Pensado A compilation of essays written by students in the ALESA Program - April 2021 Issue 8
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Pensado
April 2021
Issue 8
A compilation of essays written by students in the ALESA Program
Pensado
Cover Image
Matsudaira Toshogu Shrine (detail)
Photo by Bong Grit
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Source: Flickr
Editors
Eric Vanden Bussche
John Pazdziora
Editorial Assistant
Chloe Anastasia Lim
ALESA Faculty (2020)
Naomi Berman, Ph.D.
Britton Brooks, Ph.D.
Alex Bueno, Ph.D.
Greg Dalziel, Ph.D.
Richard Dietz, Ph.D.
Natsuno Funada, Ph.D.
Candler Hallman, Ph.D.
Catherine Hansen, Ph.D.
Diana Kartika, Ph.D.
Akiko Katayama, Ed.D.
Daisuke Kimura, Ph.D.
Raquel Moreno-Peñaranda, Ph.D.
Rajalakshmi Nadadur Kannan, Ph.D.
John Pazdziora, Ph.D.
Shang-yu Sheng, Ph.D.
Aurora Tsai, Ph.D.
Eric Vanden Bussche, Ph.D.
Joanne Yu, Ph.D.
ALESA Program
Center for Global Communication
Strategies (CGCS)
College of Arts and Sciences
4th Floor, KIBER Building,
Komaba Campus
The University of Tokyo
3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku,
Tokyo, 153-8902
Japan
153-8902
東京都目黒区駒場3-8-1
東京大学教養学部附属
グローバルコミュニケーション
研究センター
駒場国際教育研究棟 4階
ALESAプログラム
http://ale.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
office@cgcs.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
(03) 5465–8221
The copyrights to the individual research
papers published herein are retained by
the original authors. All other text is Cop-
yright © Active Learning of English for
Students of the Arts (ALESA) Program +
Center for Global Communication Strat-
egies + Department of English Language,
College of Arts and Sciences, The Univer-
sity of Tokyo, Komaba
.
All rights reserved.
2019
In This Issue
4 A Word From the Editors to ALESA Students
Sho Kuno 5 Thinking by Writing as Much as Thinking to Write
Nagisa Kanokogi 8 Haussmann and Art: Modern Beauty in Paris in the Late Nineteenth
Century after the Reconstruction
Yuki Tanaka 13 René Sieffert’s Role in the History of the Understanding of Noh in France
Mayu Takeda 17 Is Japan’s Education Towards Foreigners Sufficient?
State Intervention Versus Community Support
Kanano Yokogawa 21 Teacher Gender Balance: Why Japan Has the Smallest Proportion of
Female Teachers in Senior High School among OECD Countries
Kanami Konishi 24 Fashion Moving Beyond the Gender Binary
Nobuya Aoki 28 Current Problems with Braille Blocks in Japan and Possible Solutions
Shuhei Onozaki 32 The Role of the Internet in the Umbrella Revolution
Yuki Ito 35 The Role of ICT in Africa’s Sustainable Development
Luana Ichinose 38 Should Sri Lanka Hold a Referendum to Determine Its Future Relationship
with Chinese Investment?
Naho Komuro 42 Human Rights in a Data-Driven Society
Yuki Matsuura 47 The Conservation, not the Elimination, of Great White Sharks for the Marine
Ecosystem
Pensado 2021
A Word From the Editors to ALESA Students
T he 2020 academic year was marked by adjustments
in teaching and learning triggered by the COVID-19
pandemic. This issue of Pensado, the eighth in the series,
in the late nineteenth century, the introduction of traditional
Japanese theater in France, Africa’s sustainable development,
and Chinese investment in Sri Lanka. Some essays draw atten-
speaks to the uncertainties of the current times through tion to broader challenges affecting the globe, such as the
interwoven essays that examine the broader themes of tran- threat of surveillance technologies to socio-political institu-
sitions and transformations. These essays, penned by first- tions in one-party states and Western democracies, as well
year students in the ALESA program, critically engage with as the dangers that the possible extinction of the great white
complex and provocative topics in the humanities and social sharks could pose for marine ecosystems. Controversial social
sciences through a diversity of disciplinary lenses, methods, issues are also examined, such as teacher gender imbalance
and genres, adding their authors’ voices and sophisticated in Japanese schools, gender nonconformity in fashion, digi-
insights to the current academic debates. They are the prod- tal activism in protest movements, and the need for greater
uct of the rigorous but rewarding processes that students levels of support for people with disabilities. Students will
develop in the ALESA classroom: evidence-based research, learn a great deal about academic writing from these essays
writing, peer feedback, and revision. Through this collection, if they carefully consider the similarities between them and
new cohorts of first-year students will gain an understand- note the ways they articulate different perspectives through
ing of the structure and stylistic elements of an academic evidence-based research and analysis.
essay and begin to recognize the breadth of research meth-
odologies and modes of engagement with different kinds Selecting the essays for this issue proved a wonderfully
of sources. challenging task. Pensado received a record number of
high-quality submissions, a testament to the hard work of
The essays in this issue showcase multiple approaches to the students and instructors during the difficult pandemic
critical inquiry and academic discourse, but at the same time year. Amid global upheavals and the frustrations of online
are conversant with one another. Spanning wide geographical university in a pandemic, ALESA students studied, thought,
and temporal scope, these essays consider societies in transi- and wrote with intelligence about the world as they saw it
tion and change. They investigate topics such as the relation- around them. We hope that these essays will encourage
ship between French art and the urban modernization of Paris students to research and write with curiosity undimmed.
