Journal of Advances in Artificial Life Robotics
Vol. 4(4); March (2024), pp. 177–188
ON LINE ISSN 2435-8061; ISSN-L 2435-8061
https://alife-robotics.org/jallr.html

SUGISAKAMASANORIInternational Journal

Advances in Artificial Life Robotics
ICAROB series
Editor-in-Chief
Masanori Sugisaka
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Takao Ito

ISSN 2435-8061
Publisher Masanori Sugisaka(Global Register of Publishes)
regstrated in Jan, 25, 1996
Handadai Higashi 2-8-4, Oita, 870-1108, Japan

Research Article

An Animation System on the Basis of the Multiplicity of a
Kabuki Work and its Background Story: Kyōganoko Musume
Dōjōji and the Legend of Dōjōji
Jumpei Ono1, Shunta Kudo2, Takashi Ogata3

Faculty of Software and Information Technology, Aomori University, 2-3-1 Kohbata, Aomori, Aomori, 030-0943, Japan
Faculty of Software and Information Science, Iwate Prefectural University, 152-52 Sugo, Takizawa, Iwate, 020-0693, Japan
3
Faculty of informatics, Yamato University,2-5-1, Katayama-cho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0082, Japan
1
2

ARTICLE INFO
Article History
Received 02 December 2021
Accepted 22 July 2024
Keywords
2D animation
3D animation
KabukiKyōganoko Musume Dōjōji
The legend of Dōjōji

ABSTRACT

We have continued a series of study on Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji. The study has various topics,
including the development of an animation mechanism according to the stage performance
structure of Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji. Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji as a kabuki dance partiallyuses the story of the legend of Dōjōji. Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji partially uses the story of thelegend of Dōjōji. We have also investigated the mutual relationships between these narrative
works and attempted the design and development of a system reflecting the above relationships.
This paper presents an animation mechanism using these previous researches. In particular, thissystem flexibly relates the structural flow of the stage performance of Kyōganoko Musume Dōjōji
to scenes in the legend of Dōjōji.

© 2022 The Author. Published by Sugisaka Masanori at ALife Robotics Corporation Ltd.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

performance structure of the work [2]. We also developed
a two-dimensional (2D) animation mechanism using atable through analyzing the Musume Dōjōji‘s stage
performance structure [3], [4]. Simultaneously, we
surveyed scenes from Konjaku Monogatari for apresentation focusing on the Legend [5]. We defined eachscene of Musume Dōjōji and the Legend as positive or
negative. Moreover, according to the above results, wedeveloped a three-dimensional (3D) animation andrelated it with the 2D animation mechanism [6], [7].
The objective of this study is to present an animation
system linking the two animation mechanisms based on
the above studies [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], and to create 3D
animation(s) to represent the Legend. †1. Introduction
We deal with “京鹿子娘道成寺[Kyōganoko Musume
Dōjōji,(The Maiden at Dojoji Temple) * ]” (we use theword of “Musume Dōjōji” in the following part in thispaper) and the legend of Dōjōji (we use “the Legend” inthe following part). The former, Musume Dōjōji, is akabuki dance work using the latter, the Legend, which isa classic Japanese story. Although the Legend is arelatively long story, Musume Dōjōji is constructed basedon the partial use of the Legend.
Based on Watanabe’s analysis of dance, song, andstage in Musume Dōjōji [1], we showed the generative
process of Musume Dōjōji and analyzed the stage†
Kabuuki
Play
Guide
by
Shochiku
Co.,
Ltd:In addition, this paper is included in a project of narrative generation
https://enmokudb.kabuki.ne.jp/repertoire_en/the-maiden-at-dojojistudy of kabuki. In the project, we intend to investigate the original
temple%EF%BC%88kyoganoko-musume-dojoji%EF%BC%89/
narratological technologies, i.e. theories, techniques, andAn instance of a performance by Nishikawa Kan:
methodologies for narrative generation through the stage performance,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tX28aIybrQ
scenarios, historical documents, and essays [22], [23]. [We have
Corresponding author’s E-mail: j.ono@aomori-u.ac.jp, g031q055@s.iwate-pu.ac.jp, ogata.takashi@yamato-u.ac.jp*177

2. Background: Musume Dōjōji and the Legend

Dōjōji, Hanako moves up a bell and transforms into asnake. This scene corresponds to a scene in the Legend.
In the scene, Kiyohime killed by burning Anchin to death[5]. Although Musume Dōjōji is a type of adaption of asimplified narrative structure in Nō Dōjōji, it basicallyadopts only the scene of “鐘入り[Kaneiri]” and othersmall fragmental parts. In particular, the backgroundinformation of the Legend is fragmentally retained inMusume Dōjōji.

