Only a handful of complete and uncut plays-often as much as ten hours long-are produced in Bunraku or Kabuki nowadays included here is one of these. This span of some sixty-odd years was also a formative one in the development of how plays were presented, an important feature in the modern staging of works from the traditional plebeian theatre. During this period, however, several important puppet plays were created that went on to become standards in both the Bunraku and Kabuki repertoires three of the plays in this volume achieved this level of importance. The plays presented here were first performed between 17, a time when the Japanese puppet theatre known as Bunraku was beginning to lose its pre-eminence to Kabuki. "The Love Suicides at Sonezaki" and "The Love Suicides at Amijima" became so popular that they initiated a vouge for love suicides, both in life and onstage.Donald Keene's translation of the original text is presented here with an introduction and a new preface to aid readers in their comprehension and enjoyment of the plays. The heroes and heroines of theses plays gain their tragic stature from their conflict with society. This edition of four of his most important plays includes three popular domestic dramas and one history play.Chikamatsu's domestic dramas are accurate reflections of Japanese society at the time: his characters are samurai, farmers, merchants, and prostitutes who speak colloquially, and who people the shops, streets, teahouses, and brothels that consituted their daily environment. Chikamatsu is thought to have written the first major tragedies about the common man. Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) wrote some 130 plays, chiefly for the puppet theater, many of which are still performed today by puppet operators and Kabuki actors.
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