Chikamatsu
Monzaemon 近松 門左衛門, known also as Sugimori Nobumori, 杉森 信盛, was
a Japanese dramatist of [1]joruri the form of puppet theater that later
came to be known as [2]bunraku and the live-actor drama, [3]kabuki. He is "widely regarded as the greatest
Japanese dramatist.
Chikamatsu was born Sugimori Nobumori
to a samurai family.
There is disagreement about his birthplace. He was born in Echizen Province ,
but there are other plausible locations, including Hagi, Nagato Province
In 1705, Chikamatsu became a "Staff Playwright" as announced
by early editions of The Mirror
of Craftsmen of the Emperor Yōmei. In 1705 or 1706, Chikamatsu left Kyoto
for Osaka 1725, in
either Amagasaki in Hyogo or Osaka
The Love Suicides at
Sonezaki is a love-suicide Bunraku play
which is probably the most popular of his "domestic tragedies" or
"domestic plays" (sewamono).
It was first performed 20 June 1703, revived and rewritten in 1717, with additional
scenes added; such as the punishment of the villain, however, the most
well-known, translated and performed is the 1703 version. The Love Suicides at
Sonezaki is a short play in three scenes, staged over a day and
a night. It concentrates on two protagonists a young orphan merchant clerk
named Tokubei and the courtesan with whom he is in love, Ohatsu. In the first scene, Tokubei and an
apprentice to their "firm of Hirano in Uchihon Street Osaka Osaka
On his way
back home, Tokubei he met his close friend "Kuheiji the oil
merchant", who tells Tokubei that he desperately needs a loan of two kammeor otherwise he will go bankrupt.
Tokubei is so kind-hearted and borrows
the money. Tokubei seizes the chance to ask Kuheiji to repay the loan, Kuheiji,
on the other hand denies the existence of any such debt. When Tokubei produces
the promissory note Kuheiji had stamped with his seal, Kuheiji dismisses it as
an extortion attempt, claiming he had reported the seal as lost. Tokubei
realizes that he has been perfectly swindled and attacks Kuheiji. He is
trounced and beaten by Kuheiji and his followers. Tokubei is recovering from his beating and returning
to Ohatsu's place of employment, the Temma House, Kuheiji is headed there to
boast of his new wealth and successful scam, after having been busy spreading
the story that Tokubei had tried to extort money from him. Ohatsu has no sooner
hidden Tokubei under her robes they communicate through their hands and feet. They
resolve to die within the day together. Scene three begins with a long and
poetic dialogue between the two lovers (into which the narrator injects the
occasional lamenting comment). The two travel to the "Wood of Tenjin". Tokubei
binds Ohatsu to the tree. So dreadful is the deed that his first stabs with the
razor all go awry, but one blow strikes Ohatsu's throat, and she slowly
begins dying. But before she does, Tokubei thrusts the razor into his own
throat and the two die together.
The excellence
of the play lies in its contradictions; the world of pleasure and the world of
domestic life, the first is passionate, forbidden, wild, the second is an ordinary
torrent of events, an ordinary, grey existence, boring, dull. Repetitive actions
are oppressive ones, it is so difficult to get rid of them, to scream out loud ‘I
do not want to live this life – it is not my life’. Two desperate lovers said ‘no
more’ they had gone to other life, colorful one, as they believed, better one,
with no restrictions, orders, stigma, where there’s no appearances, deception
and fake expectations.
Bibliography:
1. Chikamatsu Monzaemon". 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
12 November 2006.
2.
Mikołaj Melanowicz: Historia
literatury japońskiej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA, 2012
3. Mikołaj Melanowicz, Literatura Japońska t. 1, PWN,
Warszawa 1994
4. Donald Keene, World
Within Walls, Holt, Rinehart and Wilson ,
Nowy York
[1] Jōruri (浄瑠璃) is a form of traditional
Japanese narrative music in which a tayū (太夫) sings to the
accompaniment of a shamisen. It is a
form of storytelling and the emphasis is on the lyrics and narration rather
than the music itself.
[2] The most accurate term for the
traditional puppet theater in Japan
[3] Kabuki (歌舞伎) is
a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the
stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some
of its performers. Kabuki became a common form of entertainment in
the ukiyo, or Yoshiwara the
registered red-light district in Edo . A
diverse crowd gathered under one roof, something that happened nowhere else in
the city. Kabuki theaters were a place to see and be seen as they featured the
latest fashion trends and current events. The stage provided good entertainment
with exciting new music, patterns, clothing, and famous actors. Performances
went from morning until sunset. The teahouses surrounding or
connected to the theater provided meals, refreshments, and good company. The
area around the theatres was lush with shops selling kabuki souvenirs. Kabuki,
in a sense, initiated pop culture in Japan
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