What does it mean in a Nō play when a flower achieves buddhahood? Is such an event feasible, even necessary, on philosophical grounds? Or is it merely used as a pretext for a picturesque drama meant only to illustrate the beauty of nature? Building on earlier studies by Shively, Lafleur, and Tyler, this article focuses on a body of Nō plays that deal with the idea of sōmoku jōbutsu, arguing for a serious consideration of the religious and dramatic significance of this theme. Plays of this type highlight traditional Japanese views of nature and humanity's place in it. But no art form can render nature 'as it really is'; the process of turning nature into an aesthetic (not so say, religious) subject is as much a form of acculturation as any other kind. This truism needs emphasis and qualification.
雑誌名
Nichibunken Japan review : bulletin of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies
巻
8
ページ
39 - 55
発行年
1997-01-01
ISSN
09150986
書誌レコードID
AA10759175
フォーマット
application/pdf
著者版フラグ
publisher
その他の言語のタイトル
「能」舞台における花の言葉
出版者
International Research Center for Japanese Studies
The language of flowers in the NO theatre
IJ0803.pdf
(1.06MB)
