— Anonymous
In the book, The Love Suicides at Amijima written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, we see Koharu, a prostitute and her romance encounter with Jihei, a father of two. In act 1, I was not convinced that Koharu’s feelings for Jihei were genuine. Personally, I think Koharu does not know what love is. Koharu is forced to open herself physically and mentally which mislead her to believe she is in love. I think love cannot be found when “love” is really referred to as a service.
I learned the importance of honoring commitment and social status in Japanese culture. Perhaps this text does not relate to contemporary readers like myself, but I find it irrational to commit suicide. Kohaur and Jihei died together just so they can reunite in their next life. I find this absurd. I would have skipped town than to commit suicide. I would also be more hesitant if I had something to lose. The ending left me dissatisfy because Jihei’s children are left without their father. Aside from the humility and his role in the town, the most important role of them all, is being a good father. I thought the suicide was not worth leaving your kids behind.
When I began to read the play, I thought the role of puppeteer was perform by one person. After I watched a live performance, I was surprise to see that it requires more than one person for each character. As I watch the video, I was amazed with the interaction between human and puppets. As the puppet maneuver around the stage, the voice matches his every movement. Their movement and communication with their audience is efficient not only because they are highly experienced, they are passionate about puppeteers. The chanter must use different pitch and tempo, so the audience can recognize each character’s voice in the play. The chanter and the puppeteers do an amazing job at expressing different emotions for each character. Hearing and seeing the play unfold is different than reading the text to myself. I can see the characters emotion more clearly in the play.
