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Chushingura (the Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play
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Chushingura (the Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play Paperback - 1971

by Donald Keene (Translator)


From the publisher

Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), also known as the story of the Forty-Six (or Forty-Seven) Ronin, is the most famous and perenially popular of all Japanese dramas. Written around 1748 as a puppet play, it is now better know in Kabuki performances. In the twentieth century, cinema and television versions have been equally successful. Donald Keene here presents a complete translation of the original text, with notes and an introduction that increase the reader's comprehension and enjoyment of the play. The introduction also elucidates the idea of loyalty. This traditional virtue, as exemplified in Chushingura, has never completely lost its hold on audiences, in spite of twentieth-century changes in Japanese society and moral ideas. Moreover, as Professor Keene points out, the excitement, color and violence expressed in the play may be considered the counterpoint to the austere restraint and understatement which are more commonly thought to be "traditionally" Japanese.

First line

NARRATOR: "The sweetest food, if left untasted, Remains unknown, its savor wasted."

From the rear cover

Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers), also known as the story of the Forty-Six (or Forty-Seven) Ronin, is the most famous and perenially popular of all Japanese dramas. Written around 1748 as a puppet play, it is now better know in Kabuki performances. In the twentieth century, cinema and television versions have been equally successful. Donald Keene here presents a complete translation of the original text, with notes and an introduction that increase the reader's comprehension and enjoyment of the play. The introduction also elucidates the idea of loyalty. This traditional virtue, as exemplified in Chushingura, has never completely lost its hold on audiences, in spite of twentieth-century changes in Japanese society and moral ideas. Moreover, as Professor Keene points out, the excitement, color and violence expressed in the play may be considered the counterpoint to the austere restraint and understatement which are more commonly thought to be "traditionally" Japanese.

Details

  • Title Chushingura (the Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play
  • Author Donald Keene (Translator)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: first
  • Pages 212
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Columbia University Press, New York
  • Date 1971-04-22
  • ISBN 9780231035316 / 0231035314
  • Weight 0.5 lbs (0.23 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.98 x 5.32 x 0.53 in (20.27 x 13.51 x 1.35 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Asian - Japanese
  • Library of Congress subjects Japan, Forty-seven Raonin
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 78142283
  • Dewey Decimal Code 895.6

About the author

Donald Keene is Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University. He is also President of the Donald Keene Foundation of Japanese Culture.

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by Takeda Izumo; Miyoshi Shoraku; Namiki Senryu

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Columbia University Press, 1971. Paperback. Good. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Chushingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play

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