World Lit. Early Modern Japan
Below is the discussion description and prof. posted links and required reading materials:
Read:
“Early Modern Japanese Popular Literature” (313-319).
“The World of Haiku” (321-323) and “from The Narrow Road to the Deep North” (324-328 — to the ….near the bottom of the page).
The Love Suicides at Amijima (339-367).
This week you’ve tackled two works. Sometimes, I’ll combine multiple works into a single discussion question, focusing on common themes or characteristics. This time out, I’m asking you to prepare a separate post on each.
The first question gives you options — you need choose only one of the three questions on The Love Suicides at Amijima. The second post lets you get a little creative, writing your own haibun and haiku. Both responses need to demonstrate your knowledge of the reading.
As usual, you won’t see anyone else’s responses to these until you posted your own.
Week 2 Post Part One: The Love Suicides at Amijima
In a post of at least 300 words, respond to one of the following questions on The Love Suicides at Amijima. Be sure to include specific references to the play in your analysis (including quotations). When responding to other student posts, try to read and respond to at least one which answers a question other than the one to which you responded.
- Oaths play a central role in The Love Suicides at Amijima. This is in large part because of their centrality to Japanese Buddhist culture. Breaking an oath not only had ramifications in society, but in the afterlife as well. Trace the impact of oaths in the play — how do they drive the plot?
- In the play, Koharu is a courtesan. Describe what that means in the play. How does her being a courtesan influence the choices she makes and how other characters interact with her? How does it drive the play’s plot? How does the role of the prostitute in Early Modern Japan differ from your own expectations/assumptions about prostitution?
- Discuss Osan’s motivations in the play. Why does she do what she does? Her actions can seem contradictory — what makes them consistent with her character and her role in society?
Again, be specific in your analysis. Your post must demonstrate your knowledge of the play.
Week 2 Post Part Two: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
We’ll have a little fun with your response to Basho’s travelogue. Instead of just writing about his work, I’d like you to try your hand at creating something in his style. So — first write a bit of prose that imitates some portion of his text, but brings in your own experience instead. Follow it up with a single haiku. Your prose piece should be at least 200-300 words. Try to mirror the passage in Basho as best you can — we should be able to figure out which scene you’ve adapted.
Have fun with this one! It is still testing your understanding of the work and its form, but apart from that, you can let your own creative juices flow.
Solution Preview
World Literature: Early Modern Japan
Post-Part One
Question One
The first encounter with an oath occurs with Gozaemon asking Jihei to commit himself to forgetting about Koharu. Consequently, the first impact of an oath in the story helps create some form of unity in the family, and lays the foundation of a plot twist later on in the play. In particular, Gozaemon ends up taking away his daughter from Jihei primarily because he had broken his oath, the basis of which is the reason why Jihei kills Koharu and eventually commits suicide (Monzaemon). The suicide marks the highlight of the play, revealing the two characters’ commitment to each other in addition to the impact of religion on their lifestyle.
(600 words)