Cry for Justice: The Noh Play Fujidaiko, The Fuji Drum
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Date
2022-02
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Publisher
Ohio State University. Libraries
Abstract
This paper explores the noh play Fujidaiko 富士太鼓 (The Fuji Drum) with the spirit possession motif. The story unfolds when a woman learns that her husband has been killed by a rival musician because of a dispute over a royal order assigning a drummer for an orchestral concert. The anguished wife becomes seemingly 'possessed' by her husband and conveys his resentment over his wrongful murder. Under the guise of spirit possession, the wife uncovers what would normally remain repressed and wards off social censure. Instead of making the manifestation scene the engrossing climax in its own right, as was the case for preexisting plays on the theme, Fujidaiko's medieval playwright employs the possession motif as one part of a more elaborate plot highlighting the wife's attempt to avenge injustice.
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Keywords
noh play, Fujidaiko, Fuji Drum, spirit possession, trance, madness, derangement, classical Japanese theater, performing arts
Citation
Savas, Minae Yamamoto. "Cry for Justice: The Noh Play Fujidaiko, The Fuji Drum." Buckeye East Asia: Occasional Papers, vol. 1 (February 2022), p. 91-100.