen-like sophistries to defeat them: “Nothing is real. Between Buddha and Man is no distinction”. The priests then lament in turn her loss of beauty; before in the final sequence she is possessed by the angry ghost of a former suitor, Shōshō of Fukakusa. He had been tasked with visiting Komachi for 100 nights in order to earn her love, but had died on the penultimate one; and his acting out of his cruelly thwarted struggles to win her love brings the play to a dramatic close, with Komachi then seeking for enlightenment and release. Later influence * Bashō in his late renga ‘The Summer Moon’ wrote: “In this fleeting world no one can escape/ The destiny of that famed poetess Komachi”. *Arthur Waley moved his future wife to tears by reading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dengaku
were rustic Japanese celebrations that can be classified into two types: that developed as a musical accompaniment to rice planting observances, and the dances that developed in conjunction with . The celebrated for rice planting was performed by villagers either at the New Year or during the planting season in early summer. It was only in the 14th century that these dances were brought to the cities and incorporated into Noh theater, notably by the playwright and actor Kan'ami. The instrument of is the , a wooden percussive instrument clapper, though there are other instruments that can be used. In the , there is a detailed description of the rice-planting . After being brought to the aristocrats, flourished till the end of the Heian period (794–1185) and became the main performing art of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), as well as part of the performing arts of the Muromachi period (1336–1573). By the end of the Muromachi period, had been eclipsed by . Today it b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
