Abstract
Noh theatre consists of two types of plays: (1) present-time noh that presents a relatively realistic portrayal of living persons, and (2) phantasmal noh that depicts ghosts and other supernatural beings who interact with Buddhist monks and seek salvation. In phantasmal noh plays, female ghosts dramatically –somewhat obsessively– narrate their sweet and bitter past love affairs. Likewise, ghosts of warriors recount their regrettable incidents on the battlefield. Notably, the past outshines the present. Usually, this characteristic of phantasmal noh is examined from purely literary and aesthetic perspectives. Such a research tendency, however, creates a blind spot in comprehending phantasmal noh, which features fluid temporality or non-chronological time concepts. Given this weakness, it is worth considering a linguistic approach to such irregular narrative temporality, such as that explored by German Germanist-linguist Harald Weinrich, who developed a grammatical tense theory. Among other ideas, Weinrich’s hypothesis brings to the fore the narratologically creative and effective role of the past tense in that this particular tense powerfully foregrounds the kernel of each theme within a narrative. Despite the difference between the past tense and the noh characters’ recollection of their past experiences, Weinrich’s theory provides insight into noh’s narrative interaction between the past (represented by the ghost) and present (the traveling monk). My central focus lies on the two phantasmal noh plays, Izutsu [The Well-Cradle] and Matsukaze [Pining Wind], in which female ghosts remember their past love affairs and indulge in romantic, even amorous, nostalgia.
Presenters
Yukihide EndoRetired Teacher, English, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Phantasmal noh, Narrative temporality, Fluid temporality, Harald Weinrich, Tense theory
