Research: Hiraga Gennai and the Transformation of Ningyō Jōruri: Innovations and the Transition to Kabuki. (provisional)
Curriculum East Asia
ABSTRACT
The project examines the role of Hiraga Gennai in transforming ningyō jōruri and his impact on the subsequent evolution of kabuki theatre (maruhonmono). The research focuses on urban dramaturgy in the late Edo period, with particular attention to Edo jōruri as a space of linguistic and narrative experimentation. The methodology combines philological analysis of textual variants, comparison with kabuki adaptations, and semiotic tools to investigate performative realization. The data include manuscripts, printed sources, and critical materials. The central objective is to clarify how Gennai’s innovations reshaped theatrical and literary models, contributing to new cultural and performative paradigms.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Japanese dramaturgy; theatrical philology; performance semiotics; theatre criticism; popular culture of the Edo period.
CURRICULUM VITAE
01/11/2025 – present:
PhD Programme
Civilizations of Asia and Africa – 41st Cycle
Sapienza University of Rome
Department Italian Institute of Oriental Studies (ISO)
24–25/06/2025:
The 9th Annual Hasekura International Symposium, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Participation in the 9th Annual Hasekura International Symposium with the project Turning Tragedy into Horror: Spirit Possession in Hiraga Gennai’s jōruri.
10/2021 – 10/2024:
MA in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, University of Naples “L’Orientale.” Thesis title: Shinrei Yaguchi no watashi: Hiraga Gennai’s Contribution to the Development of Edo Jōruri. Supervisor: Roberta Strippoli. Co-supervisor: Claudia Iazzetta
04/2023 – 03/2024:
International mobility program, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities, Graduate Course in Japanese Language and Literature
10/2018 – 10/2021:
BA in Oriental and African Languages and Cultures, University of Naples “L’Orientale.” Thesis title: From Jōruri to Kabuki: An Overview of the Maruhonmono through the Chūshingura. Supervisor: Claudia Iazzetta