The Literary Analysis Podcast Episode 3: Chicamatsu and Puppet Theatre Around the World

Script

Opening Music

Luke:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Literary Analysis Podcast. I am your host, Luke Harding, and today we will be discussing Chikamatsu’s The Love Suicide at Amijima. Now, there are a number of themes that I could discuss, but today I thought I would change the pace of the podcast up a little bit. Instead of diving into the text and analyzing a specific theme and message from the text, I wanted to have a broader conversation about puppet theatre in different cultures around the world. I will cover puppet theatre in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas (more specifically, Native Americans). Before I get started, I want to mention Unima.org. Unima.org is a website with background information on all forms of puppetry around the world and is the primary source for the information mentioned in this podcast. I do reference a few Britannica articles as well as a video from The Kennedy Center. However, most of this information can be found at Unima.org. Now, I will start my discussion on puppet theatre around the globe. Because Chikamatsu is a Japanese piece, I will start with Asia.

Asia:

Chikamatsu’s magnificent piece is an example of Bunraku puppetry, a type of puppet theatre in which dolls are used to act out a dramatic piece called  jōruri  (“Bunraku”). Bunraku is just one type of puppet theatre prominent in Asian culture and history. Puppetry’s origins in Asia are diverse and rich and I will try to reference a few of the different forms of puppetry that are common in Asian history and culture. Shadow theatre is especially prominent in China and India, with its origins expected to be thousands of years ago. You will find that, in this episode, the origins of puppetry in different parts of the world are unclear. There are some written scripts for puppetry, however there is archeological evidence that puppetry was in practice in a lot of these areas long before actual scripts for its theatrical form were written. Take shadow puppetry to be our first example of this. While shadow puppetry’s origins in China were likely over 2,000 years ago, the “oldest written proof of its existence is found only in the 10th century Song Dynasty” (Tilakasiri). In Asia, other forms of puppetry have had significant roles in culture and history, such as rod puppets, glove puppets, string puppets, etc. String puppet theatre is often taught through oral tradition, with specifics being augmented based on political climate and relevance. A written script is not necessarily commonplace (Tilakasiri). If I had three hours to discuss puppetry in Asia, I would barely scratch the surface of its cultural significance and history. However, for now I am going to move on to other parts of the world. 

Europe:

While Asia may have indicators that puppetry has been around for thousands of years, Europe is not exactly in the same boat. The middle ages, it is believed, is the first era in which inanimate objects played a role in storytelling to a degree beyond props. Puppets were often used to assist in the telling of religious stories, and some puppet performances of the Nativity scene and other famous religious scenes are still in practice in some European countries. Puppetry of course was diverse in its influence and prominence in Europe. Commedia dell’arte is a form of theatre that used puppetry, but soon thereafter forms of puppetry theatre broke off on its own, utilizing specific characters and tropes often found in that type of dramatic performance. Puppetry quickly became a common form of entertainment, particularly among the middle and working classes. Members of the upper classes were not often found at puppetry performances for a while after it first became a common form of entertainment (Jurkowski). Puppetry even got grouped into nationalism a little bit after the French revolution, with a number of countries having symbolic puppetry heroes, but each one unique to its own country (“Styles of Puppet Theatre”). Overall, European puppetry has changed drastically over time, and it still continues to change today.

Africa:

As I mentioned before, most historians agree that Asia was the sight of the first puppetry performances. However, there is some archeological evidence that ancient Egypt may have had some type of puppetry involved in its culture. In Africa, tribes and countries have drastically different cultural practices from one another, so the use of puppetry for each one will likely differ. However, there are some commonalities between cultures. Puppetry often serves three different purposes in African cultures. The first major purpose is ritualistic and religious ceremonies. There are tons of rituals among a variety of tribes in which puppets are used to help facilitate the ceremony and even give spiritual service, often symbolic of ancestral connection. Symbolism is a major part of African puppet use.The next major purpose that puppets often serve in Africa is entertainment. This is a vast field with a wide variety of examples, many of them including humorous tales and/or political and social messages based on the current climate. The last major purpose that puppets serve in a lot of tribes within Africa is education (Peretu). In a video from the Kennedy Center, a guest named Yaya Coulibaly explains that puppets are often used in his home of Mali for educating the youth and initiating them into society as they grow older (Neal). Again, there are tons of different cultural practices on the continent of Africa, so none of these statements necessarily apply to every one. It is just interesting to learn about trends and practices among the cultures of Africa as a whole while doing a brief overview of global puppet theatre.

Americas:

The last geographic area in which I wanted to analyze and discuss puppet theatre is the Americas. In North and South America, the most prominent practice of puppetry comes from Native American cultures. Similarly to the other groups mentioned, there is a wide variety of cultural practices. I am just referencing examples and some trends in the overall use of puppets throughout the Americas. The Maya and the Tolpec have some of the earliest known examples of puppetry in the Americas dating back centuries ago. Overall, puppetry has been used in a variety of Native American cultures, typically in spiritual or social rituals. String puppets, finger puppets, glove puppets, body puppets and rod puppets have all found use in the Americas throughout its history (Staub). Once again, I am trying to avoid over-generalizing. There are definitely distinct features in how each tribe of Native Americans utilize puppets and their significance. However, I am simply trying to summarize puppetry on a global scale in terms of history and culture.