Eric Vanden Bussche
John Pazdziora
4 
2021
Thinking by Writing as Much as
Thinking to Write
Sho Kuno
Practicing the Concept of “Reportage”
Abe lists “the analytical inclination” (13: 145), “the literary
uniqueness, that is the recognition based on sensibility”
(146), “the involvement of denial” (147) as the main factors of
“Reportage,” all of which the novel fulfills. Anten’s experience
of self-disunion into a raccoon dog and eyeballs happens
parallel with the author’s analysis of “writing.” On the other
hand, Abe fascinates the readers by the nonsensical, humor-
ous style of the novel and creates a virtual “exterior reality
that works on to destroy the balance [of readers]” (146). As
a result, readers actively participate in Abe’s thought experi-
ment where surrealism is denied and “Reportage” necessarily
Figure 1. “Various imaginations and plans derive from those equa- replaces it.
tions” (Abe 2: 85). Taken by the author, on November 14, 2020, at
CALZEDONIA Tokyo Shibuya, with all permission. Analytical Inclination of the Novel. The remarks by Anten,
the narrator, from a meta-viewpoint reflect Abe’s self-projec-
Introduction tion into him. Anten is aware of the readers when, on the
I n the second sentence of the article “Hand of Computer for
Heart of Beast,” Abe Kobo declares, “I will write the method
of writing a novel, which is there is no such thing as a method
first encounter with the raccoon dog, he requests the read-
ers, “would you please simply take a look at the next picture,
rather than my describing [its appearance] verbally” (Abe 2:
of writing a novel1” (13: 105). This apparent intellectual bank- 86). Here, Abe built a direct relationship between Anten and
ruptcy is solved in one of his written works. In “Raccoon Dog the readers. In “The Crime of S. Karma,” Abe “made an effort
of the Tower of Babel [バベルの塔の狸]” written in 1951 (Toba to depict him as specifically along his actions as possible,
306), Abe depicts the process of creating, writing in his case. It while at the same time, portray the route with which he puts
is a practiced artistic creation that records the thoughts about his idea into action… I [Abe] attempted to make [the novel]
novel writing that Abe constructed in parallel with the writing a comedy… by depicting the subject as it is. The first-person
process. Confirming the parallelism between the novel and narrative is a form adopted necessarily” (206). The novel was
Abe’s concept of artistic creation is followed by exploring the written two months before “Raccoon Dog of the Tower of
novel’s characteristic as a paradigm of “Reportage” by Abe’s Babel” (Toba 306), and Abe states “these three parts [‘The
definition, and unravelling Abe’s thought on the relationships Crime of S. Karma’, ‘Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel’, and
of writer with reader and novel. ‘Red Cocoon’ in Wall] …were written under a generally consis-
tent purpose” (qtd. in Toba 118). Similarly, Abe depicted Anten
The Raison d’etre of the Novel as a “poor poet” (Abe 2: 85) who pursues the ideal image of
“Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel” is a record of Abe’s writ- a creator on his behalf. This way, he succeeded in objectively
ing process in which he recursively pursues the ideal artistic depicting the relationship between writer and reader.
creation through creating a novel with such a theme. Mean-
while, it provokes the active participation of readers to follow Abe depicted Perseus as “the ideal image of a creator”
his experience of the exploration. Abe defines artistic creation (Munegumi 22) that realizes the “dialectic unification of writer
as “something that cuts the homeostatic state [of readers] and reader as confronting beings” (Abe: 13 119). His “cool
between language and reality, the safety zone of stereotype mind that is never moved even by the beauty of Medusa”
surrounded by a wall called language, and create a novel (Abe 2: 85) and the nature as “an invisible poet” (100) are
system of language (which is needless to say the discovery of compatible. A raccoon dog introduces himself to Anten as
the new reality at the same time)” (15: 190). In this sense, Abe “your will, your behavior, your desire, your raison d’etre” (99)
introduced “Reportage” as “one of the most modern artistic and deprives him of the shadow to have “grown up, become
movements” (13: 144), which is a realized unification of “analyt- independent, and achieved to have my own will and behavior”
ical feature” (145) and “recognition based on sensibility” (146), (99), making Anten’s body invisible except for the eyeballs.
both necessary to “destroy the stereotype” (146) of readers. Munegemi indicates these motifs embody the two opposing
1 All the Japanese texts are translated by the author.
5 
Pensado
factors of the ideal creator: the “cool mind” and the “eyeballs” Comments from the professor
as the representations of the “hand of computer” or the “read-
er’s demand,” and the “invisible poet” and the “raccoon dog” This is an elegantly conceived and strongly developed essay. It
as the representations of the “heart of beast” or the writer’s ably demonstrates competence in writing about literary topics
“spontaneous desire” (Munegumi 19–22; Abe 13: 119). and handling materials from multiple languages. Sho Kuno is
meticulous in documenting his claims from the primary texts
When Anten encounters the raccoon dog, Abe discovers and shows adroit handling of the secondary sources as well. The
a new recognition of writing as a product of his analysis. Abe paper is carefully structured, starting with a single, clear idea
states “in order to be analytical, you have to touch the real- and unfolding its layers of complexity - which, considering the
ity directly, slit its ordinary, accepted skin, and make a new subject, is very complex indeed. Kuno has rightly not attempted
discovery out of the darkness” (13: 145). Anten describes his to oversimplify Abe’s ideas but rather helps the reader begin to
feeling on the first encounter with the raccoon dog as “a sense apprehend their subtlety. This is truly thought-provoking work.
of blankness as if I was cut off of half of the brain” (Abe 2: 87),
and he makes “an unexpectedly long shriek like an ape from John Pazdziora
primeval forests” (88) when he finds out that he has become
“invisible” (88) . Here, Anten discovers the “reader’s demand”
and the writer’s “spontaneous desire” (Abe 13: 119), which
initially appear as “the pure object(s) that is (are) unhistorical,
accidental, and brutal, which accept(s) no existing language” development of plot to meet the “reader’s demand” (Abe 13:
(Abe 15: 190). 119), one of the concepts depicted in the novel.
Humorous Wordplays. Abe adopts the nonsense develop- The Method of Finding an Object. The denial of surrealism
ment of the plot that Lewis Carroll practiced throughout in the novel expresses the subversive nature of “Reportage.”
Alice’s Adventure in the Wonderland and Through the Look- Abe classifies the methods of discovering an object into
ing-Glass to appeal to the readers’ emotion. As Martin Gard- “materialistic concept of existence”, “the concept of existence
ner asserts, “many characters and episodes in ALICE are a in existentialism”, and “the concept of objet in surrealism” (13:
direct result of puns and other linguistic jokes, and would 147). Moreover, he “introduced the concept of ‘Reportage’ (of
have taken quite different forms if Carroll had been writing, course as a denying medium) in order to use their common
say, in French” (8). The Mad Hatter and the March Hare, which grounds as a lever, surmount three, and find ‘an object’ that
were created after “the phrases ‘mad as a hatter’ and ‘mad as is even newer” (147).
a March Hare’” that “were common at the time Carroll wrote”
(90), and the Mock Turtle which derives from the “Mock turtle Surrealism seeks to “acquire a purer recognition of the
soup” (124) exemplify Gardner’s point. reality through the expression of unconsciousness that is
never censored by rationality” (Munegumi 23) and does not
Abe followed such wordplays when designing the char- accomplish balancing the “reader’s demand” and the “[writ-
acter of the raccoon dog. Anten’s encounter with it happens er’s] spontaneous desire” (Abe 13: 119). The limitation of surre-
immediately after he narrates that he named the notebook alism is depicted as Anten’s self-disunion into eyeballs and a
in which he recorded his “imagination and plan” (2: 86) “とら raccoon dog. Before the discovery of them, Anten narrates
ぬ狸の皮 [the pelt of a raccoon dog never caught]” (86). The that “the legs of women are horrific curved lines. After she
naming of it is a direct result of a Japanese proverb “Counting has left, there remains a horrific equation…various imagi-
[the pelt of] Raccoon Dogs Before They Are Caught (捕らぬ狸 nations and plans derive from those equations” (Abe 2: 85).
