Although widely viewed in the West, Japanese films are often misunderstood, as they are built on cultural, theatrical, and aesthetic traditions entirely foreign to Western audiences. Particularly in regards to Japan's "fantastic" cinema - including giant monster pictures, ghost stories, and "J-Horror" films - what is often perceived as "cheap" or "cheesy" is merely an expression of these unique cultural roots. By observing and exploring such cultural artifacts as kabuki, noh, and bunraku - the traditional theatrical forms of Japan - long-standing literary traditions, deeply embedded philosophical beliefs, and even more recent developments such as the controversial dance form butoh, these films, including Gojira (1954), Daimajin (1966), Kwaidan (1964), Onibaba (1964), Testuo the Iron Man (1989), and Ju-On (2002), can be placed in their proper perspective, leading to a reevaluation of their worth not merely as commercial products, but as uniquely Japanese expressions of that society's unique place in world culture.

Ce travail de thèse interroge la place de la création artistique dans la transmission secrète des savoirs en cours dans les milieux des acteurs de nô au Japon du XIVe au XVe siècle. Notre analyse porte sur les écrits du dramaturge Konparu Zenchiku (1405-1470?), disciple et gendre du fondateur du nô d’apparition Zeami (1363-1443). À partir d’une analyse comparée de deux corpus de textes complémentaires – traités théoriques et canevas de nô – nous mettons en évidence la rivalité et le processus d’émulation qui s’opèrent dans l’œuvre de Zenchiku à partir du socle de références que constituent les écrits de son maître. Nous mettons ainsi en lumière le rôle majeur que joua Zenchiku dans le développement de la pensée esthétique de Zeami qui se traduit sur scène par une revalorisation du rôle cathartique de la représentation esthétique des passions dans le nô. / This thesis investigates the place of artistic creation in the secret transmission of knowledge among noh actors in Japan from the 14th to the late 15th century. Our analysis is based upon the writings of the playwright Konparu Zenchiku (1405-1470?), disciple and son-in-law of Zeami (1363-1443). Based on a comparative analysis of two corpuses of complementary texts - theoretical treatises and noh pays - we highlight the emulation and rewriting process of the knowledge inherited from his master that takes place in Zenchiku's work. In this way, our work exposes Zenchiku's major role in the development of Zeami's aesthetic thought, which is reflected on stage by a revaluation of the catharsis of passion and his aesthetic representation on stage.

Pendant son séjour diplomatique au Japon de 1921 à 1927, Paul Claudel a rencontré le nô, une forme du théâtre traditionnel. Le dramaturge catholique, issu de la sphère symboliste, découvre dans le nô ce qu’il imaginait pour une nouvelle forme de la « synthèse des arts », c’est-à-dire l’union parfaite entre la Poésie, la Musique et la Danse, imprégnée de spiritualité. A l’aide d’une approche à la fois génétique, historique et comparatiste, notre thèse s’attache à étudier comment il interprète le nô et comment il s’en inspire dans sa propre création. Nous analysons d’abord la manière originale dont il comprend le nô, en adaptant une double perspective, histoire de la réception du nô en Occident depuis XVIe siècle et esthétique dramatique de l’auteur. Son originalité peut être dégagée par la comparaison avec la conception japonaise du nô authentique et par la confrontation avec la vision de ses prédécesseurs occidentaux ; contrairement à ces derniers, il passe sous silence le kyôgen, farce qui accompagne le nô ; son attitude vis-à-vis du bouddhisme est ambiguë ; son essai sur le nô a de grandes qualités littéraires. Ensuite, nous étudions le processus de l’assimilation de la philosophie orientale dans son univers, à la lumière d’un adage de Zeami, fondateur du nô, cité dans le Journal de Claudel. Enfin, nous démontrons qu’il utilise des apports du nô, d’une part dans ses pièces écrites au Japon, telle La Femme et son ombre (1922), et d’autre part, dans son « oratorio dramatique », genre inauguré en 1927 : le nô est sublimé dans son univers chrétien. Claudel cosmopolite, comprend le nô, puis le métamorphose en fonction de ses propres convictions esthétiques et spirituelles. / France's Ambassador to Japan from 1921 to 1927, Paul Claudel discovered there the Noh theatre which stems from a medieval performing tradition. The Catholic dramatist and symbolist poet found in the Noh what he had imagined as a new form of “synthesis of arts’’, which was for him a perfect union of Poetry, Music and Dance, open to spirituality. Our method is genetic, historic and comparative in studying his understanding of the Noh, which is a source of inspiration for him. We have adopted a double perspective: first of all we study the history of the reception of the Noh in the Western world from the 16th century onward, and combine this type of investigation with literary considerations about the dramatist's aesthetics. The originality of our poet’s vision appears in comparison with the authentic Japanese conception of the Noh plays and the interpretation of his Western predecessors. For unlike these European specialists, his silence about the Kyôgen, a comic sketch played in a Noh performance, is surprising; his attitude to Buddhism is ambiguous; his essay about the Noh has a specific literary quality. The adage of Zeami, founder of the Noh, quoted in the Claudel's Journal, throws light on the process of assimilation by his Catholic vision of oriental philosophy. Finally, we show the impact of the Noh on his plays written in Japan, like La Femme et son ombre (1922), and on his “dramatic oratorio,” a genre inaugurated in 1927. The Noh is sublimated in his Christian world. Claudel, a cosmopolitan author who aims at universality, after having penetrated the world of the Noh, integrates it in his creative practice, according to his own aesthetic and spiritual conviction.

