Abstract
The relationship between Japan and China in the 14th century was extremely turbulent as it is today. Emperors of the Ming dynasty demanded neighboring countries, including Japan, to be vassal nations. I will analyze some traditional noh plays in the context of the 14th century East Asian politics. Up until very recently, noh plays were not considered to be relevant to geopolitical tensions or diplomacy. In fact, playwrights such as Zeami were patronized by the Ashikaga shoguns who had supreme power to decide whether to confront or compromise with China. I will discuss how noh dramatists responded to contemporary international politics.

About the Speaker
Prof. Daisuke Nishihara was born in Tokyo in 1967. He received a Ph.D from the University of Tokyo. He is the author of several books written in Japanese, such as Tanizaki Jun’ichro and Orientalism, Hashimoto Kansetsu, Annotated Anthology of Modern Japanese Poetry, and Japanese in Singapore.