Wondrous Brutal Fictions Eight Buddhist Tales From The Early Japanese Puppet Theater Keller Kimbrough by Keller Kimbrough 9780231518338, 0231518331 instant download after payment.

Wondrous Brutal Fictions presents eight seminal works from the seventeenth-century Japanese sekkyo and ko-joruri puppet theaters. They range from stories of cruelty and brutality to tales of love, charity, and outstanding filial devotion, representing the best of early Edo-period literary and performance traditions and acting as important precursors to the bunraku and kabuki styles of theater.
These texts relate the histories and miracles of particular buddhas, bodhisattvas, and local deities. Many of their protagonists are cultural icons, recognizable through their representation in later works of Japanese drama, fiction, and film. More than fifty reproductions of mostly seventeenth-century woodblock illustrations offer rich, visual foundations for the book's critical introduction and translated tales. The book provides an unprecedented encounter with popular Buddhist drama and its far-reaching impact on literature and culture.

Wondrous Brutal Fictions presents eight seminal works from the seventeenth-century Japanese sekkyō and ko-jōruri puppet theaters, many translated into English for the first time.