Conclusion:

So, you might be wondering by now why I chose to do a general overview of puppetry in different parts of the world. While Chikamatsu is rich with themes of duty, love, religion, etc. and I would love to take some time to analyze those thoroughly, I felt like placing my emphasis on a different area of literature and art would be beneficial for the listeners. My main message here: artforms matter. There is significant cultural and historical significance to both the audience and the author of any given artform. Puppetry is just an excellent example. Chikamatsu’s piece is Bunraku puppetry, something that holds significant cultural weight to Japan. I also wanted to emphasize further the concept of globalization. Clearly, there are similarities and differences in cultural practices around the world and puppetry is, once again, an example of that. Know that, when you read a poem from Europe during World War One or you listen to an American folk song during the Vietnam War or you read a piece of Bunraku puppet theatre, the artform matters. Not only to the author of a piece, but for the audience both present at its release and centuries afterwards.

That is all for today’s episode of the Literary Analysis Podcast. I once again want to thank Unima.org, Britannica.com and the Kennedy Center for the information that assisted me in creating this episode, as well as Chikamatsu’s The Love Suicide at Amijima to inspire it. I hope you all take something away from this episode, and I encourage you to continue to bring the written word to life.

Works Cited

“Bunraku.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2020, www.britannica.com/art/Bunraku.

Chikamatsu. The Love Suicide at Amijima. Translated by Asataro Miyamori, In Parenthesis Publications, 2000.

Jurkowski, Henryk. “Europe.” Translated by Penny Francis, Unima.org, Unima Internationale, 2009, wepa.unima.org/en/europe/.

Neal, Kenny. Performance by Yaya Coulibaly, Sogolon Puppet Theatre, The Kennedy Center, http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/puppetry/sogolon-puppet-theater/.

Peretu, Ebikebina. “Africa.” Translated by Francis Penny, Unima.org, Unima Internationale, 2012, wepa.unima.org/en/africa/.

Staub, Nancy Lohman. “Native American Puppetry.” Unima.org, Unima Internationale, 2012, wepa.unima.org/en/native-american-puppetry/.

“Styles of Puppet Theatre.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2020, http://www.britannica.com/art/puppetry/Styles-of-puppet-theatre.

Tilakasiri , Jayadeva. “Asia.” Translated by Kathy Foley, Unima.org, Unima Internationale, 2012, wepa.unima.org/en/asia/. 

This exploration of puppet theatre definitely strayed away from the methods of the first two podcasts that I made for this class so far. It involved a lot of outside research and reading, which I don’t mind. I definitely had far less focus on the Chikamatsu piece than I did on the pieces that I analyzed for the first two podcasts. I think the question of ‘why does literature matter?’ has gained weight throughout the semester, not just because of what I have learned in class but also what is happening in the world. Because of the current social climate, literature matters. It is important to understand different viewpoints and cultures as it pertains to everything. Like puppetry, there are thousands or even millions of ways to interpret and utilize things. The world is a diverse and chaotic place, and it is important to have an open mind when addressing issues and harness an understanding of different perspectives.

Literature also matters in that it makes us as people think about concepts such as love and duty as covered in Chikamatsu’s The Love Suicide at Amijima. Duty especially is not a concept that I have considered as much as colonialism or justice. Without reading this piece, I don’t think I would have gained a new perspective on what that word ‘duty’ means. To devote yourself not to a person but an idea, the idea of family or love or marriage. I also think this concept of duty can be interpretive. I think if I did the same sort of globalistic dive into that concept that I did puppet theatre, I would find a multitude of definitions and practices, each unique to one another. That too is why literature matters. Take any word, practice, theme, artform, etc. and do some research. I think anyone will find so much variety from a cultural standpoint, and yet we are becoming more globalist each day. It is important to understand others; it is important to read literature, especially from authors with drastically different experiences than one’s own.

Literature also matters because, like I said in my podcast, artform matters. Platform matters. There is a reason a poet writes poetry; there is a reason a songwriter writes songs. Each of them finds a unique possibility and tool within each of the artforms that allows the creator to demonstrate what they are trying to demonstrate. I would love to see a performance of Chikamatsu’s piece. I’m sure I can, I just haven’t done so yet. I think it would give me a serious appreciation for the artform and the choice to make the play a Bunraku piece. I’ve talked about the unique characteristics of theatre pieces before. One can read a theatrical piece and analyze the text itself, but will miss out on the visual elements. One can see the play, but (likely) cannot sit there and analyze the text, re-reading sections to harness an understanding of a theme or concept. I guess ultimately they are meant to be seen, but I believe that anything written has a motive underneath to be read. 

All of these things are why literature matters. Perspectives, cultures, artforms, themes, etc. These are all necessary to the effectiveness of literature. The world, as it stands right now, is divided, confused, and ignorant. I think simply analyzing and interpreting international texts would provide people an understanding of not only perspective but how the world actually works. This class has opened my eyes to the ways in which cultures, countries, and people are connected with one another. Reading texts like Chikamatsu’s provide me that understanding.