On May 31, 2024, Dr. M.W. Shores (Associate Professor, University of Sydney) gave a lecture “Japanese Literature Evaluated by Donald Keene, and Rakugo” at Waseda University’s Ono Auditorium.
In this lecture, Dr. Shores advocated for reevaluating rakugo, the art of storytelling and traditional performing arts, as literature in addition to its other categories, while considering a big question: What is Literature?
While at the University of Portland, Dr. Shores studied under Donald Keene’s disciple, Japanese literature scholar Laurence Kominz (now Professor Emeritus at Portland State University). After graduating from the university, he went on to study at the graduate school of Tezukayama University in Nara Prefecture. At that time, Dr. Shores was advised by Prof. Kominz that he should study a less-researched field in the U.S. and gain practical experience, so he decided to study rakugo. Through the introduction of his then advisor, Michio Morinaga, he became an apprentice of Katsura Bunshi V. Dr. Shores also trained under Hayashiya Somemaru IV.
Arguing that Rakugo is also literature, Dr. Shores questioned the current trend of returning to the idea that “literature is written,” citing Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize in Literature and American rapper Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize in Music as examples. Donald Keene made a case that noh theater is indeed a genre of Japanese literature by demonstrating its beauty and the literary value of its scripts. Referring to Keene, Dr. Shores insisted that rakugo, the art of storytelling widely enjoyed by the masses, should also be reevaluated as a field of literature with deep connections to a wide range of fields, including history, music, language, and philosophy. Dr. Shores pointed out that, with the publication of numerous hanashi-bon（books of comic stories) for performance purposes between the 17th and 19th centuries, rakugo and gesaku (popular literature) had a correlative influence on each other. As such, he noted that rakugo is not unrelated to the act of “writing” and can be viewed as written “literature.”
Dr. Shores concluded his lecture by saying that rakugo is a “living literature” with both a literary nature in written form in hanashi-bon and scripts and a theatrical nature with the ability of the storyteller to flexibly change the content based on the audience’s reaction.
This lecture was followed by a 30-minute question and answer session. The audience asked many questions, including those related to Dr. Shores’ experience training in rakugo, such as his most memorable rakugo stories, how he perceives classical rakugo amidst the rise of new rakugo, and his memories of Donald Keene.
This lecture was the first in a series of lectures by the Donald Keene Memorial Foundation, organized by the Ryusaku Tsunoda Center of Japanese Culture, Waseda University’s Research Institute for Letters, Arts and Sciences, and co-sponsored by the Global Japanese Literary and Cultural Studies, Waseda University and the Donald Keene Memorial Foundation. It attracted large audience, including the general public, as well as members of Waseda University.
（Written by BENT, Yusuke Henry in Japanese ver.）
Event Overview
- Date and time：May, 31, 2024 18:00-19:30(JST)
- Format：Face to face
- Venue：Ono Auditorium, Waseda University
- Speaker：Dr. M.W. Shores (Associate Professor, University of Sydney)
- Subject Title：Japanese Literature Evaluated by Donald Keene, and Rakugo
- Number of Participants：130
- Organized by：Ryusaku Tsunoda Center of Japanese Culture
- Co-organized by ：Global Japanese Literary and Cultural Studies and the Donald Keene Memorial Foundation