This study’s background is a group of works based on a
tradition known as the Legend. This section describes the
Legend and Musume Dōjōji.
2.1. History
The Legend of has been passed down in a variety of forms,
such as scrolls and dramas, for over 1,000 years. We havecalled this legend the story of “Anchin and Kiyohime”
based on the names of a hero and heroine. Kiyohime is agirl who lives in the Kumano region in Japan and sheloves Anchin who is a young monk. However, Anchinbetrays Kiyohime and is killed by Kiyohime inside a bigbell of Dōjōji at Kumano. Although the Legend describes
this story in detail, Musume Dōjōji symbolically
represents the above story using only a few scenes of the
Legend.
The scrolls of the Legend includes the following
examples: “紀伊國牟婁郡の惡女[Kii no Kuni Murogouri no Akujo (An Evil Woman in Muro, Kii Province)]”in “本朝法華験記[Honchō Hokke Genki (Miraculous
Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Japan)]” [8], “紀伊国道成寺僧写法花救蛇語 [Kii no Kuni Dōjōji no Sō Hōge wo
Utsushi te Hebi wo Sukuu Hanashi (A Monk of Dōjōji
Temple in Kii Province Brings Salvation to Two Snakes
by Copying the Lotus Sutra)]” in “今昔物語集 [Konjaku
Monogatari-shū (Japanese Tales from Times Past)]” [9].
We find various different developments in scenes inthe variations. For instance, there are variations when theheroine turns into a snake and when she cries sadness.
“道成寺縁起[Dōjōji Engi (Illustrated Legend of Dōjōji)]”[10], a picture scroll from the Muromachi period, also
includes the Legend. Dōjōji Engi is different from theabove works. In addition, in this narrative, woman’s
perspective is adopted ([11] for more details).

Fig. 1 Parts of the Legend used in Musume Dōjōji (Fig. 1
in [7])
3. Two Animation Systems
We have developed an animation mechanism based on
the Legend and an animation mechanism based on
Musume Dōjōji. This section describes both thesesystems. In each animation system, each scene isevaluated on negative or positive. This evaluation isrelated to the combined system described in Section 4.
3.1. 2D Animation Based on Musume Dōjōji
We developed 2D animations for 11 scenes in Musume
Dōjōji [4]. The sequence of the 11 scenes is as follows(“手踊り[Teodoori]” is performed twice). Each scene’s
name shows a dance or a song, which is performed ineach scene: “道行[Michiyuki],” “乱拍子[Ranbyōshi],”“中啓の舞[Chūkei no Mai],” “手踊り[Teodori],” “鞠唄[Mariuta],” “ 花 傘 踊 り [Hanagasa-odori],” “ く ど き[Kudoki],” “ 山 づ く し [Yama-zukushi],” “ 手 踊 り[Teodori],” “ 鈴 太 鼓 [Suzu-daiko],” and “ 鐘 入 り[Kaneiri].” ‡2.2. Correspondence Relationship between
Musume Dōjōji and the Legend
Fig.1 illustrates the correspondence of the Legend with
Musume Dōjōji. For instance, in the final part of Musume
showed that kabuki has diverse and interesting characteristics beyond
Western narrative methodologies [24], [14]. For example, in kabuki,
actors on the stage are dramatic characters of a kabuki work. At thesame time, they are required to be respective existences as actors. In
such case, audiences enjoy the multiplicity of actors and dramaticcharacters on the stage. This is a different tradition from the norm ofWestern dramatic narratives. We comprehensively seized thecharacteristics of kabuki as multiple narrative structures including theabove example. Moreover, this project aims to reflect the results insystem modeling and application system development. The study
proposed in this paper is also located in a part of the above research
project.
‡
We simply show the construction of Musume Dōjōji according to ref.
12. In the scene of “Michiyuki,” Shirabyōshi Hanako, who is a heroineof this stage, arrives at the Dōjōji temple and asks trainee monks to178

worship the temple bell. In addition, Dōjōji is a temple that really exists
at Kishuu (current Wakayama prefecture) and a famous legend, “thelegend of Dōjōji,” about the bell is inherited. Continuously, in the sceneof “Ranbyōshi,” Hanako intensely dances with the costume of No. But,
after the scene changes to solemn “Chūkei no Mai,” Hanako returns to
her ordinary figure to show her pretty dance (scenes of “Teodori” and“Mariuta”). After a short scene of ”Hanagasa-odori” where Hanako
dances with big Hanagasas (red hats), the scene of “Kudoki” begins.
She handles her towels with skill and attractively dances with mature
figure. In the next “Yama-zukushi,” the atmosphere changes andHanako shows a light dance with a kakko (drum sheath). Although, inthe continuous “Teodori,” Hanako again returns to a slow dance, in thefollowing scene of “Suzu-daiko,” she quickly acts on the stage playing
suzus (small bells) and a taiko (drum). In these scenes of the last half,
the timing that Hanako reveals her true figure of a ghost graduallyA scene is divided into several events based on a partof the lyrics in Musume Dōjōji. Each event has twenty
types of stage components. Table 1, which deals with theabove Chūkei no Mai, shows only five types of stage
component that strongly relate with the study in this paper.
Although this scene has 10 events, this table shows only
three events as an example.




















