Analyzing Multiple Narrative Structures of Kabuki based on the Frameworks of Narrative Generation Systems

Abstract

Although kabuki is a genre of, so to speak, traditional performing arts, it also has many of the characteristics of a contemporary genre, including such various elements as narrative, drama, dance, and music. This analysis and study will contribute to the design and development of studies on digital-narrative generation. The author has previously surveyed and analyzed kabuki’s narrative structures from the viewpoint of a multiple narrative structure model, particularly the generation or production processes involved in its creation and its reception and consumption processes. Kabuki’s multiple-narrative-structure model means that the entire structure of kabuki is constructed through multiple usages of related information. For example, in kabuki the element of the “person” is divided into three: a “character” within a narrative work, an actor with a history of performances and who uses a stage name, and a real human with a true name. This multiplicity provides the person with multiple and deep characteristics. In this paper, based on these previous studies, the author discusses a method that bridges this kabuki analysis with system design and involves the use of two narrative generation systems: an Integrated Narrative Generation System (INGS) and a Geino Information System (GIS).