A History of Japanese Theatre ed. by Jonah Salz

Abstract

Reviewed by: A History of Japanese Theatre ed. by Jonah Salz Peter A. Campbell (bio) A History of Japanese Theatre. Edited by Jonah Salz. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. xli + 550 pp. $155.00 hardcover. As the first major text to cover the length and breadth of Japanese theatre since Benito Ortolani's The Japanese Theater in 1991, this ambitious work is successful in providing a comprehensive history of theatre in Japan while introducing various historiographical and performative methodologies that help the reader understand how the dozens of authors came to know what they know. It is also an engaging and enjoyable read, filled with strong prose and useful visual materials, including time lines and genealogies as well as depictions of costumes, masks, and performances. Despite its many authors, the structure and tone is clear and contains an engaging survey of Japanese performances from the origins of Japanese civilization to contemporary plays and theories of performance. The structure is not strictly chronological: while the first two sections move in a linear fashion to discuss traditional theater in part 1 and modern theatres (Meiji and post-Meiji) in part 2, the last third of the book moves across time and space to discuss themes and patterns of Japanese theatre arts, the architecture of spaces, criticism from within and outside of Japan, and intercultural aspects of Japanese theatre. However, even the linear history is interrupted with short sections that create opportunities for case studies and discussions of specific cultural traditions, performances, or biographies of significance. For example, during the forty-page chapter on Noh, brief one-to-two-page "Spotlights" focus on the Noh stage, Zeami's writings, and women in Noh; and "Focus" sections of similar length discuss Kurokawa Noh, Noh's first appearance in Europe, at the Venice Bienniale in 1954, twentieth-century Noh actor Kanze Hisao, and the repertory of Noh plays. There are also more extended "interlude" sections that discuss larger issues. At the end of the Noh chapter, there is an interlude that discusses the history and function of Noh and Kyogen masks and costumes. This is effective in preventing the reader from falling into a singular narrative and helps fulfill the promise of such a collaborative work by creating a complicated, varied, and entertaining landscape of different types of Japanese theatre. The most salient and unique part of the book is part 3, "Arcs and Patterns," which sets up helpful frameworks for discussing elements of Japanese theatre in ways that are directly useful for an undergraduate classroom. By having brief sections of different themes and issues that the study of Japanese theatre brings up, it allows for the reader, teacher, or student to see different approaches that can complement and even replace a strictly chronological course of study. This part also provides a bridge to those more accustomed to literary historical [End Page 317] studies. Especially in J. Thomas Rimer's section, "Modern Plays as Literature," and Salz's, "Traditional Meta-patterns," we are encouraged to see the intertextuality of different kinds of performances across literature and other cultural traditions. While the text as a whole valorizes the study of performance and production, this part creates a linchpin that demonstrates how this focus on performance does not diminish the works as literature. Instead, by providing such fundamental materials about the larger cultural and performative contexts in which the texts were created, it allows us to better comprehend how the texts have worked in their historical or contemporary contexts. Perhaps the smartest thing about this text is that it does not attempt to pretend that it is not created for an English-speaking audience. The egalitarian sensibility of the authorship allows for a clear diversity of voices, but at the same time it enables the reader to regularly recognize the perspectives that are offered by those voices. Salz makes sure that the kinds of issues and concerns that come from non-Japanese students and scholars are addressed in clear ways, including a very useful overview of English language scholarship provided near the end of the book by David Jortner and two excellent chapters (by Nakano Masaaki and Salz) discussing the use of Japanese training practices around the...