Imagined Sceneries is a work written by composer Dr. Koji Nakano of Burapha University, Thailand for two sopranos, koto, light percussion, narrations, soundscapes recorded in Kyoto, Japan in December 2015, and digital projections of Ebina Masao’s 1953 print series Tale of Genji. Imagined Sceneries’ reimagining and “re-sounding” of Heian Kyoto relies on a balance between what is imagined and what is experienced in performance. Its many elements collectively explore multiple layers of Japanese histories, soundscapes, environments, and sensibilities. Using Michel de Certeau’s concepts of the city, this thesis journeys through Nakano’s imagined spaces.

L'auto-assemblage des copolymères à bloc (CPBs) attire beaucoup d'intérêt grâce à leur capacité de générer spontanément des matériaux ordonnés avec des propriétés uniques. Les techniques Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) et Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) sont couramment utilisées pour produire des monocouches ou des films ultraminces à l'interface air/eau suivi de transfert aux substrats solides. Les films LB/LS de CPBs amphiphiles s'auto-assemblent dans des morphologies variables dépendamment de la composition du CPB ainsi que d'autres facteurs. Dans notre travail, nous avons étudié les films LB/LS de polystyrène-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-P4VP) et leurs complexes supramoléculaires avec le naphtol (NOH), l'acide naphtoïque (NCOOH) et le 3-n-pentadécylphenol (PDP). La première partie de ce mémoire est consacré à l'investigation du PS-P4VP complexé avec le NOH et le NCOOH, en comparaison avec le PS-P4VP seul. Il a été démontré qu'un plateau dans l'isotherme de Langmuir, indicatif d'une transition de premier ordre, est absent à des concentrations élevées des solutions d'étalement des complexes. Cela a été corrélé avec l'absence de morphologie en nodules avec un ordre 2D hexagonal à basse pression de surface. L'ordre au-delà de la pression de cette transition, lorsque présente, change à un ordre 2D carré pour tout les systèmes. La deuxième partie du la mémoire considère à nouveau le système PS-P4VP/ PDP, pour lequel on a démontré antérieurement que la transition dans l'isotherme correspond a une transition 2D d'un ordre hexagonal à un ordre carré. Cela est confirmé par microscopie à force atomique, et, ensuite, on a procédé à une étude par ATR-IR des films LB pour mieux comprendre les changements au niveau moléculaire qui accompagnent cette transition. Il a été constaté que, contrairement à une étude antérieure dans la littérature sur un autre système, il n'y a aucun changement dans l'orientation des chaînes alkyles. Au lieu de cela, on a découvert que, aux pressions au-delà de celle de la transition, le groupe pyridine, qui est orienté à basse pression, devient isotrope et qu'il y a une augmentation des liaisons hydrogènes phénol-pyridine. Ces observations sont rationalisées par un collapse partiel à la pression de transition de la monocouche P4VP, qui à basse pression est ordonné au niveau moléculaire. Cette étude a mené à une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes moléculaires qui se produisent à l'interface air/eau, ce qui fournit une meilleure base pour la poursuite des applications possibles des films LB/LS dans les domaines de nanotechnologie. / Self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) attracts much interest due to their ability to spontaneously generate ordered materials with unique properties. For many applications, such as masks in nanolithography, separation membranes in medical diagnostics, and nanotemplates for nanowire fabrication, manufacturing into thin films is required. The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) techniques are commonly used to produce ultrathin or monolayer films at the air/water interface that are transferred to solid substrates. LB/LS films of amphiphilic BCPs self-assemble into various morphologies, depending on the BCP composition and other factors. In our work, we investigated LB/LS films of polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-P4VP) and their supramolecular complexes with, naphthol (NOH), naphthoic acid (NCOOH) and 3-n-pentadecylphenol (PDP). The first part of the thesis was devoted to the investigation of PS-P4VP complexes with NOH and NCOOH, in comparison to PS-P4VP alone. It was shown that a plateau in the Langmuir isotherm, indicative of a first-order transition, is absent at high spreading solution concentrations for the complexes. This was correlated with an absence of the expected dot morphology with 2D hexagonal-like order at low surface pressure. Above the transition, when present, the morphology has 2D square order. The second part of the thesis re-examines the PS-P4VP/PDP system, which was previously shown to undergo a transition from 2D hexagonal to square order at the isotherm plateau pressure. This was confirmed here, and a detailed ATR-IR study of LB films was then undertaken to better understand molecular-level changes occurring at this transition. It was found that, contrary to another study in the literature on a different system, there is no change in alkyl chain orientation. Instead, it was found that the pyridine group loses its low-pressure orientation and there is increased phenol-pyridine hydrogen-bonding above the transition pressure, which is rationalized by a partial collapse of the low-pressure molecularly ordered P4VP monolayer at the transition pressure. This study leads to an improved understanding of the processes occurring at the air/water interface, which is a basis for the further possible applications of LB/LS films in nanotechnologies.