Fig. 4 shows the architecture of the 2D animation
mechanism. The user inputs the stage component(s) of
Musume Dōjōji. The mechanism selects the 2D
animation(s) corresponding to the user’s input from a 2D
animation database. Selected 2D animation(s) represent
on a screen by the 2D animation mechanism. The 2D
animation database contains 2D animations correspond to
the stage components of Musume Dōjōji. In the 2D
animation database, a format of each animation is a textthat order the illustration to be displayed on a screen andtheir placement. 2D animations are displayed on a screen
based on the text data.
Table 1 Parts of the stage components and events ofMusume Dōjōji

“Time” indicates the elapsed time in the video [12].
“Characters” are a character that dance in the stage.
“Mind” shows representing character’s nature.
“Performance” means the genres of dances.
“Lyrics” shows phrases that the character sing.
“Music genre and characteristics” means various
features of the lyrics sung by Shirabyōshi Hanako.
“Narrators/Singers” describe the number ofnarrators and singers.
“Musicians” show the number of musicalperformers on the stage by the types of musicalinstruments.
“Musical instrument” shows the types of
instruments that musicians play.
“Geza/Hyōshi-ita” indicates whether geza orhyōshi-ita are used in the scene. Geza means a room
hidden from the audiences on the left side of thestage. Hyōshi-ita shows instruction for a player on
the right side, accompanied by dramaticdevelopment.
“Scene” means visual backgrounds on the stage.
“Places on the stage” mean the spatial location
where one or more dramatic characters are.
“Costumes” show the colors of each costume of
Hanako. By Watanabe [1], the basic atmosphere ineach scene is decided through these colors.
“Props” mean various objects that Hanako has in
the dance.
“Stage equipment” shows the stage sets forrepresenting a location and objects.
“The point in a dancer’s body” shows a part of
Shirabyōshi Hanako’s body to be emphasized ineach scene.

ComponentsTimeCharacters
心 [Kokoro(Mind)]
振り [Furi(Performance)]

歌詞 [Kashi(Lyrics)]Music
genres andcharacteristicsNarrators/
Singers

Musicians

The 2D animations were developed based on “Lyrics”
in Table 1. Fig. 2 shows all 2D animations in Chūkei no
Mai. Fig. 3 shows a 2D animation of 6th event in Chūkei
no Mai. The character at the center of the screen is
Shirabyōshi Hanako. “Lyrics” is shown at right side of
the screen.

increases. In the final part of “Suzu-daiko,” Hanako completely reveals
her nature. At last, Hanako who changes to a ghost climb the bell of the
Dōjōji temple and glares around.

179

1

2

3

23:03
~
23:16
白拍子花子
[Shirabyōshi
Hanako(Shirabyōshi
Hanako)]娘 [Musume(Girl)] (P)白 拍 子[Shirabyōshi(Shirabyōshi)] (P)
鐘に恨みは
数々ござる
[Kane
ni
urami
ha
kazukazu
gozaru] (N)能[Nō (Nō)]( 鐘 づ く し[Kanezukushi(Kanezukushi)])
歌 い 手[Utaite(Singer)] （ 8
人 [8 nin (8people)])

23:18
~
23:44
白拍子花子
[Shirabyōshi
Hanako(Shirabyōshi
Hanako)]娘 [Musume(Girl)] (P)白 拍 子[Shirabyōshi(Shirabyōshi)] (P)
初夜の鐘を撞 く 時 はno
[Shoya
kane
wo
tsuku
toki
ha] (N)能[Nō (Nō)]) 鐘 づ く し[Kanezukushi(Kanezukushi)])
歌 い 手[Utaite(Singer)] （ 8
人 [8 nin (8people)])三 味 線[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)] (8 人
[8 nin (8people)]), 太[Taiko鼓(Drum)][2nin(2people)])

23:45
~
24:13
白拍子花子
[Shirabyōshi
Hanako(Shirabyōshi
Hanako)]娘 [Musume(Girl)] (P)白 拍 子[Shirabyōshi(Shirabyōshi)] (P)
諸行無常と
響 く な り[Shogyōmujō
tohibiku nari](N)
能[Nō (Nō)]) 鐘 づ く し[Kanezukushi(Kanezukushi)])
歌 い 手[Utaite(Singer)] （ 8
人 [8 nin (8people)])三 味 線[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)] (8 人
[8 nin (8people)]), 太[Taiko鼓(Drum)][2nin(2people)])三 味 線[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)] (8 人
[8 nin (8people)]), 太鼓[Taiko(Drum)][2nin(2people)])Musical
instruments

三 味 線[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)], 小鼓[Kozutsumi(Smalldrum)], 太鼓[Taiko(Drum)], 笛[Fue (Flute)]

Geza/
Hyōshi-ita
Scenes

None

Place on thestage

Costumes
Props
Stage
equipment

The point ina dancer’s
body

桜 の 木
[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)],( 道 成 寺
[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)])
本 舞 台 [Honbutai (Mainstage)]: 中央[Chūou(Centerstage)]赤[Aka(Red)]
中啓[Chūkei]道 成 寺[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)], 鐘[Kane (Bell)],
桜 の 木[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)]
足[Ashi(Foot)]

