Chikamatsu Monzaemon and a story of quiet passion

Chikamatsu Monzaemon and a story of quiet passion

There was a wordsmith in the town of Edo.
His name was Chikamatsu Monzaemon.
The stories he spun depicted love and death, righteousness and desire, and the helplessness that lies deep within the human heart.
It is a story of quiet, deep passion that resonates in our hearts across the ages.

The mirror called Bunraku puppet theater

Chikamatsu was active during the Genroku period.
This was a time when townspeople's culture flourished, and ukiyo-e, kabuki, and haiku all added color to the lives of ordinary people.
Among these, the one he poured his life into was Bunraku puppet theater.
This performing art, which tells stories using puppets, shamisen, and narration, was a window for people at the time to travel between reality and fantasy.

His masterpiece, "Sonezaki Shinju," is based on a real-life double suicide incident.
The courtesan Ohatsu and her assistant Tokubei remain true to their love despite the constraints of society, and ultimately choose to commit suicide together.
This performance deeply touched the hearts of the audiences at the time, and gave birth to a new genre in the world of Joruri known as "sewamono."

"The remains of this world, the remains of the night. If I were to compare my body to death, it would be the frost on the road in Adashigahara."
--From "The Love Suicides at Sonezaki"

The lingering feeling in this passage is like frost on a winter morning.
A sadness for something fleeting, beautiful, and disappearing.
Chikamatsu's words are not just lines, but they reach into the innermost recesses of the characters' hearts and gently touch the hearts of the audience.

A revolutionary who portrayed the hearts of townspeople

Chikamatsu was originally born into a samurai family.
However, he abandoned his status and entered the world of entertainment.
That choice itself was unusual at the time.
His gaze was always on the "common people."

In "Meido no Hikyaku," he plays a young courier who is torn between love and duty.
In "Onnagoroshi Abura Jigoku," I portray the young master of an oil shop who is consumed by desire and impulse.
Neither of them are heroes or saints, just ordinary people.
Their choices and struggles are connected to the weaknesses and desires that we all have.

Chikamatsu's writing never judges people.
Rather, it quietly teaches us that no matter how foolish an action may seem, there is a reason or emotion behind it.
It's like peering through a shoji screen at the light in someone's heart.

The warmth of words, the margin of silence

Chikamatsu's works have a unique sense of "ma."
Even in scenes where intense emotions clash, there is a sense of calm.
It's in the choice of words, the rhythm of the story, and the use of silence.

For example, when a character decides to die, they don't shout at the top of their lungs.
Rather, they choose that path calmly, but with firm determination.
The silence of the scene actually tightens the viewer's heart.

This "passion in silence" is in line with the aesthetic sense that WABISUKE values.
The beauty of white space is more important than splendor.
Words that quietly sink in rather than loud statements.
Chikamatsu's works are a true symbol of this.

Harmony with WABISUKE

WABISUKE's goal is not to "preserve" traditions, but to nurture them as "living things."
This overlaps somewhat with Chikamatsu's approach of sublimating the lives and emotions of townspeople into stories.

His work has a "universal emotion" that resonates across the ages.
The joys and pains of loving.
The inconvenience of living in society.
And the people who still try to live despite having feelings they cannot tell anyone about.

Reading Chikamatsu's stories is like feeling the breath of the common people of the past.
At the same time, it also means reexamining the depths of our own hearts as we live in the present.
His words transcend time and remain close to our hearts.

Reading Chikamatsu Now

We live in an age where information is overflowing and emotions are consumed.
However, perhaps it is precisely in times like these that coming into contact with the "quiet passion" of Chikamatsu can be a deep breath of relief for the soul.

His work is by no means difficult to understand.
Rather, there is a kindness that gently picks up the ``helplessness'' and ``unrewarding'' that everyone feels.
This resonates with the "pathy of things" and "beauty of white space" that WABISUKE values.
It brings a gentle light into our lives.