The Battles of Coxinga

Battles of Coxinga, The (Kokusenya Kassen)

    Author: Chikamatsu Monzaemon

    First Performance: 1715, Osaka

    First English Translation: 1961

    Genre: Hist. drama for puppets in 5 acts (12 scenes); later kabuki play in 4 scenes; Japanese verse

    Setting: China and Japan, 17th c.

    Cast: 16m, 4f, extras

Watōnai (the Japanese name for the historical figure of Tei Seikō) is a young warrior who accompanies his Chinese father Tei Shiryū and his Japanese mother to China, in order to fight against the Tartar invaders from Manchuria and restore the Ming Dynasty. Tei Shiryū seeks help from his son-in-law Kanki, a Chinese general, who has however pledged loyalty to the new Tartar rulers and cannot break his oath for the sake of his wife's relatives. His wife nobly commits suicide in order to allow Kanki to act freely and in the...

[The entire page is 312 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass