This text is a record of the preparation and rehearsal of a kabuki-inspired production of Madame de Sade by Yukio Mishima in an English translation by Donald Keene. The goals of this production were both artistic and pedagogical. I applied my knowledge of Japanese theatre and skills in directing skills in a new way to create a work of theatre with a cross-cultural aesthetic appropriate to both the play and the audience. This production also gave the cast of undergraduate acting students the experience of combining truthful and stylized acting and introduced them to both kabuki and Stella Adler acting techniques. This text details the process of preparing the text, the discussions, exercises and techniques used in rehearsal, the impact of design elements on the performance and concludes with some thoughts on future development of this production concept with a fuller realization of the kabuki-inspiration.

by Amy Tak-Yee Lai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [106]-114). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter One --- "Narcissism, Approach and Theories" --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter Two --- The Artist and His Portrait: The Picture of Dorian Gray --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter Three --- The Stutterer and His Temple: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter Four --- The Poet and His Garden: Ying'er --- p.70 / Chapter Chapter Five --- "Narcissism, Culture and Self" --- p.95 / Works Cited and Consulted --- p.106

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [308]-338).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 228 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-228).

My dissertation investigates the connection between hobby (shumi), aesthetic appreciation (kanshō), and the imagining of Japan-centered “oriental ceramics” (tōyō tōji) in Okuda Seiichi’s thought during the period of rapid modernization and aesthetic nationalism that accompanied Japanese imperialist expansion. The main task of this study is to highlight and analyze the role of Okuda Seiichi (1883-1955) in presiding over modern ceramic scholarship. It seeks to understand the peculiarities of Taishō-period society (1912 – 1926) that catalyzed the emergence of ceramic hobby and appreciation, especially among a circle of Japanese business, intellectual, and cultural leaders. This cultural climate encouraged the gradual formation of the study of ceramic history as an academic discipline and ceramic hobby began to reconfigure and merge with scholarly activities through groups such as Tōjiki kenkyūkai (Ceramic Studies Society, founded 1914), the Saikokai (Colored Jar Society, 1916), and Tōyō tōji kenkyūjo (The Institute of Oriental Ceramics, 1924). Okuda played an instrumental role in the establishment of professionalism in ceramic study and cultivated the notion of ceramic appreciation by claiming superiority for Japanese aesthetic discrimination. My dissertation illuminates the ways in which the notions advanced by Okuda to define ceramic hobby and appreciation indicate Japan’s acceptance of Western “fine arts” and aesthetic canons, which privileged painting and sculpture. While the complexity of Okuda’s ideas can be understood as part of the broader intellectual concern of Japan’s art history, his most significant efforts can be found in highlighting not only artistic qualities but also the conceptual and technical supremacy of ceramics. The dissertation also investigates how Okuda established an historical narrative for Asian ceramics in which Japan could compare its tradition with the West and assert its unique role in a unitary Asian civilization. In rivalry with the West’s advancement of Asian ceramic studies, Okuda stressed his unique, historically conditioned role as a leader in the field, while involving his works in a dialogue with Western scholars. By contextualizing Okuda’s evolving thoughts within the intellectual currents of his time, this dissertation sheds new light on the origin of the study of ceramic history in the Taishō period, when the idea of ceramic appreciation underwent a pivotal redefinition.

Cette étude se propose de montrer comment Yukio Mishima a renouvelé l’art du nô tout en conservant de nombreux concepts dramaturgiques et esthétiques. Créant un genre nouveau, le nô moderne, l’écrivain a revitalisé ce théâtre en privilégiant son obsession du désir de mort. Greffés sur des nôs anciens, les pièces de Mishima revitalisent des figures et des mythes du passé dans un monde moderne dégradé, où la seule voie possible est celle qui mène à la douleur originelle, un retour vers un sacré dans lequel se lisent les obsessions et les rêves de mort du dramaturge. / This study offers to show how Yukio Mishima has renewed the art of nô while maintaining numerous aesthetic and drama concepts. By creating a new genre, the modern nô, the writer has revitalized this type of theatre, focusing on his obsession with death desire. Based on ancient no’s, Mishima's plays revitalize figures and myths of the past, in a deteriorated modern world where the only possible path is the one leading to original pain, going back to the sacred, which reflects the playwright's obsessions and dreams of death.

