The Love Suicides at Amijima explained

The Love Suicides at Amijima (Shinjū Ten no Amijima or Shinjūten no Amijima 心中天の網島) is a domestic play (sewamono) by Japanese playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Originally written for the bunraku puppet theatre, it was adapted into kabuki shortly after its premiere on 3 January 1721. It is widely regarded as one of his greatest domestic plays^{[1] [2]} and was hailed by Donald Keene as “Chikamatsu’s masterpiece”.^[3]

Adaptations

The Japanese new wave filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda directed a stylized adaptation of the story as Double Suicide in 1969.

Milwaukee, WI-based Dale Gutzman (book, lyrics) and Todd Wellman (score) debuted the musical adaption AmijimA in 2007.

The Australian National University's Za Kabuki performed a version of the play in 2005, directed by Mr. Shun Ikeda.

References

• pg 170–208 of Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu
• Chikamatsu Monzaemon, The Love Suicides at Amijima, in Haruo Shirane, ed., Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900 (Columbia University Press, 2002), pp. 313–47. .

Further reading

• Major Plays of Chikamatsu, translated and introduced by Donald Keene (NY: Columbia University Press. 1961/1990), pp. 387–425.

External links

• The Love Suicide at Amijima: A Study of a Japanese Domestic Tragedy by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
• Scan of manuscript at Waseda University Library

Notes and References

1. Book: Shirane, Haruo. Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900. 2002-07-10. Columbia University Press. 9780231507431. 313. en.
2. Book: Nichols, Robert. Masterpieces of Chikamatsu: The Japanese Shakespeare. 2010-10-18. Routledge. 9781136913426. 42. en.
3. Book: Keene, Donald. World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-modern Era, 1600-1867. 1999. Columbia University Press. 9780231114677. 258. en.