三 味 線[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)], 小鼓[Kozutsumi(Smalldrum)], 太鼓[Taiko(Drum)], 笛[Fue (Flute)]
None

三 味 線
[Shamisen(Japanese
guitar)], 小鼓[Kozutsumi(Smalldrum)], 太鼓[Taiko(Drum)], 笛[Fue (Flute)]
None

桜 の 木
[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)],( 道 成 寺
[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)])
本 舞 台 [Honbutai (Mainstage)]: 中央[Chūou(Centerstage)]赤[Aka(Red)]
中啓[Chūkei]道 成 寺[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)], 鐘[Kane (Bell)],
桜 の 木[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)]
足[Ashi(Foot)]

桜 の 木[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)],( 道 成 寺
[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)])
本 舞 台 [Honbutai (Mainstage)]: 中央[Chūou(Centerstage)]赤[Aka(Red)]
中啓[Chūkei]道 成 寺[Dōjōji(Dōjōji
temple)], 鐘[Kane (Bell)],
桜 の 木[Sakura no ki(Cherry
blossoms)]
足[Ashi(Foot)]

Fig. 3 The animation of 6th event in Chūkei no Mai
Stage component(s) of

Musume Dōjōji

User

2D animation(s) of

Musume Dōjōji

2D animation
selection

2D animation
database

2D animation(s) corresponding
to stage component(s)Fig. 4 Architecture of the 2D animation mechanism
3.2. 3D Animation Based on the Legend
In the previous study, we have developed animations for
6 events in 33 events in the Legend [5]. We have createdanimations for the 27 events in this study. Table 2 shows
story in the Legend and the 3D animations correspond toeach event in the story. The story for the Legend wascreated based on three works (Honcho Hokke Genki,
Konjaku Monogatari Shū, and Dōjōji Engi) [7]. The story
consists of 6 scenes and 33 events. In Table 2, the eventsand animations transition from left to right for each scene.
The third is scene using a branching structure. In the 3-1
group in Table 2, the events in 3-1 and 3-2 arerespectively defined by Honcho Hokke Genki & Konjaku
Monogatari Shū, and Dōjōji Engi. Each event isclassified as strongly negative (N+), strongly positive(P+), negative (N), or positive (P), based on the following
criteria.
Fig. 2 All 2D animations in Chūkei no MaiStrong negatives (N+) are events related to the deathof Anchin.
Strong positives (P+) are events related to the rescueof Anchin and Kiyohime.
Weak negatives (N) are events related to lies,
sadness, and anger.
Weak positives (P) are other events.

Fig. 5 shows the 3D animation mechanism’s
architecture. According to the input of one or morescene(s) in the Legend by a user, the mechanism selects
one or more 3D animation(s) from a 3D animation
database and displays the animation(s) on a screen. As
180

3D animation(s) of
the Legend

Scene(s) of
the Legend

shown in Table 2, the above 3D animation database stores
3D animations corresponded to all events in the Legend,
a format of each animation in the 3D animation databaseis text data, which selects one or more 3D models to be
displayed on a screen and orders their placements.

3D animation
selection

User

3D animation
database

3D animation(s)corresponding to scene(s)Fig. 5 Architecture of the 3D animation mechanism
Table 2 Animations corresponding to events in the Legend
Scene 1: Kiyohime falls in love with Anchin at first sight.
(1-1) Anchin and an old monk go (1-2) Two monks stay in a houseto Kumano region on a pilgrimageof Kiyohime, who is a beautiful(Anchin is a young monk). [P]girl. [P]Scene 2: Anchin betrays Kiyohime.
(2-1) Two monks, Anchin and the old monk,
leave
Kumano.
[P]

Scene 3: Kiyohime’s body turns into a snake.
(3-1-1)
Kiyohime
confines
herself toherroom. [N](3-2-1)
Kiyohime
swims
acrossthe
KirimeRiver. [N](1-3) Kiyohime loves Anchin with
first sight. [P+](1-4) Anchin says to visit
Kiyohime’s house on the way
back. [N](2-2) Two monks make a detour the
Kiyohime’shouse anddirectly gototheir
temple. [N](2-3) Kiyohime knows Anchin’s lie. [N](3-1-2) Kiyohime feels sad and cries. [N](3-1-3) Kiyohime’s body goes to transform intoa snake.
[N+](3-2-2) The snake of Kiyohime pursues Anchin.
[N](3-2-3) Kiyohime seats herself on a big rock at
Ueno.
[N]

(3-2-4) Kiyohime spits fire. [N+]Scene 4: Anchin and the old monk run away in a hurry.
(4-1) Anchin and another monkknow through a passer-by thata snake, Kiyohime, exists topursue them. [N](3-2-5) The body of
Kiyohime turns into asnake. [N+](4-2) Two monks are goingto escape in haste. [N]Scene 5: Kiyohime burns Anchin to death in Dōjōji Temple.

