Chikamatsu's domestic dramas are accurate reflections of Japanese society at the time: his characters are samurai, farmers, merchants, and prostitutes who speak

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725), often referred to as "Japan's Shakespeare" and a "god of writers," was arguably the most famous playwright in Japanese history

Preliminary Material --Introduction --Musical Conventions --Mosaic Form --Cyclical Imagination --Descent to Paradise --Circles of Felicity --Preface to A Collec