The Vendetta of the 47 Rōnin in Modern Kabuki - (Brill's Japanese Studies Library) by Paul Griffith & Rachel Payne (Hardcover)

About the Book

The only complete English translation of the 20th century masterpiece, Genroku Chūshingura, written by one of Kabuki's foremost modern playwrights, Mayama Seika, on the most famous vendetta in Japanese history.

Book Synopsis

The revenge of the 47 rōnin is the most famous vendetta in Japanese history and it continues to inspire the popular imagination today. Written between 1934 and 1941, Mayama Seika's ten-play cycle Genroku Chūshingura is a unique retelling of the incident based on his own painstaking research into the historical facts.
Considered a modern masterpiece, it now has a secure place in the Kabuki repertoire and many of the plays are still frequently performed.
For the first time, Seika's monumental achievement is here translated into English in its complete and original form by three experienced experts in the field.

About the Author

Brian Powell taught Japanese theatre at Oxford University for nearly forty years. He is the author of Kabuki in Modern Japan, Mayama Seika and his Plays (1990), Japan's Modern Theatre, a Century of Continuity and Change (2002) and numerous articles on Japanese theatre since the late nineteenth century. He has been President of both the British Association for Japanese Studies and the European Association for Japanese Studies.
Paul Griffith, formerly Associate Professor, Saitama University, Japan. For 40 years he has worked as a translator and commentator at Kabuki theatres in Tokyo, and has written articles, translations for Kabuki DVDs and subtitles for 'Cinema Kabuki' movies. He is co-author of A guide to the Japanese Stage: From Traditional to Cutting Edge (Kodansha, 2004).
Ronald Cavaye, formerly professor of piano at Musashino Academia Musicae, Tokyo. He has worked as commentator and translator for the Kabuki 'Earphone Guide' and 'G-Mark Guide' since 1982. He is author of Kabuki - a Pocket Guide, (Tuttle), co-author of A Guide to the Japanese Stage: From Traditional to Cutting Edge (Kodansha, 2004) and translator of many Kabuki DVDs.
Rachel Payne lectured in Japanese language and culture at the University of Canterbury (NZ) for 15 years. She has research interests in many aspects of Japanese traditional theatre.