の皮算用)” (Lee and Son 14), which means planning and imag- Shuzo Takiguchi, whom “Abe was influenced by” (Munegumi
ining about something before you have acquired it. Moreover, 15), describes that the surrealist “attempted the unconscious
Lee Choung Hee mentions the pun Abe plays on the raccoon recognition of object by actually creating or discovering the
dog; “とらぬ狸” (Abe 2: 86), pronounced toranu-tanuki in Japa- ‘object’” (qtd. in Munegumi 15). By his definition, Abe depicted
nese, could be interpreted from the sound as “a raccoon dog Anten as a surrealist in the early stage of the novel.
never caught” (Lee 137) and “a raccoon dog that is not a tiger”
(137). Lee speculates this made Anten describe the raccoon Anten then splits into the raccoon dog, who claims that “we
dog as “unfamiliar animal… that is not a tiger” (137; Abe 2: 86). [the raccoon dogs] are surrealists” (Abe 2: 105), and eyeballs.
Anten enters the Tower of Babel by “a method of surrealism”
Nancy K. Shields notes that “Just as Carroll appealed to (108). In the Tower of Babel, the raccoon dogs force him to
intricate nonsense in order to convey the meaning, Abe “deposit your eyeballs with the bank, lose your weight, and
adopted an extraordinary approach towards the reality” (23). go to heaven” (113), because “eyeballs are poisonous to the
Abe makes clear that throughout Wall “the purpose was to raccoon dogs” (122). After Anten succeeds in escaping from
show not how the wall makes humans desperate, but how it the tower, he returns to the opening scene of the novel and
becomes a good movement for human mentality and leads “rolled my notebook and threw it to the raccoon dog” (126).
humans to the healthy humor” (qtd. in Toba 118). Donald Here, Abe concludes that “surrealism is not a method to
Keene points out Abe’s talent as a novelist and a play writer “to become the ideal creator” (Munegumi 24). Simultaneously,
avoid diverting the attention of the audience from beginning Abe represented the process to deny surrealism which
to end” (qtd. in Shields 67). Abe adopted Carroll’s nonsense completes the discovery of “Reportage” recorded in the novel.
6 
2021
Recognition and Expression of “Reportage” ―. “猛獣の心に計算機の手を [Hand of Computer for Heart of
Abe explains that writing a novel is “a particular recogni- Beast].” 安部公房全作品 [Kobo Abe’s Anthology], vol.13, 新
tion” (Abe 13: 111) that the writer “adopts” (111). “The desire to 潮社 [Shinchousha], 1973, pp. 105–122.
express derives from the desire to recognize” (115), and thus
a writer satisfies his “spontaneous desire” (119) through creat- ―. “まず解剖刀を [An Analytical Scalpel for a Starter].” 安部公
ing a novel. Specifically, he “objectifies his desire and reviews 房全作品 [Kobo Abe’s Anthology], vol.13, 新潮社 [Shinchou-
it [as a reader] just as he views a desire of others” (122), and sha], 1973, pp. 144–148.
aims the “dialectic unification of writer and reader as confront-
ing beings” (119), which takes a form of novel. Meanwhile, ―. “S・カルマ氏の素性 [The Antecedents of S. Karma].” 安部公
“the structure of a novel… derives from the structure of the 房全作品 [Kobo Abe’s Anthology], vol.13, 新潮社 [Shinchou-
general recognition of reality” (116), and as the writer pursues sha], 1973, pp. 204–206.
the reformation of his recognition by writing, the structure of
the work is determined accordingly. “The Raccoon Dog of the ―. “映像は言語の壁を破壊するか [Does the Picture Destroy the
Tower of Babel” secures its structure as “Reportage”, which Wall of Language].” 安部公房全作品 [Kobo Abe’s Anthol-
reflects the identity between the structures of recognition ogy], vol.15, 新潮社 [Shinchousha], 1973, pp. 187–190.
and expression.
Carroll, Lewis. The Annotated Alice: Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, edited by Martin
Gardner, 1963. The New American Library, 1974.
Lee, Choung Hee. 「影」
“ をくわえて逃げ去る 「狸」 ―安部公房の
『バベルの塔の狸』論― [The ‘Raccoon Dog’ that Runs Away
with the ‘Shadow’: An Essay on Abe Kobo’s ‘Raccoon Dog
of the Tower of Babel’ ].” 文学研究論集 [A Collection of
Essays on Studies of Literature], vol. 13, 筑波大学比較・理
論文学会 [The Association of Comparative and Theoretical
Literature of The University of Tsukuba], 20 Mar. 1996, pp.
127–142, hdl.handle.net/2241/14151.
Lee, Sunyoon, and Juyeon Son. “Vision and Ethics in East Asian
Science Fiction: Kobo Abe and Liu Cixin.” Interdisciplinary
Studies of Literature, vol. 1, no.3, Knowledge Hub Publish-
ing Company Limited Hong Kong, 1 Sep. 2017, pp. 12–23,
www.isljournal.com/uploads/soft/171011/1-1G0111F448.pdf.
Figure 2. Why don’t you think about who writes who writes who writes
you? Or why? Meaning, why not? Aya Odagiri, November 15, 2020.
