The Japanese Theatre: From Shamanistic Ritual to Contemporary Pluralism

Outlines the current knowledge in the West about the history and development of Japanese theatre, giving priority to areas which are less known or for which satisfactory syntheses either do not exist or are hard to find, such as the period of the origins, kagura, gigaku, and the origins and theories of the no. A chapter overviewing the scholarship in western languages provides references to more comprehensive treatment of the areas covered only lightly here. Much of the information is drawn from research in Japanese, but the Japanese quotations are consigned to chapter-end notes. Includes a glossary and 70 bandw illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR