Funa Benkei, or Benkei Aboard Ship, was written by Kanze Nobumitsu, and was based upon Gikeiki (‘Record of Yoshitsune’), which tells the story of a young Yoshitsune who, through his training, won the loyalty of the fearsome warrior-monk, Musashibou Benkei—the titicular character of this play. Funa Benkei is considerably modern compared to the other plays included in Japanese Noh Dramas, and is a fifth-category play (kiri-noh), which is current in all five schools of noh (Tyler, pg.83).
The structure of the play is set up with the scene in which Benkei introduces himself all the way up until the ageuta by Benkei and the Warriors as the jo, or intro, that sets up the exposition and introduces both the characters, their backstories, and their motivations for the travelling that takes place within the play. The ha is the Boatman’s monologue, which takes place at the transition from the first part with the maeshite to the second part with the nochijite. He feels sad that Shizuka should be forced to return to the capital, and questions why Yoshitsune, who just destroyed the Taira, should have to leave the capital and be hated by his brother, who should be congratulating him instead. From the ha, the action builds up to the kyu, or climax, which in Funa Benkei is the appearance of the nochijite, Tomomori’s ghost, who pursues Yoshitsune in revenge for his dead clansman and his own death. The tension in the climax remains high all the way until the end; there is a lot of action, as a combination of Buddhist prayers and Yoshitsune’s sword-brandishing drives the spirit from the ship, and keeps him away while Benkei and the crew row the boat away over the ocean. At the very end, the spirit, unable to have his revenge and unable to catch u...
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...y prayer and the sword” (pg. 95), shows that the combination of Buddhist religion and physical strength is a sufficiently powerful combination to ward off evil.
I chose to read the play, Funa Benkei, because I enjoyed Heike Monogatari and Yoshitsune’s story. This play seemed to have less allusions and references than the other plays we read in class. A knowledge of poems from older works did not seem to be crucial to understanding this play, although it was based on Gikeiki. For example, knowledge of the poem about Miyako birds from Ise Monogatari is integral in order to understand the allusion being made by the Woman in Sumida-gawa. No such knowledge of backstory is needed in order to understand Funa Benkei. I thought that the storyline was very enjoyable, especially the action scenes.
Works Cited
Tyler, Royall. Japanese Noh Dramas. London: Penguin Books, 1992.
...o de-essentialize and de-Orientalize religious system of Islam, and instead locate it as part of a historical discursive tradition where practices were contested and in flux. This challenges notions of what authentic religious practices are in Theravada Buddhism, and in doing so expands an understanding of what forms can take. For this reason, the work is useful, and highly recommended for an aspiring religious or anthropological scholar.
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
Walking into the Hall of the Buddhas, there was a sense of peace and guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province, made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).
“In the West, we think of each human life as solid and discrete, beginning at conception and ending at death. The Buddhist view is of waves appearing and disappearing endlessly on a great ocean of life energy. When cause and effect combine in a certain way, a wave arises, appearing...
The music and sound effects are in the same pont with what the author nedded to say in that play. In the smok and sword fight on the first act we thought will be a play where every body is confusing and fight each other. The phone ringing all the time and this help the actors to play around in the hury and action come up with rehearsal process. The purposes of the phone is any time we heart that something is going to happen, so we expectin to change the sequence in the play. Ringing the phone open a problem, hanging up the phone close the problem. Opening and shoutting the door of dressing room as a slamming it create for the audience understanding the flow of the show and leaves the flexibility as we see white and black to the performance. Crying with tears make the player dramatic, but afraid of discover which it trying to keep things together laughting and
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
Brazell, Karen. Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. Print.
Although I am aware that we are focusing on literary sources and their relationship to their Noh counterparts, one cannot help but notice that the background of Atsumori dates back to actual historical events, and then establishes itself in Heike Monogatari. Anyway, any audience in Japan should already be familiar with the stories of Heike Monogatari, and the Noh play is only a touching extension of one aspect from the battle between the Minamoto Clan and th...
I will now examine what it means to be religious with a critical enquiry into Buddhism, Hinduism and
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Japan is known for its unique gardening style, their diverse plants, their food, and their beautifully woven tapestries. Yet, most do not know about the history of their drama. Japanese Noh theatre is one of the most precise and prestigious art forms. It has been this way since the fourteenth century when Zeami first created Noh theatre. Zeami’s most famous plays, such as Kinuta, are still performed today. Japanese drama has not changed much since the fourteenth century because it has made a lasting effect on the culture. Noh theatre had a major influence on fourteenth century Japan and has affected modern day drama.
Buddhist philosophy illustrates the path to an enlightened soul using the Bhavacakra, or “Wheel of Life”, a representation of saṃsāra, or the cyclic existence. The center of this wheel contains the “Roots of Evil” - represented by a cock, a snake and a pig. The “Three Poisons” corrupt man from within. The cock represents desire, the snake hatred and the pig delusion or ignorance. While these three poisons are the root of human bondage and misery, it is delusion that drives the wheel.
A comparative analysis of salvation in Christianity and Buddhism exposes stark contrasts between the grace of Jesus Christ and the self-saving action and enlightenment of Buddha. I attempt to compare the Christian and Buddhist concepts of salvation in this essay to emphasise on the significance of each founder's roles in salvation, and to extract similarities and differences between them both.
The novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard, is a story of redemption and reconciliation, facing the past, and confronts the core elements of human nature. The character going through this journey, who the novel is named after, is a young man who is part of the lowest level of society in a poor shanty town in South Africa. Tsotsi is a thug, someone who kills for money and suffers no remorse. But he starts changing when circumstance finds him in possession of a baby, which acts as a catalyst in his life. A chain of events leads him to regain memories of his childhood and discover why he is the way he is. The novel sets parameters of being “human” and brings these to the consideration of the reader. The reader’s limits of redemption are challenged as Tsotsi comes from a life lacking what the novel suggests are base human emotions.