Shippensburg University - Cumberland Yearbook (Shippensburg, PA)

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The japanese drama resembles the Grecian drama in the use of a chorus, and the Gothic drama in the intertwining of a thread of humor with a tragic plot. I found abundant humor in the plays, but the causes of my mirth were not those which provoked tl1e rest of the audience to laughter. My chief sources of amusement were the scene shifters, the choristers, and the stage horse. The scene-shifters are dressed in black, with long black veils falling to tl1eir waists. Stage conventionalities have decreed that these men shall be invisible to the spectators, and hence they move about on the stage during the performance as though they wore the the magic cloak of Jack the Giant Killer. In one scene they carried off a mountain,-a canvas one,-from tl1e middle of the stage in order that a pair of duellists might have more room for their encounter. Still more amusing was the singing of tl1e chorus. They kept up a sort of recita- tive during the greater part of the play. Their music was,-well, it was Oriental, and none but an Oriental could appreciate it. To my ear it was a series of howls, wails, squeaks, cat-calls, and groans. I was convulsed with laughter. My companion regarded me with solemn surprise. Oh, that singing, I exclaimed by way of explanation. Yes, he replied with a grave air, it is very iine. Those who understand it enjoy it very much, For myself, I am not fond of music. I could explain no fur- ther. Probably he still wonders why I laughed. Equally comical were the antics of the stage-horse. A real horse is never used on the Japanese stage. Instead, a framework shaped like the head and body. of a horse, and covered with brown velvet, is carried upon the shoulders of men in brown tights whose bodies are concealed within the frame. The way in which that long-footed, thick-calved steed capered about. the unmistak- ably human iling of its legs, and tl1e lack of harmony in movement be- tween its two pairs of feet, were too ridiculous for words. The fact that the horse was ridden by a dignified general only added to the ludicrous effect. But I had tl1e laugh all to myself. No one else seemed to think it funny. It is not because the Japanese have no sense of humor that they do not laugh at these absurdities. Their sense of the ridiculous is very keen. But, like children at play, they have agreed to pretend that things are really what convenience demands that they should be. Japanese plays differ as greatly from those of the American stage as do the manners and customs of its people from those of Western lands. Loyalty, lilial obedience, and chivalry are the favorite ideas em- bodied in the Japanese drama, for which history and legend for hundreds of years past furnish abundant matter. To tl1e mind of the foreigner the incidents of most Japanese plays seem unnatural and absurd. But he

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entire floor was divided into these 'boxes.' There were no aisles and no seats. The partitions between the boxes were wide enough to serve as walks,-that is, about ten inches,-and as for seats, the Hoor itself is always comfortable enough for a Japanese, while a thin silk cushion is pos- itive luxury. In consideration of the fact that I was an ijin san, or foreign barbarian, and unused to native ways, the attendant produced two small chairs for our use. After the chairs were put into the box, there was barely room for us to get in, though four people manage to sit in Japanese fashion in one of these cribs without crowding. Luckily our box was at the back of the auditorium 9 otherwise we should not have been allowed to have chairs. , The last act of the first play was on the boards when we entered. So, instead of trying to understand what was being said and clone, I spent the time in looking about me. The clecorous order of our own theatres has no counterpart l1e1'e. Men, women, and even children are smoking tiny pipes and cigarettes, some are drinking tea, others are eating with chop- sticks from little lacquer trays or bowls. Everywhere a free and easy air prevails, though there is little talking. The interior of the theatre is en- tirely of wood, unpainted,-for paint has no place in Japanese architect- ure.-unplastered, and with but little decoration. The most aristocratic 'parts of the house are the balcony and the last two rows of boxes on the ground floor. Next to these ranks the pit. Sloping upward from behind the end balcony, and separated from it by a wire screen is the gallery of the gods, known in Japan as the driven-in place, or deaf gallery. Here there are no boxes, and people are 'driven in' and crowded together in the utmost confusion. Behind the deaf gallery is another abode ofthe gods,-a narrow pen, where upon payment of a cent or two, one may stand and peep through iron bars at the stage for the space of one act. The most novel features of Japanese stage arrangements are the 1'e- volving stage and the Flower-Walk. The former is an ingenious con- trivance by means of which the whole stage revolves like a railroad turn- table and presents a change of scene. The Flower-Walk is a raised plat- form about four feet wide, running from the side of the stage down to the large door at the back of the auditorium. Along this walk actors pass to and from the stage, sometimes amid shouts of applause from the audience. During the five hours of our stay two plays were presented. both his- torical tragedies. My companion briefly sketched each story for me be- fore the play began, and supplemented the sketch by a running expla- nation as the play proceeded. These explanations together with the action of the players enabled me to follow the story fairly well. - 27

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must remember that a nation which has but lately thrown off the bond- age of the feudal system with its fanciful ideas of loyalty and duty, looks with other eyes than his, and sees a fidelity to nature and a nobility of sentiment where he sees only an improbable fancy or a foolish sentimen- tality. Thus the difference between the dramatic art of japan and that of our own land is due to a difference in national temperament and national ideas, and not to a lack of fidelity to nature. The last play which was presented that day ended with the suicide of the hero by ham-lez'rz', the ancient honorable method of self-destruction. The scene was a Buddhist burying-ground with its old, grey, lichen-grown stones and sombre pines. Here, in the early dawn, comes the hero to worship at the tomb of his lord, and to perform the last,-greatest act of devotion to his master. Fanciful as was the ideal of heroism which it in- volved I could not but feel the tragedy of the scene. Never have I seen a more magnificent piece of acting than the deathlstruggle. Here, in- deed. was not national nature but human nature, in its supreme moments the same everywhere, and everywhere appealing to the human heart no matter what its nationality. And so with this dark scene from the old feudal days ended my visit to the Japanese theatre. -SARA A. S1-ENCER. Y .'. ag' it E9