{"product_id":"kyogen-jonah-salz-9781350407060","title":"Kyogen: Japanese Theatre's Timeless Comedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first book to provide a comprehensive introduction to the formulaic characters, plots, and staging of the comic form of Japanese drama, kyogen.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It spans its history up to the present day, traces its evolution and its spread in the 20th century and situates it within a comparative comedy context. A 600-year-old classical comic form, kyogen plays feature spirited physical gags, rapid-fire banter, poetry, song, and dance. Plots vary from situational comedy and slapstick farce to fantasy. Kyogen actors also appear in noh, the lyric dance-theatre, as go-betweens and narrators. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The books explores how kyogen was originally an independent art, and how since becoming paired with noh as samurai \"ceremonial entertainment\" in the 17th century, its satire became gentle, the movements stylized, the properties and costumes elegant. It goes on to illuminate how, after World War II, kyogen enjoyed a renaissance. Scholars pointed out its native anti-authoritarianism, comparing them to Aristophanic comedies, Shakespeare's clowns, and commedia dell'arte. Kyogen actors taught at Japanese theatre academies and professional troupes, occasionally asked to interpret Shakespeare, Beckett, and contemporary plays showing the threats of nuclear war and climate change. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This book shines a spotlight on kyogen as performance, describing popular characters and plots, the training trajectory from childhood to maturity, and the organizational structure of this guild-like comic cottage industry. A comparative approach situates kyogen's classical comedies within a global dramatic comedy context.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jonah Salz,Akane Nagata\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1350407062\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781350407060\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Methuen Drama\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/26\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.79h x 5.08w x 1.00d","brand":"Jonah Salz","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48217846087935,"sku":"9781350407060","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_096c353e-b861-49db-b703-4efb0fe2ebfa.jpg?v=1771999820","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/kyogen-jonah-salz-9781350407060","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}