Changes

::Aside from focusing solely on acting and roles themselves, this section and others also deal with the attitudes and behavior of actors in general, in regards to the audience and to their fellow actors. They advise against upstaging other actors and turning the drama into a competition; they also advise against not giving one's all due to the presence of a smaller audience. However, the Analects also caution against the opposite. Actors should not allow themselves to be entirely subsumed in an ensemble, and must strive to make a name for themselves. They must also seek to adapt every performance to the audience. This ties into another key difference between kabuki and Western theatre; kabuki never seeks to reproduce a performance exactly as it is written nor exactly as it was performed in the past. Every performance is a new creative endeavor.

::Aside from focusing solely on acting and roles themselves, this section and others also deal with the attitudes and behavior of actors in general, in regards to the audience and to their fellow actors. They advise against upstaging other actors and turning the drama into a competition; they also advise against not giving one's all due to the presence of a smaller audience. However, the Analects also caution against the opposite. Actors should not allow themselves to be entirely subsumed in an ensemble, and must strive to make a name for themselves. They must also seek to adapt every performance to the audience. This ties into another key difference between kabuki and Western theatre; kabuki never seeks to reproduce a performance exactly as it is written nor exactly as it was performed in the past. Every performance is a new creative endeavor.

*"Mirror for Actors" by [[Tominaga Heibee]] mainly consists of summaries of a number of plays performed at the time, many of which have been otherwise lost today, and through these provides some of the only extant descriptions of earlier forms of kabuki. He describes various customs of earlier times, as well as developments such as the (possibly erroneous) 1656 ban on men wearing certain types of women's hairstyles, and the forced closing of the theatres by the authorities on a number of occasions when such prohibitions were violated. As kabuki had its origins as being quite closely related to prostitution, the examples of earlier plays provided in this section provide a glimpse of the ways in which the theatre developed over time.

*"Mirror for Actors" by playwright [[Tominaga Heibee]] mainly consists of summaries of a number of plays performed at the time, many of which have been otherwise lost today, and through these provides some of the only extant descriptions of earlier forms of kabuki. He describes various customs of earlier times, as well as developments such as the (possibly erroneous) 1656 ban on men wearing certain types of women's hairstyles, and the forced closing of the theatres by the authorities on a number of occasions when such prohibitions were violated. As kabuki had its origins as being quite closely related to prostitution, the examples of earlier plays provided in this section provide a glimpse of the ways in which the theatre developed over time.

*"Words of Ayame" is the most well-known section of the Analects, and is a compilation by playwright [[Fukuoka Yagoshiro|Fukuoka Yagoshirô]] of sayings of [[Yoshizawa Ayame I]], the first great ''[[onnagata]]''. It essentially describes Ayame's advice on acting, focusing on advice for ''onnagata'', along with Ayame's thoughts on other aspects of the theatre. Some of the key points involve advice in subsuming one's masculine tendencies and qualities into the feminine characteristics essential to a successful performance. Ayame famously lived as a woman in his private live as well in many ways, and advised the cultivation of grace and feminine characteristics offstage as well as onstage, so that the performance would flow more easily and so that other actors could more easily see the ''onnagata'' as a woman, acting more easily and freely themselves. Ayame was married with several children, but did nevertheless behave in a quite feminine manner in his offstage life. He also suggested that just as a real woman cannot become a man, an ''onnagata'' should not aspire to try their hand at male roles; this was written and compiled into the Analects before Ayame himself tried to do just that and failed miserably.

*"Words of Ayame" is the most well-known section of the Analects, and is a compilation by playwright [[Fukuoka Yagoshiro|Fukuoka Yagoshirô]] of sayings of [[Yoshizawa Ayame I]], the first great ''[[onnagata]]''. It essentially describes Ayame's advice on acting, focusing on advice for ''onnagata'', along with Ayame's thoughts on other aspects of the theatre. Some of the key points involve advice in subsuming one's masculine tendencies and qualities into the feminine characteristics essential to a successful performance. Ayame famously lived as a woman in his private live as well in many ways, and advised the cultivation of grace and feminine characteristics offstage as well as onstage, so that the performance would flow more easily and so that other actors could more easily see the ''onnagata'' as a woman, acting more easily and freely themselves. Ayame was married with several children, but did nevertheless behave in a quite feminine manner in his offstage life. He also suggested that just as a real woman cannot become a man, an ''onnagata'' should not aspire to try their hand at male roles; this was written and compiled into the Analects before Ayame himself tried to do just that and failed miserably.

::Ayame was famously successful for playing alongside Sakata Tôjûrô, who specialized in male leads, and elaborates on many of the same points as Sugi's "One Hundred Items" and Tôjûrô's "Dust in the Ears."

::Ayame was famously successful for playing alongside Sakata Tôjûrô, who specialized in male leads, and elaborates on many of the same points as Sugi's "One Hundred Items" and Tôjûrô's "Dust in the Ears."

*"Dust in the Ears" is a collection, recorded by playwright [[Kaneko Kichizaemon]], of the sayings and views of Sakata Tôjûrô.

*"Dust in the Ears" is a collection, recorded by playwright [[Kaneko Kichizaemon]] (aka Hitsunôin Keishin), of the sayings and views of Sakata Tôjûrô.

*"Sequel to Dust in the Ears" provides anecdotes about various other actors of the period.

*"Sequel to Dust in the Ears" provides anecdotes about various other actors of the period.

*"The Kengai Collection" returns to Sakata Tôjûrô, and provides, along with ''Dust in the Ears'', great insight into the attitudes and character of the actor.

*"The Kengai Collection" returns to Sakata Tôjûrô, and provides, along with ''Dust in the Ears'', great insight into the attitudes and character of the actor. It consists of the recollections of [[Somekawa Jurobe|Somekawa Jûrôbee]], who was known posthumously as Kengai, as recorded by playwright [[Azuma Sanpachi]].

*"Sadoshima's Diary", the final element of the Analects, is something of a biography of actor [[Sadoshima Chogoro|Sadoshima Chôgorô]].

*"Sadoshima's Diary", the final element of the Analects, is something of a biography of actor [[Sadoshima Chogoro|Sadoshima Chôgorô]]. It includes discussion of the requirements for actors, and was written by Chôgôrô himself, under his monastic name Renchi-bô.

==References==

==References==

*Dunn, Charles and Torigoe Bunzô (1969). <u>The Actors' Analects</u>. New York: Columbia University Press.

*Charles Dunn and Torigoe Bunzô, ''The Actors' Analects'', New York: Columbia University Press (1969).

[[Category:Historical Documents]]

[[Category:Historical Documents]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]

[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]