| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | 6:30PM - 8:00PM | Seminar Room 108N, Munk School of Global Affairs 1 Devonshire Place M5S 3K7 |
In the spring of 1701, a daimyō from western Japan drew his sword against a senior shogunal official within the hallowed halls of Edo Castle. This rash, split-second decision set in motion a dramatic chain of events that is retold in a theatrical masterpiece that remains one of Japan’s most captivating and enduring cultural markers: Chūshingura, the story of the forty-seven rōnin.
Chūshingura enjoyed immediate success on stage and quickly captured the Japanese popular imagination, inspiring all manner of imitators, adaptations, and parodies. This talk introduces several works of comic pictorial fiction based on the Chūshingura story and considers their significance as products of the flourishing literary culture of early modern Japan.
William Fleming is an Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages & Literatures & Theater Studies at Yale University. His research focuses on 18th- and 19th-century Japanese fiction and the popular stage. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Harvard University, and was a visiting researcher at Kyoto University and Tokyo’s National Institute of Japanese Literature.
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