181

(5-1) Anchin and the old monktake refuge to the Dōjōji temple.
[N](5-2) The monks of Dōjōji put
Anchin into the bell of Dōjōji. [N](5-3) The snake of Kiyohime getsto the Dōjōji temple. [N](5-4) The snake, Kiyohime, ties
the big bell in where Anchin exists
using her body. [N+](5-5) The snake blows out fire on
the bell. [N+](5-6) The snake takes her leave ofthe temple . [N](5-7) The monks of the Dōjōji
temple peers over the bell. [N](5-8) The monks discover Anchin’scharred body. [N]Scene 6: Anchin and Kiyohime are reincarnated through the Lotus Sutra.
(6-1) That night, a high-ranking (6-2) In that dream, Anchin and(6-3) Two persons, Anchin andmonk dreams. [N]Kiyohime appear as snakes. [N]Kiyohime, ask the great old monkfor salvation. [P](6-5) The night of this day, young and reincarnatedAnchin andKiyohime
appear in the
great
and
high-ranking
old monk’s
dreams. [P+](6-6) Young two persons, Anchin and(6-4) The high-ranking and great
old monk and many monks
continue to chant the Lotus Sutraat the Dōjōji temple. [P](6-7) Anchin and Kiyohime disappear
from the dream of the old monk. [P]Kiyohime, are thankful to the great and highranking monk. [P]addition, we have classified the above scenes into
negative scenes and positive scenes. The “negative” and“positive” information functions for combining Musume
Dōjōji and the Legend as presented in Section 4.2.

4. Implementing a Combined Animation System
This section describes the combination rule of the two
animations and a combined animation system thatconsists of the two animation systems.

4.2. Animation Combination Rules

4.1. Combining with Two Animations

Kawai, Ono and Ogata [7] developed a prototype systemthat combines animations based on the semantic structureof the two stories. This study extends the prototype to theentire Legend, allowing experimentation with the entire
story.
Kawai, Ono and Ogata [7] proposed combination rules
to associate positive and negative events in Musume
Dōjōji and the Legend presented. The rules first calculate
points by identifying positives and negatives for theelements in Musume Dōjōji (heart, choreography, andtext). Table 3 lists the rules. The points indicate thedegree of positivity or negativity of the selected event in
the Legend, and the positives or negatives are selectedaccording to the “心[kokoro (Mind)]” of Musume Dōjōji.
Table 4 shows how the events of the Legend are selected

Because Musume Dōjōji is positioned as a continuationof the Legend, the inserted images of the Legend can beseen as a special form of remembering the past.
The stage components of Musume Dōjōji was analyzed
in our previous research [2]. This paper focuses on thefollowing elements: “心[kokoro (Mind)]”, “歌詞[kashi(Lyrics)],” and” 振 り [furi (Performance)].” Expressed
emotions in each component are contradictory in someevents in Table 1. For example, in Chūkei no Mai, “心[kokoro (Mind)]” is positive emotion associated with“daughter,” while “ 歌 詞 [kashi (Lyrics)]” contains
negative words, such as “resentment.”
In [7], we have respectively divided the whole ofMusume Dōjōji and the Legend into many scenes. In
182

1.

based on the point and the “ 心 [kokoro (Mind)]” ofMusume Dōjōji, a decision rule to emphasize the contrast
between Musume Dōjōji and the Legend.

2.

Table 3 Point calculation method [7]Kokoro = Positive
Kashi
P
P
N
N

Point
0
1
1
2

Furi
P
N
P
N

3.

Kokoro = Negative
Kashi
P
P
N
N

Furi
P
N
P
N

Point
2
1
1
0

4.

5.

Table 4 Selection method for events by points [7]Kokoro

Point

Event

P
P
P
N
N
N

2
1
0
2
1
0

N+
N
P+ or PP+
P
N+ or N

5. Result and Discussion
Table 5 presents the eight combinations listed in from
Table 4. “Combination” shows combinations of specific
events. “Animation” shows displayed animation.
A. Summary of animations
The animations shown in Table 4 are according to therules explained in 4.2 to determine the 3D animations to
be combine with 2D animations. Note that for (7) in Table
5, only the 3D animation corresponding to the
combination is listed in the table, because thecorresponding combination does not exist in Musume
Dōjōji, at least in the authors’ current analysis.
The rule of combination is intended to emphasize thegap between the events in Musume Dōjōji and those in
the Legend by contrasting the events in Musume Dōjōji
with those in the Legend, and for the purpose animations
with different images evoked by the events in the gap are
combined.
For example, in (3) of Table 5, the lyrics indicate
negative emotions, but Hanako dances a positive
performance. This difference between positive andnegative emotions is related to the event of Kiyohime
bursting into tears after being betrayed by Anchin in the
Legend. This example clearly illustrates the negative
emotions contained in positive behavior.

