PWAssignment2


 * The idea of Rapture as an Approach to Kyogen**. By Junko Sabaka Berberich. __Asian Theatre Journal__, Spring 1989. pp 31-46.

Junko Sabaka Berberich starts out her exposition by stating that //kyōgen// is sometimes considered the only Japanese art form that is comparable to the Western notion of theatre because it is very dialogue-oriented. By the end of her piece, we realize that dialogue is only a fraction of what //kyōgen// is. Berberich captures the rich essence of the Japanese art form of //kyōgen// by providing her audience with the framework of what makes it unique. She points out that this art form is not to be taken at surface value as just being comical, but has deeper implications for human beings. According to the author, It addresses a dark, vulnerable part of human nature in a very straightforward way that helps us to bear the reality in which we live.

The author goes on to further expand upon the idea of “rapture” as it transforms performers and the spectator. “Rapture, ”as referred to in this piece, describes a character being carried away by extreme emotion or affected by intense involvement in some activity. The author elaborates upon the fact that all rapture events intensify and soar upwards, which distinguished kyōgen theatre from nō theatre. This exposition is organized according to the various ways in which different plays use techniques to induce rapture such as mimesis, element of song, utilization of rhythmic speech, intense verbalization, dance, chanting, and etc. along with their subsequent examples of scripts that prove these points.

She briefly summarizes events of rapture in plays such as //The Demon-Faced Tile//, //The Nightingale//, //A Fake Sculptor//, //The Fortified Beard, The God of Happiness, Kanaoka//, and other related plays.. Although these examples are credible sources of course, in my opinion, they were difficult to visualize in the way they were described by the author. This piece could possibly be targeted towards an audience that have a wider knowledge of Asian theatre as a whole and have possibly seen kyōgen, nō, or bunraku style theatre first-hand.

The author, Junko Berberich, in 1989, was the Visiting Assistant Professor of Drama and Theatre at the University of Montana at Manoa, who taught for the production of no and //kyōgen//. Overall, this is an excellent approach to //kyōgen// as an art-form and its implications for us as humans to understand and appreciate the art and, in some cases, to be enraptured by it ourselves.