Munegumi, Fusako. “安部公房「バベルの塔の狸」論 : 理想の
創作者と シュールリアリズム [An Essay on Abe Kobo’s
“Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel” records the analytical ‘Raccoon Dog of the Tower of Babel’: The Ideal Creator
thought experiment by the author who explored the illusive and Surrealism].” 稿本近代文学 [Draft on Modern Litera-
concept of creating, while it is a device fascinating enough ture], vol. 39, 筑波大学日本文学会近代部会 [The Associa-
to encourage readers to follow his experience. The narrator’s tion of Modern Literature of Japanese Literature of The
behavior reflects Abe’s process of discovering “Reportage” as University of Tsukuba], 25 Dec. 2014, pp.14–26, hdl.handle.
a means of recognizing writing as an object. The nonsense net/2241/00123645.
humor was adopted to draw the attention of the readers.
Carroll’s influence on Abe, discussed in the previous studies Shields, Nancy K. 安部公房の劇場, FAKE FISH: The Theater of
on “The Crime of S. Karma,” is also present in “Raccoon Dog Kobo Abe. Translated by Taiyu Anbo, 新潮社 [Shinchou-
of the Tower of Babel,” which reinforce the consistency of the sha], 1997.
author’s purpose throughout three parts compiled in Wall.
As a writer that “must think by writing as much as he thinks Toba, Kouji. 運動体・安部公房 [A Moving Body: Kobo Abe]. 一
to write” (13: 206), Abe resulted in uniting the structures of 葉社 [Ichiyousha], 2007.
recognition and expression of “Reportage” through writing a
novel. Abe proposed that the method of writing is rooted in
the writer’s particular motive. Therefore, writing a novel about
writing was necessarily given a recursive structure where the
author discovered the theory on writing by writing.
References
Abe, Kobo. “バベルの塔の狸 [Raccoon Dog of the Tower of
Babel].” 安部公房全作品 [Kobo Abe’s Anthology], vol.2, 新
潮社 [Shinchousha], 1972, pp. 85–126.
7 
Pensado
Haussmann and Art: Modern
Beauty in Paris in the Late
Nineteenth Century after the
Reconstruction
Nagisa Kanokogi
Our Paris, the Paris in which we were born, the Paris of
the manners of 1830 to 1848, is disappearing. And it is
not disappearing materially but morally. Social life is
beginning to undergo a great change.
―Edmond de Goncourt, Journal, 18601
Introduction
I n the late nineteenth century, Paris saw drastic changes in
many aspects. One of these was Haussmann’s great recon-
struction of the city. As prefect of the Department of the Seine,
he planned to widen and straighten the old streets, made
twelve boulevards that spread from the center, constructed
new aqueducts and railways around the city, and built several
cultural facilities. This reconstruction was so massive that by
1870 one-fifth of the streets in central Paris were of Hauss-
mann’s creation.2
At the same time in Paris, a revolution in the field of art
was taking place. Jean-François Millet and Gustave Courbet
had proclaimed realism and focused on people’s real life
rather than mythical or biblical figures. After a while, led by
Édouard Manet (1832–1833), young and active painters called
“impressionists” also pioneered new themes and techniques
of painting.
Among those painters was Luigi Loir (1845–1916). As a
French painter born in Austria, he devoted almost his entire
life to painting various aspects of Paris, focusing on the build-
Figure 1. Luigi Loir, The Night Café, ca. 1910. Private Collection. Source:
ings and boulevards. The Night Café is among those paintings Wikimedia Commons.
produced in Paris. At first sight, what is impressive is the clear
contrast between light and shadow. While inside the café is
filled with lights, the people in front of the building outside century to early twentieth century depicted the renovated
are painted in black. All subjects appear blurred, which makes city. This paper aims to reveal the association between art
the spectator feel as if looking at an illusion. and Haussmann’s reconstruction. It suggests that Haussman-
nization deeply connected the capital and its residents with
Loir seems to have been one of the painters enchanted aesthetics, rendering them subjects of modern art.
by modern Paris. Numerous painters from the late nineteenth
Paris with a New Order
1 Goncourt, Edmond de. Journal. In Pages from The In 1850, before his declaration of the Empire, Louis Napoleon
Goncourt Journal, 53. had called to “open new roads, open up popular quarters
2 Clark, T. J. The Painting of Modern Life Paris in the Art which lack air and light so that sunlight may penetrate every-
of Manet and his Followers, 37–38. where among the walls of the city just as the light of truth
8 
2021
illuminates our hearts.”3 On June 23, 1853, he made Georg-
es-Eugène Haussmann the prefect of the Department of the
Seine with the task of renovating Paris.
In the mid nineteenth century, the city had problems both
with sanitation and security. Several people were suffering
from cholera, and slums were a common sight around the
city. Moreover, in spite of the rapid population growth (from
786,000 in 1831 to more than 1,000,000 in 1846) and indus-
trial development, the city had only medieval infrastructures.
Under such circumstances, the reconstruction of the city
was needed to improve its living environment and meet the
requirements of capital accumulation.4
Haussmann placed new aqueducts near Paris, opened
sewers, constructed railways around the city, built several
cultural buildings such as the Opéra, and organized police Figure 2. Camille Pissarro, Avenue de l’Opéra, soleil, matinée d’hiver,
forces and night patrols.5 Nevertheless, the core of his plan 1898. Musée des beaux-arts. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
lay in the construction of some ninety miles of wide boule-
vards regularly lined with trees and gaslights.6 Those new
streets and buildings were planned on a large scale and introduced in the Place de la Concorde in 1840 and increas-
created by straight lines and symmetries, whereas the old ing interest for electric lighting reached its peak around 1880,
Paris embraced crumbling buildings and streets that were marked by the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) and the
“narrow and inhospitable to movement.”7 In these ways, the Exposition Internationale de l’Électricité (International Exhibi-
capital was remodeled to be systematic and eye-catching, tion of Electricity). With the rapid introduction of electric-arc
reflecting the Emperor’s wish to display the imperial city to lamps, which co-existed with gaslights rather than having
foreigners in order to enhance his authority.8 Paris, which had completely replaced them, Paris in the nineteenth century
been just a collection of worn-out districts, became trans- became the “the City of Light” in a true sense, not just in
formed into a well-ordered city. This shift seemingly spread terms of a center of ideas and thoughts as described in the
the notion that the city is not only worth seeing but at the eighteenth century.10
same time supposed to be seen; in other words, in need of
being kept nice-looking by its residents. During this time, Parisians actively made use of this light-
ing sometimes in order to attract bourgeois customers and
Impressed with this reformation, many painters captured to fascinate foreign visitors. For example, several department
new boulevards and buildings in the late nineteenth century. stores introduced electric chandeliers, while street shops were
To put it another way, the cityscape came to be depicted illuminated with bulbs. During the Exposition Universelle, an
as something spectacular in a work of art for the first time. electric beacon was installed at the crown of the Eiffel Tower,
One example is Avenue de l’Opéra, soleil, matinée d’hiver by which gave off tricolor lights with a range of 120 miles.11 At
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903). In the work, observing the city night, streets were flooded in a blaze of light. In these ways,
from the window of hotel rooms,9 the painter introduced a illuminated Paris was mesmerizing and spectacular.