An exploration into the influence of the noh and kabuki on the late plays of Tennesee Williams and the impact his friendship with Yukio Mishima had on his work.

Mishima Yukio premiered the play Rokumeikan in 1956 and published it in 1957. For more than half a century, this play has been praised as one of the finest Japanese plays in the Post-War period. Rokumeikan is a multi-act tragic melodrama, set in 1886 (Meiji Period) in the Rokumeikan building. The play intertwines complex political cabals, intense loves and hatreds, and multiple deceptions embodying the conflict between political power and love. This essay explores the reasons why Rokumeikan has maintained its popularity over its fifty year long performance history and examines the critical reception of the play. My analysis of the Rokumeikan text is based on conflicting notions of truth and power. According to the French philosopher, Michel Foucault, socio-political power creates truth. This "power reality" is embodied in the play by Prime Minister Kageyama, and its authority is challenged by his wife, Asako, who has an entirely different conception of truth. This interplay of conflicting values has helped to maintain the popularity and stature of the play for half a century.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar duas traduções para o português da obra literária japonesa Kinkakuji, escrita por Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) e publicada em 1956, para fazer considerações sobre a tradução indireta e a interferência da versão intermediadora entre o texto-fonte e o texto-alvo, sob o ponto de vista do conceito de equivalência. Tratam-se da tradução realizada por Eliana Sabino (1988) a partir da versão em inglês por Ivan Morris (1959) e a tradução direta do japonês feita por Shintaro Hayashi (2010). Para esse objetivo, primeiramente, apresentamos um perfil geral de Mishima e suas obras; o romance Kinkakuji, considerando o seu contexto de criação e avaliação de críticos; e de um conceito de tradução indireta e diversas visões a respeito. Além disso, faremos uma apresentação da tradução da literatura de Mishima em português, nas tradições de tradução da literatura japonesa no Brasil. Será feita a análise cotejando as traduções acima referidas e o trabalho original em japonês, visando identificar as transformações ocorridas que impeçam os leitores da tradução de compreender o sentido da obra original. Como resultado, concluímos que tais deformações ocorrem na tradução indireta com maior frequência, mas ocorrem também na tradução direta, dificultando a transmissão do universo do romance elaborado pelo autor. Os resultados nos ajudaram a perceber que a tradução em inglês causa a deformação do texto original de certa forma e influi inevitavelmente na tradução indireta em português, porém, a tradução em inglês não é a única razão desta deformação. Na tradução direta em português, apesar de identificarmos alguns casos de deformação, observou-se que o tradutor teria se preocupado com a manutenção do estilo de estrita do autor do texto original, além do sentido textual. Podemos dizer, nesse caso, que o tradutor conseguiu produzir um texto mais próximo, sob o ponto de vista de manutenção da equivalência, daquele ao qual o leitor da obra em japonês tem acesso. / The work aims to analyze two translations of the Japanese literary work Kinkakuji, written by Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), published in 1956. to carry out a consideration of the indirect translation and of how much the intermediate version interferes between the source text and the target text, from the standpoint of the concept of equivalence. The selected translation into Portuguese are by Eliana Sabino (1988), who translated from the English version by Ivan Morris (1959), and the direct translation from the original text in Japanese by Shintaro Hayashi (2010). For this purpose, I introduce Mishima and his works; the novel Kinkakuji, considering the context in which the author wrote it and its critical reception; and a concept of indirect translation, as well as various views on it. In addition, I present the translation of Mishimas literature into Portuguese, in the translation tradition of Japanese literature in Brazil. I carry out the analysis by comparing the translations with the original work in Japanese to identify the transformations that have prevented the readers of the translations from understanding the sense of the original work. I reached the conclusion that such deformations occur more frequently in the indirect translation, but also in the direct translation, hindering the transmission of the universe developed by the author in the novel. The results allowed me to realize that the English translation causes deformations in the source text in a certain way and that it inevitably influences the indirect translation into Portuguese, but the English translation is not the only reason for this. In the direct translation into Portuguese, although I identified some cases of deformation, I noticed that the translator was concerned with maintaining Mishimas writing style, not only in the textual sense. In this case, it can be affirmed that the translator has been able to produce a text that is closer, from the point of view of maintaining the equivalence, to the one to which the reader of the Japanese work has access.