Assistant Professor KIM, Jihye
Assistant Professor KIM, Jihye
- Academic Degree
- Ph.D. in Letters, Osaka University
- Expertise
- Modern Japanese theater history
- Research Theme
- A study of modern kabuki plays focusing on three aspects; nostalgia, script improvement, and canonization
A study of modern kabuki plays focusing on three aspects; nostalgia, script improvement, and canonization
All literary art forms are closely related to the politics and social characteristics of the times in which they flourish, and correlation between those two influences cannot be overlooked. Kabuki, a performing art born in the early seventeenth century, is no exception and has always been influenced by the policies of the current shogunate or government, forcing it to adapt. As symbolized by the concept of “civilization and enlightenment,” the Meiji Era was an important turning point for Japan as it transformed into a modern nation, and the qualitative changes in kabuki that occurred during this period were very significant. In this study, I trace the qualitative changes in modern kabuki plays from three aspects; nostalgic retrospect to Edo culture, refinement of the scripts, noble and classical phenomena in opposition to the trend to modernization, and I clarify the process whereby kabuki became solidly established as a traditional performing art.