dynamic perspective technique and emphasized the scale of
the avenue and the buildings. Moreover, the street appears One painting that depicts illumination in Paris is Boule-
clean and bright, allowing the residents a comfortable vard de la Madeleine by Édouard Cortes (1882–1969). In this
passage. work, both sides of the boulevard are lined with shops lit with
electric lamps, which makes a beautiful contrast between the
“The City of Light” in the Nineteenth Century natural twilight and artificial brightness. Thus, elegantly illu-
Along with boulevards and buildings, widespread use of minated cityscapes drew many artists’ attention.
illumination also seems to have had a great influence on
the spectacle of Paris. Through the late nineteenth century, Gentrification in the City Center
gaslights were installed city-wide for the first time, thus estab- As a result of improvements such as the introduction of gas
lishing its position as the symbol of the new metropolitan and electric lighting, the land prices of the city center rose
life. At the same time, electric-arc lights were experimentally dramatically. This then forced low-class workers to migrate
from the city center, where slums had been completely
3 Harvey, David. Paris, Capital of Modernity, 107. cleared, to the suburbs. The city was separated into two areas:
4 Ibid., 93–96. one with middle-class in the west and center, and the other
5 Clark, 38.
6 Harvey, 113. 10 Karasoulas, Margarita. Clayson, Hollis. Electric Paris.
7 Ibid., 96. 12–16.
8 Clark, 41. 11 Reddy, Emma Elizabeth. Modernist Aesthetics and the
9 Courthion, Pierre. Paris des temps neuveux. Artificial Light of Paris: 1900 to 1939. 14–15.
9 
Pensado
Figure 3. Édouard Cortès, Boulevard de la Madeleine, 1906. Private Collection. Source: WahooArt.com.
with low-incomers in the east and north. Whereas the outly- traded within the boundaries of their own quartiers, so the
ing districts were filled with factories, the center of Paris, relationships between sellers and buyers were intimate
which had become a district of the bourgeoise, became and based on mutual trust. However, through the remod-
decorated lavishly mainly in order to please their eyes, as eling of the whole city, Haussmann erased the boundaries
partially described above. For example, the Champs-Elysées between quartiers and thus united them. With the develop-
was furnished with fountains, kiosks and café-concerts.12 New ment of transportation, industry and the economy started to
stores endeavored to draw customers by creating enchant- be carried out on a citywide scale, as represented by the
ing windowscapes and decorating both the interior and the establishment of grands magasins, large shopping malls in
exterior with marble, glass and copper.13 Parks were planted the center of the city.17
with pampas grass and tobacco which “looked well from a
distance.”14 Accordingly, the scope of Parisians’ activities expanded,
and they came to interact with strangers in their daily lives.
However, some Parisians seemed to deplore this shift, The upper classes came to gather in clubs, the lower classes
insisting that the new capital, which turned to be visually in cafés.18 Interestingly, it seems that the installation of illu-
gorgeous, was “something made by speculators and monop- mination accelerated this change, keeping the city safe after
olists,” filled with “ostentation, not luxury; frippery, not fash- dark and enabling the residents to stay out late at night.19
ion; consumption, not trade.”15 This is well represented by the Additionally, with increased traffic, many places including
article a reporter wrote in 1871 for an English Tory newspa- boulevards became overcrowded and it became difficult to
per: “it is disgusting to see the cafés filled with the votaries of maintain one’s privacy. Thus, life became public rather than
absinthe, billiards, and dominoes, female profligacy peram- private. The city became a place of display and negotiation,
bulating the boulevards, and the sound of revelry disturbing as people engaged in showing themselves and watching
the night from […] fashionable restaurants.”16 Indeed, gentri- others.20 Increased illumination enhanced that kind of sensi-
fication of the city center was deeply connected with capital- bility by ensuring visibility from morning to night, whether
ism, which modernized Parisians’ life alongside the city itself. inside or outside.21
Change in Society and Morality One example of a place where Parisians came in contact
Capitalism rapidly spread throughout Paris in the late nine- with strangers was the ball. In Bal masque à l’Opéra, Édouard
teenth century. Until then, the city’s economy had been mainly Manet clearly and boldly described this new form of social
based on quartiers, small districts inside the city. Residents life. The hall is crowded with bourgeois men in black tuxe-
dos, some of whom are courting women with masks. Julius
12 Clark, 45–46. Meier-Graefe, a German art critic, referred to the gestures of
13 Rideout, Amy. “Beyond the Façade: Haussmannization individuals in the painting:
in Paris as a Transformation of Society,” 182.
14 Clark, 67. 17 Clark, 51–54; Harvey, 109–110.
15 Ibid., 47. 18 Clark, 23–78.
16 Quoted in Hutton, John. “The Clown at the Ball: Manet’s 19 Reddy, 15.
Masked Ball of the Opera and the Collapse of Monarchism in 20 Clark, 47–49, 63.
the Early Third Republic,” 80. 21 Reddy, 204.
10 2021
Figure 4. Édouard Manet, Bal masqué à l’Opéra, 1873. National Gallery
of Art. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
the scarcely-concealed lust of the gestures of the solicit-
ing men, the women offering themselves (while parrying
certain offers), the calculating glances, groping hands,
brutal winks, all the typical gestures of the proceedings
metropolitan in every nature, are employed to create
a style.22 Figure 5. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, La Loge, 1874. Courtauld Institute
Galleries. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Honoré de Balzac even compared those at the ball to ants,
which were continuously moving around, and pointed out that in “seeing” others, in a society in which people are always
the balls were as incomprehensible as the Stock Exchange, surrounded by and interacting with each other.
which was ironically the symbol of the capitalism that emerged
around that time. It is thus symbolic that sexual dealings at As already stated, lighting technology had much to do
the balls sometimes involved monetary transactions.23 It could with this visuality. Besides rendering the city as attractive and
be said that, at the balls, bourgeois men assessed women spectacular, illumination enhanced visibility even indoors or
as if they were merchandise, and women, conscious of their late at night, and thus it could be supposed that Parisians’
customers, in turn tried to decorate themselves accordingly. consciousness of being seen in their daily lives was reinforced
Thus, the balls came to be the places where people displayed by it. In addition, in places of entertainment such as theaters,
themselves and exchanged superficial interactions with each circuses, nightclubs and café-concerts, spotlights came to be
other. introduced in order to illuminate entertainers at the center
of spectators’ attention,25 a subject often chosen by Degas.
