Unit 4 O-MO-TE-NA-SHI Japanese Culture
REVIEW

Put the following Japanese into English.
1. 能は、１４世紀以来演じられてきた日本で最も古くからある古典歌劇です。
2. 歌舞伎と能の主な違いは、歌舞伎が顔にメークするのに対し、能は面をつけることです。

Traditional Performing Arts (3)狂言Kyogen

Himeji-jo Takigi Nou 39 37” by Corpse Reviver - 投稿者自身による作品. Licensed under CC 表示 3.0 via ウィキメディア・コモンズ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Himeji-jo_Takigi_Nou_39_37.jpg#/media/File:Himeji-jo_Takigi_Nou_39_37.jpg(July 8, 2016 1:48 PM)

CONVERSATION 1

Key words:・solemn

厳粛な・exuberant 元気にあふれた・inspire を引き起こす
1. Listen to the conversation twice.
2. Now repeat the conversation after the teacher until you memorize eachsentence.
3. Role playYour teacher plays the role of A and you play the role of B.

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文楽
Bunraku

Bunraku photo by Gunther Hagleitner - CC BY 2.0
https://www.flickr.com/photos/94741551@N00/7213709300/

CONVERSATION 2

Key words:
・puppet theater 人形劇
・elaborately

念入りに・sophisticated 精巧な
1. Listen to the conversation twice.
2. Now repeat the conversation after the teacher until you memorize eachsentence.
3. Role playYour teacher plays the role of A and you play the role of B.

2CONVERSATION 3

Key words:
・chant 詠唱する

chanter詠唱者

・puppeteer 操り人形師
1. Listen to the conversation twice.
2. Now repeat the conversation after the teacher until you memorize eachsentence.
3. Role playYour teacher plays the role of A and you play the role of B.
CONVERSATION 3

Key words:
・plot 筋・derive from に由来する
1. Listen to the conversation twice.
2. Now repeat the conversation after the teacher until you memorize eachsentence.
3. Role playYour teacher plays the role of A and you play the role of B.
PRACTICE SENTENCES

Put the following Japanese into English.
1. 狂言は、厳粛な能の合間に演ぜられ、観客に笑いをもたらす短時間の喜劇です。
2. 文楽は、日本の伝統的な人形劇です。

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Conversation Script
Unit 3

Traditional Performing Arts (3)Conversation 1
A: What is Kyogen?
B: It’s a brief Japanese play performed between Noh plays to provide comic
relief.
A: What’s the difference between Noh and Kyogen?
B: Although both are performed on the same Noh stage, Noh is formal,
symbolic and solemn, while Kyogen’s primary goal is to make its audiencelaugh. In contrast to the expressionless quality of Noh characters, Kyogen
performers depend on exuberant facial expressions to inspire laughter fromthe audience. Kyogen costumes are much simpler than those used for Noh.
Noh with comedic Kyogen was inscribed on the UNESCO List of theIntangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.
Conversation 2
A: What is Bunraku?
B: Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater. It was foundedin Osaka in 1684.
A: What kind of puppets do they use?
B: The elaborately costumed puppets are anywhere from 120 to 150
centimeters long. The heads are complex. All the puppets have eyes,eyebrows, mouths that move. And of course hands and arms can move.

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Conversation 3
A: What kind of performers do they have?
B: Three kinds of performers take part in a Bunraku performance. First, thepuppeteers. Three puppeteers work together to handle a principalpuppet. Then, a shamisen (three-stringed Japanese lute) player. And thirdly,the chanter. He is the story teller as well as the singer. He recites the story in a
mixture of chanting and emotional telling.
A: Why three puppeteers per puppet?
B: The most experienced puppeteer, wearing 18th-century dress, who isvisible throughout the play, controls the right hand and head. Two helpers,
dressed and hooded in black to show they are supposed to be invisible tothe audience, control the rest of the puppet.
Conversation 4
A: What is the subject matter of Bunraku?
B: Bunraku shares many themes with Kabuki. The plots related in Bunraku
derive from two principal sources: Jidai-mono and Sewa-mono. The former
features historical plots dealing with aristocrats and samurai. The latter deals
with commoners and explores the conflict between ‘gi-ri’, which refers tosocial obligations and ‘nin-jo’, which refers to human emotions.

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