JAPANESE 63 Medieval Noh Drama and the Re-Writing of Japanese Culture
 
Japanese 63 Course Syllabus, Fall 1999
Instructors and office hours
James Dorsey
301A Bartlett Hall (Tel: 646-1346)
Office Hours: Tues, 12:00~1:00; Fri, 12:30~1:30


Description
The emergence of the samurai warrior class and Zen Buddhism during Japan's Middle Ages (1185~1600) prompted such a radical shift in worldview that the aesthetics, gender roles, class structure, narrative techniques, and literary archetypes of the preceding eras needed to be re-written. Noh drama, with its plays of gods, warriors, lovers, lunatics and demons, accomplished this so successfully that the genre is alive today and remains an inspiration to writers and dramatists around the world. In this course we will read selections from classical Japanese masterpieces (The Tale of Genji, The Tale of the Heike, poetry collections) and explore the transformation of this tradition in both noh plays and the theoretical works of their creator, Zeami (ca. 1363~1443). Secondary readings will include articles on Japanese history, aesthetics, gender issues, and Buddhist philosophy. Finally, we will follow the evolution of the genre to the modern noh plays of novelist Yukio Mishima (1925~1970) and William Butler Yeats (1865~1939).


Required Texts
The following texts are required, and available at the Dartmouth Bookstore:
  • Tyler, Royall, trans. Japanese Nô Dramas. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
  • McCullough, Helen Craig, trans. Genji & Heike: Selections from The Tale of Genji and The Tale of Heike. Stanford: Stanford U Press, 1994.
  • Mishima, Yukio. Five Modern Nô Plays. Transl. by Donald Keene. Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1957.
In addition to these required texts, students will be asked to read various plays and articles available in either xeroxed form or on reserve in Baker Library.


Grading
class preparation and participation....................................20%
three shorter papers @10% each.......................................30%
two longer papers @25% each............................................50%


Disabilities Statement
Students with learning, physical, or psychiatric disabilities who will be taking this course and may need disability-related classroom accommodations are strongly encouraged to make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. I will make every effort to accommodate special needs. Also, these students should stop by the Academic Skills Center in 301 Collis Center to register for support services.


Blitzmail Policy
Email is a great way to supplement student-teacher interaction. I welcome comments, questions, and suggestions via this medium (as well as in person, of course). Do know, however, that I check my email no more than once a day. Therefore I may not be able to respond to your queries immediately.


Schedule
Week 1 Heian Aristocratic Culture and the Tale of Genji
9/23 (T) Introduction, course mechanics, etc..
9/28 (Tu) Ivan Morris. "The Setting," from The World of the Shining Prince.
Ryusaku Tsunoda, et. al. "Early Shinto."
Helen Craig McCullough, transl. Selections (sections 1~24) from The Tale of Ise.
9/30 (Th) H.C. McCullough. "Introduction" to The Tale of Genji.
H.C. McCullough, transl. "Kiritsubo" and "The Broom Tree" in The Tale of Genji.
Week 2 Heian Aristocratic Culture and the Tale of Genji (II)
10/5 (T) H.C. McCullough, transl. "Yugao," "Young Murasaki," "A Celebration Among Autumn Leaves," "Aoi" in The Tale of Genji.
10/7(Th) Edward Seidensticker, transl. "Sakaki."
H.C. McCullough, transl. "Suma."
Donald Keene. "Feminine Sensibility in the Heian Era."
Week 3 The Rise of the Samurai and the Tale of Heike
10/12 (T) H.C. McCullough. "Introduction" to The Tale of Heike.
H.C. McCullough, transl. Chpts 1:1, 1.11, 1.12, 4.11, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.11, 6.7, 7.8, 7.13, 7.16 in The Tale of Heike
short paper due: topic TBA
10/14 (Th) H.C. McCullough, transl. Chpts 9 (all), 11.4, 11.7.
Week 4 There's No Drama Like Noh Drama, ... or Is There?
10/19 (T) Donald Keene. "The Conventions of the No Drama."
Royall Tyler. "General Introduction."
R. Tyler, transl. Yamamba ("Granny Mountains," play)
10/21 (Th) Jay Rubin. "The Art of the Flower of Mumbo Jumbo."
Richard Okada. "Introduction" to Figures of Resistance.
Week 5 Re-Writing Woman, Re-Writing Heian: The Genji-based Plays
10/26 (T) R. Tyler, transl. Matsukaze ("Pining Wind," play)
Janet Goff, transl. Yugao ("The Lady of the Evening Faces," play)
R. Tyler, transl. Suma Genji (play)
short paper due: position paper on Rubin/Okada positions
10/28 (Th) Makoto Ueda. "Zeami and the Art of the No Drama: Imitation, Yugen, and Sublimity."
R. Tyler, transl. Nonomiya ("The Wildwood Shrine," play)
Arthur Waley, transl. Aoi no Uye ("The Lady Aoi," play)
Week 6 Defining the Samurai: The Heike-based Plays
11/2 (T) R. Tyler, transl. Yashima (play)
Kenneth Yasuda, transl. Ataka (play)
11/4 (Th) R. Tyler, transl. Atsumori (play)
R. Tyler, transl. Tadanori (play)
short paper due: the Genji-based plays
Week 7 Dilemmas of Class/Dilemmas of Gender
11/9 (T) Sanemori (play)
Tomoakira (play)
Watsuji Tetsuro. "Japanese Ethical Thought in the Noh Plays of the Muromachi Period"
11/11 (Th) Tomoe (play)
R. Tyler, transl. Funa Benkei (play)
Week 8 "What is the Sound of One-Hand Clapping?"--Medieval Buddhism and Noh
11/16 (T) William LaFleur. "Floating Phrases and Fictive Utterances" and "Zeami's Buddhism"
Zeami treatises
Hagoromo ("The Feather Mantle," play)
longer paper due: the Heike-based plays
11/18 (Th) R. Tyler, transl. Jinen Koji ("Layman Selfsame," play)
R. Tyler, transl. Izutsu ("The Well Cradle," play)
Week 9 "Just Say Noh" to Interpretation
11/23 (T) Susan Sontag. "Against Interpretation"
Kenneth Yasuda, transl. Taema (play)
Kobayashi Hideo. "Taema."
11/25 (Th) Thanksgiving recess, no class.
Week 10 An International Noh
11/30 (T) Mishima Yukio. Five Modern Noh Plays.
William Butler Yeats. "At The Hawk's Well" (play)
Kenneth Yasuda. "Martin Luther King" (play)
12/3 (F) Final (longer) papers due in my office (301A Bartlett) by 5 pm. Slip them under the door if I'm not there.


 
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Last Modified June 23, 2000, by Yukari.