Whereas Manet painted balls, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841– To put it another way, illumination sometimes functioned
1919) focused on the scenes in theaters, which increased in to highlight what was supposed to be seen. In these ways,
number from eleven in 1828 to 23 in 1882 with the emergence the expansion of the lighting system influenced Parisians’
of the middle class. In La Loge, an elegantly-dressed woman aesthetic sensibility.
taking her seat in a balcony is shown beside a gentleman with
opera glasses in his hand. What is interesting is that they are Conclusion
depicted as seen by another spectator, just as the gentleman It is true that the great tradition had got lost, and that
seems to be watching others, rather than the opera, through the new one is not yet established. [...] We may assert
his opera glasses. At that time, observing people in boxes was that since all centuries and all people have had their
one of the amusements of spectators, and balconies some- own form of beauty, so inevitably we have ours. [...] The
times became the source of fashion and scandal, whereas life of our city is rich in poetic and marvelous subjects.
it was also there that single ladies displayed their beauty to We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmo-
get future husbands.24 In this painting, Renoir depicted those sphere of the marvelous; but we do not notice it.
who are conscious of “being seen” by others and absorbed
―Charles Baudelaire, Salon in 1846, 1846
22 Quoted in Hutton, 76.
23 Quoted in Hutton, 79. As early as 1846, Baudelaire criticized contemporary artists
24 van Claerbergen, Ernst Vegelin, et al.. Masterpieces of for putting themselves into a salon-oriented mold and just
Impressionism: The Courtauld Collection [コートールド美術館
展 魅惑の印象派展], 140–154. 25 Karasoulas, Margarita. Clayson, Hollis. Electric Paris, 54.
11 Pensado
Courthion, Pierre. Paris des temps neuveaux [Paris in our time:
Comments from the professor from impressionism to the present day]. c. 1957. Translated
by Stuart Gilbert. Lausanne: Skira, 1957.
This paper is an excellent examination of the context around
some works by a relatively unknown painter. By relying on her Goncourt, Edmond de. Journal, 1860. In Pages from The
remarkable grasp of the literature on modernization in late Goncourt Journal. Translated and Edited by Robert Baldick.
nineteenth-century Paris and nuanced analysis of a selection London: Oxford University Press, 1962.
of paintings, Nagisa revealingly argues how the introduction of
artificial lighting in the city was represented by this artist and Harvey, David. Paris, Capital of Modernity. New York: Rout-
what it seems to have meant to him by citing influential artists ledge, 2003.
of the time. She is able to successfully link her description of
details in the paintings to both contemporary discourse and Hutton, John. “The Clown at the Ball: Manet’s Masked Ball of
modern scholarship, to arrive at a deeper understanding of the the Opera and the Collapse of Monarchism in the Early
artist’s works and through them a sense of the artist’s reception Third Republic.” The Oxford Art Journal 10, no.2. (1987):
of the changes seen then in Paris. 76–94.
Alex Bueno Karasoulas, Margarita. Clayson, Hollis. Electric Paris. Green-
wich: Bruce Museum, 2016.
Mariani, Angelo. Claretie, Jules. Brauer, A, Quesnel, D,
Sorensen, H, Prunaire, A. Figures contemporains tirées de
focusing on ancient subjects. It seems that, however, the l’album de Mariani, Paris:Librarie Henri Floury, 1899–1902.
Haussmannization of the late nineteenth century allured artists
to find a modern beauty in city life by making Paris spectacular, Reddy, Emma Elizabeth. Modernist Aesthetics and the Arti-
both the city itself and its residents. ficial Light of Paris: 1900 to 1939. Leicester: University of
Leicester, 2017.
Behind the reconstruction was the emperor’s wish to
display the magnificent capital to the rest of Europe. Paris, Rideout, Amy. “Beyond the Façade: Haussmannization in Paris
which had been a collection of different quartiers, was as a Transformation of Society.” In Pursuit-The Journal of
converted into one unified city with regularly organized Undergraduate Research at the University of Tennessee 7,
boulevards, which gave painters wide perspectives. Aided no.1. (2016): 177–187.
by illumination, department stores, cafés, theaters and balls
were decorated lavishly, drawing the attention not only of Editor’s note: Citation styles vary according to the discipline.
the bourgeoise but also of artists. Parisians came to spend In this essay, the author employs Chicago style citations, which
their time with strangers instead of families or neighbors and is the preferred format in history and the arts.
engaged in displaying themselves in daily life. Here again,
the introduction of artificial lighting seems to have acceler- List of Images
ated Parisians towards discovering and embracing a modern Figure 1: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luigi_
aesthetic sensibility through enhancing visibility. Loir_-_The_Night_Caf%C3%A9.JPG.
References Figure 2: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camille_
Angélil, Marc. Siress, Cary. “The Paris Banlieue: Peripheries of Pissarro_-_Avenue_de_l%27Opera_-_Mus%C3%A9e_des_
Inequity.” Journal of International Affairs 65, no.2 (Spring/ Beaux-Arts_Reims.jpg.
Summer 2012): 57–59.
Figure 3: https://en.wahooart.com/@@/8XXTP6-Edouard-
Baudelaire, Charles. “Salón de 1846 [Salon in 1846],” 1846. In Cortes-Boulevard-de-la-Madeleine.
The Mirror of Art: critical studies, 38–130. Translated and
Edited by Jonathan Mayne. New York: Doubleday, 1956. Figure 4: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edouard_
Manet_093.jpg.
Clark, T. J. The Painting of Modern Life Paris in the Art of Manet
and his Followers. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Figure 5: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre-Au-
1986. guste_Renoir,_La_Loge,_Courtauld_Gallery.jpg.
van Claerbergen, Ernst Vegelin. Serres, Karen. Miura, Atsu-
shi. Nagaï, Takanori. Koizumi, Masaya. Ohashi, Natsuko.