4.3. The Architecture of Combined Animation
SystemFig. 6 shows an integrated animation system thatcombines the 2D animation system with 3D animation
systems. Although a 2D animation selection mechanism
in Figure 6 uses the mechanism described in Section 3.1,
the 3D animation selection mechanism partially changes
the mechanism explained in Section 3.2. In the integrated
system, a 3D animation selection mechanism selects one
or more 3D animation(s) corresponded to the selected 2D
animation(s) using based on the combination rules.
(1) Stage component(s) of

Musume Dōjōji

User(3) 2D animation(s) of

2D animation
selection

Musume Dōjōji

(2) 2D animation(s)of Musume Dōjōji

corresponding to stage
component(s)(6) 3D animation(s) of
the Legend
corresponding to 2D
animation(s)3D animation
selection
based on 2D
animation(4) 2D animation(s)of Musume Dōjōji

The user inputs one or more stage component(s) of
Musume Dōjōji into the module of 2D animation
selection.
The 2D animation selection module selects one ormore 2D animation(s) based on one or more stage
component(s).
The 2D animation selection module shows selected
2D animation(s) to the user.
Based on each selected 2D animation, a 3D
animation selection module selects one or more 3D
animation(s) based on the combination animation
rules described in 4.2.
The 3D animation selection module shows theselected 3D animation(s) to the user.

2D animation
database(5) 3D animation(s) of
the Legend
3D animation
database

Fig. 6 Architecture of the combined animation system

B. Controlled variety
In the case presented here, 3D scenes in the Legend are
selected according to the scores derived by thecalculation method described in Section 4.2. The selectedscenes in the Legend have fluctuations for a given single
score, corresponding to the positive and negative ratings
for the scenes shown in Table 3. Thus, while controlling
the type of scenes selected in the main scheme of things,
on the other hand, a variety of generation is ensured in
specific detailed aspects.

The user inputs one or more stage component(s) of
Musume Dōjōji. The integrated animation system
displays 2D animation(s) and 3D animation(s) that
correspond to the above 2D animation(s). The Musume
Dōjōji-based 2D animation is displayed according to achronological order. The Legend-based 3D animation is
fragmentally represented. The combination algorithm forthe above processing is as follows.
183

There are many events, such as Pattern (1), where thedances are positive and spectacular with respect to allelements, and Pattern (8), where the dances and lyrics are
positive in contrast to the negative hearts. However, there
are fewer patterns with positive hearts to begin with, andthere is less tendency for the choreography itself to be
negative.

C. Impossible combination
Musume Dōjōji not have the pattern (2) and (7), as shownin Table 5. Table 6 list the number of each pattern. Pattern(2) is “Kokoro/Positive, Kashi/Positive, Furi/Nagative.”
Pattern (7) is “Kokoro/Negative, Kashi/Positive,
Furi/Nagative.”

Table 5 Examples of animations according to combinations of positive and negative
Combination

Animation(1) Kokoro, P; Kashi, P; Furi, P. 0 point
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「鈴太鼓」花に心を深見草 [Hana ni kokoro
wo fukami-gusa]
The Legend (3D): Kiyohime loves Anchin with first sight. [P+](2) Kokoro, P; Kashi, P; Furi, N. 1 point: Musume Dōjōji (2D): There is no corresponding event., The Legend (3D): (3) Kokoro, P; Kashi, N; Furi, P. 1 point
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「中啓の舞」是生滅法と響くなり [Zesyōmeppō to hibiku nari]
The Legend (3D): Kiyohime feels sad and cries. [N](4) Kokoro, P; Kashi, N; Furi, N. 2 points
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「 鈴 太 鼓 」 思 え ば 思 え ば 恨 め し や と て[Omoeba omoeba urameshiya tote]
The Legend (3D): The snake blows out fire on the bell. [N+](5) Kokoro, N; Kashi, N; Furi, N. 0 point
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「くどき」とんと言わずに済まそぞえ[Tonto
iwazuni sumaso zoe]
The Legend (3D): The snake, Kiyohime, ties the big bell in where
Anchin exists using her body. [N+](6) Kokoro, N; Kashi, N; Furi, P. 1 point
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「道行」ただわれをのみ追い来るかと [Tadaware wo nomi oikuru ka to]
The Legend (3D): Two monks are going to escape in haste. [P](7) Kokoro, N; Kashi, P; Furi, N. 1 point
Musume Dōjōji (2D): There is no corresponding event., The Legend (3D): (8) Kokoro, N; Kashi, P; Furi , P. 2 points
Musume Dōjōji (2D): 「手踊り」氏神さまが可愛がらしゃんす[Ujigami-sama ga kawaigara shan su]
The Legend (3D): The night of this day, young and reincarnatedAnchin and Kiyohime appear in the great and high-ranking old
monk’s dreams. [P+]
(6)
(7)
(8)

Table 6 Amount of each pattern
Pattern
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

Kokoro
P
P
P
P
N

Kashi
P
P
N
N
N

Furi
P
N
P
N
N

Total
65
0
9
3
14

N
N
N

N
P
P

P
N
P

12
0
76

6. On Explanation Generation and its Expansion
In the above parts, we described the basic architecture of
the proposed system from the point of view of the mutual184

relationships between Musume Dōjōji and the Legend.
Although we have not presented in detail, this system
includes mechanisms for generating important andinteresting explanations that relates to the above
narratives. In this section, first, 6.1 introduces ourprevious explanation studies and 6.2 considers a new
method using generative AI.