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar duas traduções para o português da obra literária japonesa Kinkakuji, escrita por Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) e publicada em 1956, para fazer considerações sobre a tradução indireta e a interferência da versão intermediadora entre o texto-fonte e o texto-alvo, sob o ponto de vista do conceito de equivalência. Tratam-se da tradução realizada por Eliana Sabino (1988) a partir da versão em inglês por Ivan Morris (1959) e a tradução direta do japonês feita por Shintaro Hayashi (2010). Para esse objetivo, primeiramente, apresentamos um perfil geral de Mishima e suas obras; o romance Kinkakuji, considerando o seu contexto de criação e avaliação de críticos; e de um conceito de tradução indireta e diversas visões a respeito. Além disso, faremos uma apresentação da tradução da literatura de Mishima em português, nas tradições de tradução da literatura japonesa no Brasil. Será feita a análise cotejando as traduções acima referidas e o trabalho original em japonês, visando identificar as transformações ocorridas que impeçam os leitores da tradução de compreender o sentido da obra original. Como resultado, concluímos que tais deformações ocorrem na tradução indireta com maior frequência, mas ocorrem também na tradução direta, dificultando a transmissão do universo do romance elaborado pelo autor. Os resultados nos ajudaram a perceber que a tradução em inglês causa a deformação do texto original de certa forma e influi inevitavelmente na tradução indireta em português, porém, a tradução em inglês não é a única razão desta deformação. Na tradução direta em português, apesar de identificarmos alguns casos de deformação, observou-se que o tradutor teria se preocupado com a manutenção do estilo de estrita do autor do texto original, além do sentido textual. Podemos dizer, nesse caso, que o tradutor conseguiu produzir um texto mais próximo, sob o ponto de vista de manutenção da equivalência, daquele ao qual o leitor da obra em japonês tem acesso. / The work aims to analyze two translations of the Japanese literary work Kinkakuji, written by Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), published in 1956. to carry out a consideration of the indirect translation and of how much the intermediate version interferes between the source text and the target text, from the standpoint of the concept of equivalence. The selected translation into Portuguese are by Eliana Sabino (1988), who translated from the English version by Ivan Morris (1959), and the direct translation from the original text in Japanese by Shintaro Hayashi (2010). For this purpose, I introduce Mishima and his works; the novel Kinkakuji, considering the context in which the author wrote it and its critical reception; and a concept of indirect translation, as well as various views on it. In addition, I present the translation of Mishimas literature into Portuguese, in the translation tradition of Japanese literature in Brazil. I carry out the analysis by comparing the translations with the original work in Japanese to identify the transformations that have prevented the readers of the translations from understanding the sense of the original work. I reached the conclusion that such deformations occur more frequently in the indirect translation, but also in the direct translation, hindering the transmission of the universe developed by the author in the novel. The results allowed me to realize that the English translation causes deformations in the source text in a certain way and that it inevitably influences the indirect translation into Portuguese, but the English translation is not the only reason for this. In the direct translation into Portuguese, although I identified some cases of deformation, I noticed that the translator was concerned with maintaining Mishimas writing style, not only in the textual sense. In this case, it can be affirmed that the translator has been able to produce a text that is closer, from the point of view of maintaining the equivalence, to the one to which the reader of the Japanese work has access.