Fwd: Chushingura Programs at Columbia University, Spring , 2003

[Aaron Gerow]

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From: Henry Smith <hds2 at columbia.edu>
Subject: Chushingura Programs at Columbia University, Spring 2003

300 YEARS OF THE 47 RONIN: A Chushingura Retrospective

To mark the tercentenary of the Ako Revenge of 1701-03, the Donald Keene
Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University will sponsor a variety 
of
programs in the spring semester of 2003, including a film series, an
exhibition of prints and books, an AAS panel, and a symposium. All events
at Columbia are open to the public and free of charge. The preliminary
details are provided below; for further information and periodic updates,
please check the special section of the Keene Center website at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/dkc/chushingura/ (after December 1).


FILM SERIES:  "Exacting Revenge:  A Series of Eight Japanese Films"

All films in the series will be shown in the Altschul Auditorium, Columbia
University
School of International and Public Affairs, on Monday evenings (and on two
occasions,
continuing on Tuesday evening) starting at 7:45 pm. Admission is free.

      #1. February. 3:    HARAKIRI (Seppuku), 1962;
           dir. Kobayashi Masaki, b/w, 134 min.
      #2. February 10:   GONZA THE SPEARMAN (Yari no Gonza), 1986;
           dir. Shinoda Masahiro, color, 126 min.
      #3. February 17:   THE BAD SLEEP WELL (Warui yatsu hodo yoku 
nemuru), 1960;
           dir. Kurosawa Akira, b/w, 150 min.
      #4. February 24:   AN ACTOR'S REVENGE (Yukinojo henge), 1963;
           dir. Ichikawa Kon, color, 113 min.
      #5. March 3-4:     THE 47 RONIN (Genroku Chushingura), 1941 and 
1942;
           dir. Mizoguchi Kenji, b/w, 2 parts, 111 and 112 min.
           Shown in two parts, on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
      #6. March 24-25:  CHUSHINGURA (Chushingura), 1962;
           dir. Inagaki Hiroshi, color, part I, 103 min; part II, 104 min.
           Shown in two parts, on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
      #7. April 7:    YOUTH OF THE BEAST (Yaju no seishun), 1963;
           dir. Suzuki Seijun, color, 92 min.
      #8. April 14:  VENGEANCE IS MINE (Fukushu suru wa ware ni ari), 
1979;
           dir. Imamura Shohei, color, 140 min.


EXHIBITION:  "Chushingura on Stage and in Print:  An Exhibition of Books,
Manuscripts, and Ukiyoe"

The exhibition consists of materials from the Waseda University Library 
and
Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, and The C. V. Starr East Asian Library
at Columbia, and has been organized to mark a new cooperative agreement
between the university libraries of Waseda and Columbia. The exhibition
will be held from March 17 through April 11, weekdays only, in the Rare
Books & Manuscript Library in Butler Library, and in the Rare Book Room of
The C. V. Starr East Asian Library in Kent Hall, Columbia University.
Please consult the Donald Keene Center web site at
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/dkc/chushingura/ (after December 1) for
hours and further details.


AAS PANEL: "The Many Lives of the 47 Ronin: Three Centuries of Retelling
the Chushingura Story"

Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, New York Hilton Hotel
Panel #190, Sunday, March 30, 8:30 am to 10:30 am.

      "The Young Motoori Norinaga Hears the Story of the Ako Ronin
        from a Buddhist Preacher"
      Federico Marcon, Columbia University

      "Naniwabushi Narration and the Modernization of Chushingura"
      Hyodo Hiromi, Gakushuin University

      "Maurice Bejart's 'The Kabuki' and the Western Re-Gendering of 
Chushingura"
      Saeki Junko, Doshisha University

      Discussants:  Thomas Harper, Leiden University, ret.
                         Henry Smith, Columbia University


SYMPOSIUM: "Rethinking Chushingura: A Symposium on the Making and Unmaking
of Japan's National Legend"

This symposium will follow immediately after the Annual Meeting of the
Association for Asian Studies, beginning on Sunday, March 30, at 3 pm in
Buell Hall on the Columbia University campus, and continuing on through 
the
following day of Monday, March 31. The program for the symposium is still
in the process of organization, but will consist of brief provocative
presentations followed by comments and general discussion.

In order to make the symposium accessible to a wide range of participants,
the presentations will focus on materials for which some English-language
material is available, including: the motivations of those involved in the
historical Ako Revenge of 1701-03; the Confucian debates over the
punishment of the ronin and their master; the theatrical tradition of
Kanadehon Chushingura in bunraku and kabuki; Western versions of the story
of the 47 Ronin; and Japanese film versions of the tale (in particular
Mizoguchi's "Genroku Chushingura" [1940-41] and Inagaki's "Chushingura"
[1962], both of which will be shown in the film series).

Some slots are still open for provocateurs and discussants in the
symposium; those interested in serving in either capacity are urged to
contact Henry Smith by email at hds2 at columbia.edu.

The Columbia programs have been made possible by a grant from the
Weatherhead Program Development Fund of the East Asian Institute, and with
the cooperation of the Waseda University Library and Tsubouchi Memorial
Theatre Museum.

For further information and periodic updates, please check the Keene 
Center
website at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ealac/dkc/chushingura/ (after 
December 1).



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Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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