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In her doctoral thesis the author would like to present the play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry trees (Yoshitsune senbonzakura) as a unique piece of Japanese drama which has a great complexity and an outstanding place within the corpus of Japanese literature. Even if the play can be compared to Chushingura mono in its importance, Yoshitsune senbonzakura has not been widely translated to western languages. There are two exceptions, however: the English translation (Jones, Jr. 1993) and the German translation (Klopfenstein 1982). While comparing the two translations and using the most full original texts available (as preserved in Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sosuke Joruri Collection and Yuda Yoshio's Bunraku Joruri Collection), the author's goal is to present the play to Czech readers and its interpretation to Czech scholars. As for the flow and structure of the interpretation of Yoshitsune senbonzakura the author begins with the historical background of the legend of Minamoto Yoshitsune, capturing the life of Yoshitsune from the time of Heiji rebellion (1159) when he was born to his death in 1189. Next the author concentrates on the legend itself as it evolved within the course of Japanese literature. With a shift from the court literature of Heian period towards the battlefield stories and...

In her doctoral thesis the author would like to present the play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry trees (Yoshitsune senbonzakura) as a unique piece of Japanese drama which has a great complexity and an outstanding place within the corpus of Japanese literature. Even if the play can be compared to Chushingura mono in its importance, Yoshitsune senbonzakura has not been widely translated to western languages. There are two exceptions, however: the English translation (Jones, Jr. 1993) and the German translation (Klopfenstein 1982). While comparing the two translations and using the most full original texts available (as preserved in Takeda Izumo and Namiki Sosuke Joruri Collection and Yuda Yoshio's Bunraku Joruri Collection), the author's goal is to present the play to Czech readers and its interpretation to Czech scholars. As for the flow and structure of the interpretation of Yoshitsune senbonzakura the author begins with an analysis of the historical background of the legend of Minamoto Yoshitsune, capturing the life of Yoshitsune from the time of Heiji rebellion (1159) when he was born to his death in 1189. Next the author concentrates on the legend itself as it evolved within the course of Japanese literature. With a shift from the court literature of Heian period towards the battlefield...