David Cseh - Panel 07 ENOJP Brussels 2016
Channel: European Network of Japanese Philosophy
Date: 2017-05-11

"Reflections of Ambiguous Realities: A comparitive analysis of mimesis and monomane in the Writings of Aristotle and Zeami". David Cseh (Eötvös Lóránd University, Budapest).

Abstract: In my paper I will pursue a comparative study of the Ancient Greek term mimesis (or mīmēsis) and the Japanese idea of monomane (物真似) in their theatrical context and use by Aristotle and Zeami in their writings. By comparing the Western idea of mimesis to the Japanese idea of monomane, I hope to gain a better understanding of the vague Japanese distinction between reality and unreality, which is needed if we wish to understand the stylistic devices of Nō theatre, along with its ambivalent view of reality. I will first compare the basic metaphysical backgrounds of the ancient Greek and the classical Japanese Nō theatres, and then point out their differences based on Aristotle’s Poetics and Zeami’s Sandō, Kakyō and Fūshikaden. Though both Aristotle and Zeami wrote important texts pertaining to their respective theatres, the former was a theoretician and philosopher, while the latter was a practitioner of theatre who also had a firm philosophical grasp of his art. I will strive to take this difference into account during my analysis of their texts. I believe that through such an analysis a detailed comparison of mimesis and monomane would shed light on the aspects of traditional Japanese theatre aesthetics which Western philosophy and theatre studies find difficult to define. 

This talk took place at the Second annual conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy [ENOJP] 7–10 December 2016, Université libre de Bruxelles [ULB].

For more informations:
http://enojp.org/
http://chisokudopublications.com/