Masterpieces of Impressionism: The Courtauld Collection
[コートールド美術館展 魅惑の印象派展], Asahi Shimbun
Company, 2019.
12 2021
René Sieffert’s Role in the History
of the Understanding of Noh in
France
Yuki Tanaka
Introduction
N oh is a traditional Japanese theatre, but it is now appre-
ciated in many foreign countries, among which France
is the one especially favourable to Noh plays. This essay will
therefore focus on the acceptance of Noh in France. The goal
of this essay is to show that it is René Sieffert (1923–2004), a
French Japanologist who wrote La Tradition Secrète du nô
[The Secret Tradition of Noh] to encourage French people to
study on Noh plays in French, who gave a positive value to
their reading of Zeami’s Noh theory. In order to demonstrate
this, the argument of this paper will take the form of compari-
son: it will first explain how Noh was understood and appreci-
ated in France before Sieffert and then discuss the uniqueness
of Sieffert in relation to Noh. Analytically comparing the two
will reveal Sieffert’s role in the history of the understanding
of Noh in France.
The reason for focusing on France
This essay will focus on Noh in France because, as René Sief-
fert said in his La Tradition Secrète du nô, France is the country
where Noh is more appreciated and liked than in other coun-
tries in Europe. “More than in any other country in the Western
World,” said Sieffert, “it is in France that people are interested
in Noh and that people are being interested in it more and
more” (author’s translation). In the twenty-first century, too,
no one can possibly forget the Japonismes 2018, a festival
of Japanese culture and arts in Paris held in celebration of
the 150 years since the Meiji Restoration and also the 160
years of friendship between Japan and France, where various Figure 1. Yamakawa Shūhō. “Noh dance prelude (Jo-no-Mai)” (1932).
Color painting on silk. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Noh plays were acted, including okina, the one said to be the
Public Domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
origin of Noh. That was the first act in foreign countries with
authentic stage settings such as hashigakari (covered bridge
passageway connecting the backstage to the main stage). The History of the Understanding of Noh in France before
Sieffert
Sieffert attributes this particular liking of Noh in France to It was in 1895 when a Noh play was, for the first time, trans-
the classicism in France, saying that Noh is in fact an art essen- lated into French by Arthur Arrivet, though a document which
tially classic and the classicism of Zeami, the author of the shows some detail about it is not found. He did not offer any
dramas, can be defined by the same criteria as that of Aeschy- significant explanation about Noh; just to introduce Noh plays
lus and Racine (9). Nishino Haruo, a Japanese researcher of in French was a big accomplishment in his time.
Noh, also points out that, Noh seems popular in those coun-
tries where culture and arts have well developed and which Arrivet’s introduction was followed by more academic
put great importance on tradition, like France and Italy (Okada research. Noël Péri (1865–1922) was a French Catholic mission-
2). Though neither of them gave any justification about their ary sent to Matsumoto, Nagano. He was highly interested in
observation above, it is possible, if not natural, that French Japanese culture, reading for example studies of Buddhist
people like Noh plays because they like classics. history and mythology, but his attitude which relativizes the
13 Pensado
Catholic perspective caused conflict with some members Claudel and the “Rising Sun” Japan, this book is a kind of
of his missionary community, and he was finally expelled. It travel journal in Japan. In this book is a chapter named
was after that that Péri decided to focus on research on Japa- simply “Nô,” and though this is rather poetic an essay than
nese culture and started to continually visit Japan. As a trained academic, it includes very suggestive insights and Claudel
musician, he was asked to teach Western music at Tokyo interpreted Noh in a new way in it. One of the most famous
College of Music, and at the same time he continued writing phrases of Claudel concerning Noh is: “Drama is something
early Western works on Japanese opera and music theory, which happens; Noh is someone who appears” (author’s
and Noh drama. The most important book he published translation), the very first sentence of the chapter “Nô.” This
concerning Noh is Etudes sur le Nô Drame lyrique japonais sentence is often cited in Japanese books on Noh to shortly
[Research on the Japanese lyric drama Noh], which consists explain the difference between Noh and occidental dramas.
mainly of introduction of Noh by himself and five Noh texts This implies that Noh is, unlike many European theatres, an
translated to French. Péri was different from earlier foreign “imaginative” art with which to dig down the essence of human,
commentators of Noh like A. Arrivet and E.F. Fenollosa, in not a banal imitation of real lives. Moreover, Claudel is a key
that he did not only offer translation of Noh scripts but also person because, unlike most Japanese Noh researchers who
deep explanation of Noh in French with the help of his Japa- did not give serious consideration to waki (the supporting
nese friends like Sugiyama Naojiro. In fact, his introduction actor), he re-interpreted waki a dramatically significant actor
is held in high regard by later researchers from both Japan that symbolizes live people in general, defining shite (the
and France. For example, Paul Claudel is said to have clearly main actor) as a “diplomat from the unknown” beyond the
affirmed that Péri’s Cinq Nô [Five Noh Plays] was much better real world. This new interpretation of Noh, which is partly
than any other Noh book written by non-Japanese research- influenced by his Catholicism (in his mind, waki is to shite
ers, comparing it with Arthur Waley’s The Nō plays of Japan what human is to God), still has a great impact on the study
and criticizing that the latter had many insufficient and sloppy of Noh both in France and Japan.
points (Yoshinaga 89). Also, “since we have Péri’s significant
introduction,” said Gaston Renondeau, a later French Noh Gaston Renondeau (1879–1967) was a French writer, trans-
researcher who is sometimes called “Small Péri” with a little lator, and military officer. It was in the army that he stayed in
despise, “we do not have any more important things to say” Japan two times, each time lasting four years. He felt passion
(Yoshinaga 83; author’s translation). Though it is just an exag- in researching Noh during the second visit to Japan. As
geration so as to be modest about his work, anyway, Péri’s mentioned above, he appreciated Péri’s work so highly as to
impact on the history of the interpretation of Noh in France say that he could not add any new point to it, but in fact it was
cannot be denied. In this highly-appreciated introduction, Péri not right: Gaston Renondeau is the first French researcher who
regards as admissible the fact that Western people tend to focused on Buddhism in Noh and that was something which
articulate Noh to Greek tragedies, but underlines the differ- Péri had not achieved. He justifies his interest in Buddhism,
ence between the two, saying that Noh is essentially a lyric not Shintoism, in Noh with the fact that, though both appear
work which does not intend to represent a tragic event with in virtually all the Noh plays, Shintoism is not presented as a
actions but with songs, unlike Greek dramas (Péri 253). profound, philosophical element, while Buddhism is. The fact
Figure 2. Scene from Shinji Ueda’s 2019 production of Marie-Antoinette, a modern Noh by Minoru IV Umewaka about the notorious French
queen. Source: Opera-Comique.com.