We describe our previous generate explanation study
on Musume Dōjōji and the Legend. We have collected
texts of Musume Dōjōji and the Legend from Wikipedia
and compiled the collected texts into a hierarchicalknowledge base [5]. These texts are related to the
explanations.
We return to the above novel by Mishima, The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion. As stated above, thisnovel proposes the general information about Kinkaku-ji.
On the other hand, Mizoguchi, the narrator in the
narrative, presents a variety of explanations of Kinkakuji that are mixed with Mizoguchi’s own subjectivity. The
character’s thoughtful explanations often give unique andoriginal characteristics to the novel. For example,
although he often expresses the beauty of Kinkaku-ji, we
understand them explanations, in the wide meaning, seenfrom his very subjective point of view. Before he actually
saw the temple, he compared its beauty to that of natural
phenomena, like paddy fields shimmering in the sunlightor mountains glowing at sunrise. However, after hedirectly saw the real Kinkaku-ji, the beauty in his mind
was idealistically exaggerated. Although the above
description is a mere example, there are a deeper anddetailed explanation methods, such as the above
subjective explanation. We call such explanation unchiku
in Japanese.

6.1. An Overview of Explanation Mechanisms
This section presents two mechanisms. First, an
explanation generation mechanism is introduced. Then,an “unchiku” generation mechanism based on the
explanation generation mechanism is introduced.
“Explanation” in this study refers to insert descriptionsof the characteristics of various objects in a story into thestory. As an example, the opening sentences of Dōjōji
Engi [10] is as follows:
紀伊国室の郡真砂と云所に宿あり[Kii no Kuni
Muro no Koori Manago to iu tokoro ni yado ari(There is a guest house in Masago, Muro-no-Koori,
Kii Province.)]. 此亭主清次庄司と申人の娵にて、相随ふ者数在けり[Kono teishu seiji no shōji tomousu hito no yome nite, ai shitagau mono kazu ari
keri (A wife of a man named Seiji no Shoji has many
people, such as houspeepers.)]
The above sentences provide the information of thelocation of the guest house where Anchin stayed, and theinformation of the owner and wife of the guest house.
Narratives do not only narrate events occurred in a storyor the content in a story, but also present explanations
about objects and things contained in the story. Althougha literary theory proposed by Genette [13] systematicallyorganizes rhetorical methods of expressing the content ofa story, explanation methods are also included in thetheory. One of the explanation’s functions temporarilystops the flow in a story.
Ogata tries to integrate narrative theories with AI
theories [14] in the context of narrative generation. The
implement of an explanation mechanism based on
Genette’s theory is an example of the integration [15].

B. Unchiku generation“Unchiku” is a word used to indicate a deep knowledge
or extensive, profound, vast stock of knowledge of an
object or topic. The Japanese representation of “蘊蓄を傾ける[unchiku wo katamukeru]” means the explanation
using the profound knowledge that a person has
accumulated. However, in recent years, unchiku is often
associated with trivia and “蘊蓄をひけらかす[unchiku
wo hikerakasu]” refers to showing off one’s knowledge
in undesirable situations.
We have considered deep knowledge concerning thestage components and events shown in Table 1 in therelationships with the unchiku of Musume Dōjōji andpresented a mechanism for inserting the unchiku
knowledge into the generated text [17], [18]. Moreover,
we have combined the general mechanism of explanationand the mechanism of unchiku generation and classifies
the collected texts and contents, shown in Table 1, into
the following three categories: general information,unique information, and unchiku information. The three
explanation categories are inserted into a generated story[19].

A. Explanation generation
For instance, a general definition of “Kinkaku-ji Temple(金閣寺; The Golden Pavilion),” which is a Japanesecultural heritage, includes various descriptions, such as“the temple is located in Kyoto,” “Kinkaku-ji is a popular
name; its official name is Rokuon-ji.” In addition, in moredeep definitions, there is also the information that The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima [16] isbased on the 1950 arson incident at Kinkaku-ji.
185

6.2. Extending the System Using Generative AI
We have extended the previous studies with generative
AI. Existing generative AI systems have generally astrong ability for generating surface language. However,
we consider that it is weak in the point of an ability toorganizationally or strategically produce macro text
structures like narrative structures. A research group of
narrative generation presented a hybrid method of
traditional
narrative
structure-based
generation
mechanism and neural network-based generation
mechanism [20]. When we use this method, a narrative
macro structure is generated through the traditional
mechanism and it is extended in detail using the neuralnetwork-based generation mechanism.
We compared four chat AI systems based on text
generation AI to investigate the above hybrid generation[21]. We used the following four types of chat AI
systems: ChatGPT 3.5 (released by OpenAI), Perplexity(released by Perplexity.ai), Microsoft Copilot (releasedby Microsoft), and Google Bard (released by Google. It
was renamed to Gemini at February, 2024). In addition,
we used versions at November, 2023. Moreover, Google
Bard is based on a model developed by Google, while theother three systems are based on the GPT model.
We commonly prepared a prompt text in all of the chat
AI systems and compared the generated results. The used
prompt is as follows: “道成寺伝説について蘊蓄を傾けてください。[Dōjōji densetsu ni tsuite unchiku wokatamukete kudasai (Please explain about the legend of
Dōjōji using the profound knowledge that you haveaccumulated.)]”We consider the results. Microsoft Copilot and
Perplexity approximately outputted semanticallyaccurate information in response to the prompt. Google
Bard and ChatGPT 3.5 generated many inaccurate
sentences. For instance, ChatGPT 3.5 produced a new
and fake legend different from the actual Dōjōji legend.
Next, we divided the above four AI systems into twogroups. Group-A includes ChatGPT 3.5 and Google Bard,in which the outputs were inaccurate as a whole. GroupB including Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot outputted
approximately accurate sentences. In the next attempts,
we gave different prompts from the first ones torespective generative AI systems to consider the resultsby two groups.


