Kishotenketsu

[PETER REGELOUS]

Dear All

Kishotenketsu is a four-act plot structure common in Japanese  storytelling. The introduction (ki), the development (sho), the twist (ten), and the conclusion (ketsu). Compared to more familiar narratives, the conflict act is missing, which justifies its description.

Does anyone know more about Kishotenketsu as I need it to help write a 3 page script

Thanks in advance

Kind regards   Peter Regelous

[Pinnington, Noel J - (noelp)]

Peter,

It may not suit your needs but here is a rough translation of a few paragraphs by Watanabe Masako from her book Nattoku no Kōzō, published by Tōyōkan Shuppansha in 2004, pp. 4-5. She is discussing it in contrast with the “North American” essay structure. I used to give it to 4^th year students to translate, and just happen to have kept my notes on it. I can of course send you a pdf of the original passage if you wish:

 

“Regardless of genre, the structure of essays that is most often used in Japan is "kishōtenketsu."

 

Originally, kishōtenketsu derives from the classical poetic form of China, and it is said to be the sole organizing principle structuring all narratives in Japanese, including not just such written forms as novels, essays, newspaper columns, academic articles, etc., but also oral literature, songs and also other performing arts.

 

In this structure of kishōtenketsu it starts from the information most far from the conclusion and moves step by step closer to the heart of the matter under discussion.

 

In the first “ki” section, information is explained that is the source or background of the topic of the piece, and thus the stage is set to enter into the primary discussion.

 

Next in the “shō” part, the matter is gradually developed.

　

At the “ten” section, however, you dramatically change the direction (plot, train of reasoning, etc.) you have been following up till then, for example, bringing in some other issue, or reconsidering the matter from another point of view and showing (disclosing) its multifaceted character.

 

Finally in the “ketsu” section, although the discussion is brought to a provisional conclusion, you round things off (shimekukuru) in the form of further questions, giving a foretaste of the twists and turns the argument might follow thereafter.

 

The key thing in this four-layered structure is the “ten,” for it gives the author the freedom to add new materials, which can invite surprise in the reader, (誘拐), and has the benefit of bringing change to the unfolding of the discussion.

 

The development is not in a straight line, and becomes more complex, and the connection between the sections becomes more relaxed.

 

It is said that this structure of Kishotenketsu, expresses the author’s train of thought, and so the reader can trace the thinking and thereby easily understand the author’s intentions.

 

The meaning of the discussion is not so much determined by the author and communicated as it is to the reader, rather with the reader following the process of thinking alongside the author, its interpretation is entrusted to the reader himself.”

 

Noel Pinnington

 

From: <pm...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of PETER REGELOUS <peterr...@gmail.com>
Reply-To: "pm...@googlegroups.com" <pm...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, October 8, 2021 at 10:08 AM
To: "pm...@googlegroups.com" <pm...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [EXT][PMJS] Kishotenketsu

 

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[Charles De Wolf]

At the risk of telling you what you already know...

The Asahi Shimbun's天声人語 column has often been described as following the 起承転結 pattern.

Some years ago I was somewhat reluctantly involved in assisting with a project intended to show that that essay structure is widespread, thus creating difficulty for non-Japanese readers accustomed to a different form of argumentation. I say "reluctantly" because, although, as a translator of Japanese non-fiction, I was well aware of stylistic differences, I simply didn't accept the overall thesis. Focusing on Tensei-jingo struck me as much like looking for the latchkey under the streetlamp.

Best wishes

Charles De Wolf

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[raji.s...@aoi.uzh.ch]

Dear Peter,

I found useful the explanation in Senko Kumiya Maynard, Principles of Japanese Discourse, Cambridge UP, 33–39.

Yours,

Raji

Prof. Dr. Raji C. Steineck
Professor für Japanologie
Principal Investigator
ERC Advanced Grant Project "Time in Medieval Japan" (TIMEJ)

Asien-Orient-Institut
Universität Zürich
Zürichbergstrasse 4
8032 Zürich
++41+44-634 4085

Neue Publikationen/new publications

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[Thomas Lamarre, Prof.]

The kishotenketsu pattern was used in yonkoma manga.  Tezuka has some good examples in his guides for drawing manga.  Some video games borrowed aspects of it from these four-panel manga to articulate relations between and within levels of play.

 

Best,

 

Tom Lamarre

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pmjs/1739906130.510433.1633756962234%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Pinnington, Noel J - (noelp)]

Actually, that is closely connected to Watanabe Masako’s research. She showed yonkoma manga, without words, to Japanese schoolchildren and separately to American children, and analyzed how differently they constructed stories to explain the pictures. Very interesting, as far as I recall.

Noel

Sent from my iPad

On Oct 10, 2021, at 10:29, Thomas Lamarre, Prof. <thomas....@mcgill.ca> wrote:



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