Paul Claudel (1868–1955) was an ambassador in Japan who that the relationship between Shintoism and Noh had been
became fond of Japanese culture or even Japan itself as a already sufficiently mentioned by Gundert in Der Shintois-
whole, saying, “The classic civilization of Japan in which I am mus im Japanischen Nô-Drama (The Shintoism in Japanese
interested so much must not disappear” (Mondor 221). He Noh dramas) is also a reason for not discussing the Shin-
wrote an essay named “L’Oiseau Noir Dans le Soleil Lerant” toism in Noh. In Renondeau’s Le Bouddhisme dans les Nô
[The Black Bird in the Rising Sun]. As “Black Bird” symbolizes [The Buddhism in the Noh plays], he first explains the general
14 2021
some universal, aesthetic principle (Sieffert 8). Concerning the
Comments from the professor applicability of Zeami’s Noh theory, he argues that Zeami has
a useful influence on the Western arts in general and that it
This remarkable essay is a fine example of original research. is for this reason that the study of Noh has a model value in
Yuki Tanaka writes from a strong research background and a universal range.
balances a competent overview of key thinkers against a
clear, forward-looking academic argument. His argument Sieffert’s translation not of scripts of Noh but of its theory
is addressed to other researchers on Noh reception but is can therefore be considered as something which gave histor-
explained in a way to interest the nonspecialist. He has well ical context to the scientific research on Noh which Noël Péri
thought through ideas both about the nature of Noh and its had launched and the “emotional understanding”1 (Nishino
reception abroad, which he artfully uses to support his main 174; author’s translation) of Noh which Paul Claudel and other
idea. Despite the boldness of his claim, he maintains academic French Noh lovers had achieved. That is to say, introducing
tentativeness throughout, concluding with a modest suggestion the theory of Zeami, the very pioneer of Noh together with
for reappraising Sieffert’s importance. Tanaka has grasped an his father Kannami, Sieffert succeeded in providing earlier
essential truth about academic writing: a convincing claim must Noh studies done by French researchers with evidence on
be carefully researched, carefully stated, and indicate a clear which one can rely to judge the validity of each essay and in
path for other scholars to follow. making more valuable the earlier emotional understanding
of Noh, giving them the relativizability, the comparability with
John Pazdziora the beauty, the “Flower,”2 which was originally aimed by Zeami.
Sieffert’s reinterpretation of the Noh theory of Zeami as a
history and development of the Buddhism in Japan and then general aesthetic theory gave Zeami’s theory higher value; it
discusses which sect affects which Noh play in what way, with is no more a secret formula which should be passed down
translation of eight plays which he thought were the ones only within the family of Noh actors, though it was originally
especially strongly affected by the Buddhism. This is how he aimed to be (Zeami wrote so and in fact until the Meiji period
arrived at the idea that the base of Noh plays is Japanese his books had not been published).3 Zeami’s books are now
Buddhism sects developed in the Middle Age, which aimed universally readable and it is Sieffert’s reinterpretation of the
at a universal salvation for every social status, unlike sects in Noh theory of Zeami as a general aesthetic one that gave a
the ancient time targeted only on aristocrats. meaning to foreigners’, or non-Noh-actors’ in fact, reading of
it, because, even if there is a piece of translation of Zeami’s
The Role which Sieffert Played in the History of the theory in French, it is well nigh senseless to most French
Understanding of Noh in France people unless readers consider it as something which is at
As can be understood from the above, there had already least not only applicable to Noh. For instance, a famous quote
been relatively well-done translation and introduction of Noh from Zeami “If it is hidden, it is the Flower” (Fushi Kaden; trans-
plays before René Sieffert, so he cannot be said to be the lated by W. Wilson) was originally a lesson for Noh actors to
first French person to show interest in Noh, nor can one find keep secret a particular method of demonstrating the beauty
characteristic in his translation of Noh texts or explanation of in order to win in Noh battles, but this can also be under-
the history of Noh. What is unique to Sieffert, instead, is that, stood as a universal principle of importance of secret. Sief-
in showing proper respect to Noël Péri, whom he thought fert encouraged this kind of transformation of the meaning
had started scientific Noh research of which no one after of Zeami’s words in France, looking at the generality of Noh,
him could make considerable progress, he translated six of while French researchers before him mentioned above have
Zeami’s books on Noh theory, not only of Noh texts, loudly all focused on its difference from Western dramas. That is why
declaring, “The time has come, no doubt, to rethink the ques- the author thinks that this reinterpretation is more important
tion raised by the examinations of Zeami’s theory, which even than the translation itself.
Péri could not use” (Sieffert 7; author’s translation) in the intro-
duction to his The Secret Tradition of Noh. In short, Sieffert Conclusion
is the first one who introduced thoroughly, if not correctly, Based on the arguments above, the role which René Sieffert
Zeami’s aesthetic philosophy in Fushi Kaden [The Flowering played in the history of the understanding of Noh in France
Spirit] and Kakyo [A Mirror of the Flower] in French, and that was to give a social context to French people’s reading of
is the specificity of his work. Zeami’s Noh theory. Until this paper, René Sieffert has long
been considered as just a translator of Noh theory and plays.
Sieffert also reinterpreted the Noh theory which Zeami In fact, there was more than that to him; his reinterpretation
presented in Fushi Kaden, Kakyo, among others, as a universal, of Zeami’s Noh theory as a general, aesthetic principle made
aesthetic principle that could be applied to all the domains of his own translation much more significant to French read-
the arts, not as a lesson only for the small community of Noh ers. This is something which the French researchers of Noh
(Yasunaga 12). That is why, he says, Noh is interesting even before Sieffert could not have achieved, because they had
to non-Japanese people who cannot understand the beauty focused on the uniqueness of Noh rather than its generality,
of Noh dramas as deeply as a native, saying that the West- some underscoring Japanese religion and some comparing
ern public could not be interested in an art which is totally Noh with European theatres. It is time to reevaluate Sieffert’s
strange for them unless the interpretation of it makes evident achievements.
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