mistakes. On the other hand, Google Bard could
correct all of the pointed mistakes.
Group-B: Additional explanations were requested
using a second prompt. These two generative AI
systems could generate new and accurate
explanation sentences of the Legend. The sentences
included different contents from the first common
prompt.

In summary, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity are
effective when accurate explanations and knowledge are
required. In addition, we think that there are merits inusing ChatGPT 3.5 and Google Bard. For example,
intentionally or strategically propelling the generation of
texts including mistakes and errors using such type ofgenerative AI systems will contribute generatinginteresting stories.
We would like to describe a topic concerning our
future plans. For instance, a function of explanation andunchiku generation systems adjusts, according to theinformation of the user, the quantity and quality to be
outputted as an explanation [19]. The proposed
framework is not limited to the scope of explanation
generation in this section. We will be able to use theproposed method in other generation mechanisms, suchas story generation.
In Section 6, we have presented an overview of the
explanation generation mechanisms, which are placed asimportant functions in the system that connects Musume
Dōjōji to the Legend. Moreover, we have showed a future
extension plan.
7. Conclusion
This paper presented an experimental mechanism for
integrating the 3D animations of the Legend into the 2D
animations of Musume Dōjōji. The proposed systempresents a story concerning the Legend that is the
background of Musume Dōjōji for a user. The systeminserts the 3D animations for the Legend into the 2D
animations of Musume Dōjōji. Our future plan is toexpand to a more valuable mechanism through evaluating
the relationships of two of the mechanisms.
In addition, we extend the systems by a parameterbased explanation selection mechanism [19]. Regarding
narrative generation using generative AI, we haveconducted a research based on Musume Dōjōji and theLegend [21]. One of our future plans is to present a new
approach through combining our narrative generation andgenerative AI. The method in this paper is a case study of
explanation generation using text generative AI.
Regarding the combining our generation system with theGroup-A: The second prompt clearly pointed out
the semantic mistakes in sentences from the first
prompt. Although ChatGPT 3.5 outputted new
sentences considering the pointed points, the newly
generated sentences contained different semantic
186

14. T. Ogata, “Concepts and aspects of an integrated narrative
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Dawson, & M. Mäkelä (Eds.), The Routledge Companion
to Narrative Theory, pp.433-447. UK: Routledge, 2022.
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introducing narrative discourse theory and reception
theory.” Cognitive Studies, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 396–420,
2013. (In Japanese)
16. Y. Mishima, Kinkaku-ji. Shinchosha. 2020. (Original
work published 1956) (In Japanese)
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18. J. Ono, M. Kawai, T. Ogata, Consideration of unchiku
generation with moving illustration using kabuki dance
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based on user’s knowledge and interests,” Proceedings ofthe 4th International Conference on Computational
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generative AI, we can consider other media other thantext, such as image generative AI.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number JP21K17870.
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187

Authors Introduction
Dr. Jumpei Ono

He took his bachelor’s degree from theFaculty of Software and Information
Science, Iwate Prefectural University
in 2010. He took his MS and PhD fromthe Graduate School of Software andInformation Science, Iwate Prefectural
University in 2014 and 2018. Heworked as an information andcommunication technology instructor at the Vocational
School of Digital Arts Sendai since 2018. At present, he isa senior lecturer at the Faculty of Software and Information
Technology, Aomori University. He is interested in theinterdicsiplinary field, including computer gametechnologies, artificial intelligence, Common Lisp
programing, and story generation systems.
Mr. Shunta Kudo

He received his bachelor from theFaculty of Software and Information
Science, Iwate Prefectural University
in 2023 and has been in the Graduate
School of Software and Information
Science, Iwate Prefectural University
since 2023.

Prof. Takashi Ogata
He took his bachelor from Waseda
University in 1983, his MS from
Tsukuba University in 1992, and his
PhD from the University of Tokyo in
1995. He worked at software
companies since 1983. He has been an
associate professor in the Faculty ofEngineering at Yamanashi University
since 1997 and a professor in the
Faculty of Software and Information Science at Iwate
Prefectural University since 2005. He is currently aprofessor in the Faculty of Informatics at Yamato
University since 2024. He has studied broad research areas,
including AI, cognitive science, narrative generation,
narratology, kabuki, narrative warfare, and content
creation.

188