Shakespeare

Takahiro UedaDiary of a Monk

Welcome to our website. For those of you who are visiting our blog for the first time. First of all, please click here.

Nice to meet you. My name is Takahiro Ueda, the administrator of this blog. This blog started as my attempt to look at various things in my daily life and write words with the motto of asking myself questions, as you can see in the title of the blog.

This article will give you a general guide within our blog. If you are new to our blog or wondering what to read, please read this article first.
IndiaThe Life of Buddha (Sakyamuni) as Seen in Local Photographs

⒄Buddha's powerful rival, the Rokushigedo" - Indian freethinkers who rejected Brahmanism and advocated a new ideology.

In this article, I will discuss six thinkers who became powerful rivals of the Buddha, the Six Master Gaido. The Six Master Gaido refers to the most influential thinkers among the emerging "samon" thinkers who rejected the Brahmanical worldview of the time. It is very important to know the thought of the Six Masters and the Six Exoteric Doctrines in order to understand the Buddha's thought. By comparing with them, we can see Buddha's uniqueness.
Recommended Sightseeing Spots in RomeThe Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, the Vatican, and Roman Catholicism

List of Recommended Reference Books on Rome - History, Culture, Religion, and Art! A list of great books that will make Rome more interesting!

In the previous article, "Monks' Recommendation: 15 Sightseeing Spots in Rome! From the Royal Road to Maniacal Churches, Taste the Ultimate in Beauty" introduced the recommended spots in Rome, and in this article, we will introduce a recommended reference and guidebook to enjoy Rome even more.

Please refer to each link for a more detailed discussion of the book.

Rome is so deep. It is like a bottomless swamp that the more you know about it, the more you become addicted to it. I, too, have become completely obsessed with this Roman wanderlust.

I hope this article has been helpful to you.
Greek tragedyShakespeare, a treasure trove of masterpieces

Kazuhiko Tange, "Greek Tragedy" - Recommended introductory book to learn the depth of Greek tragedy.

In this work, you will first learn about the origins of Greek tragedy and its flow in the introduction.

From there, the flow of the book, in chronological order, examines the depth of Greek tragedy through the works of Aeschylus, Sopocles, and Euripides, the major figures in Greek tragedy. I appreciated this because it explains very clearly how the content of tragedy changed over time.

Greek tragedies are well-known by name, but their contents are not well known. This is a recommended introductory book to learn the depth of Greek tragedy.
Reading PragueOther Recommended Books

24 novels recommended by book-loving monks - a quick look at recommended works at each level from introductory to advanced!

In this article, we will introduce novels that we highly recommend for each level of readers, from beginners to advanced readers.

Basically, the books introduced here are all great books that I recommend with confidence. All of them are extremely interesting works, so please take a look at the linked pages for the books that interest you, regardless of whether they are categorized as introductory or advanced.
belThe Industrial Revolution and British and European Society

The Oxford Portrait of Science by Graham Bell - A recommended biography of the great scientist who invented the telephone!

Graham Bell was an inventor best known for his invention of the telephone in 1876.

To my surprise, Bell was born in 1847, which is the same age as that Thomas Edison.

They were also rivals in the development of the telegraph. It was interesting to think that two people of the same age were competing with each other in the United States.

Also, in my last article, I mentioned that Edison was a reader as a young man, and so was this Bell. Bell also read Shakespeare until he memorized it, and from there he went on to read many books.

Edison also read Shakespeare, and it is still a reminder of how huge Shakespeare was to Westerners.
Javi.The Industrial Revolution and British and European Society

The Oxford Portrait of Science by William Harvey - Recommended biography of a scientist who lived at the same time as Shakespeare!

William Harvey was an English-born scientist known for his blood circulation theory.

As a lover of Shakespeare, I appreciated the opportunity to learn about the atmosphere of this period. Moreover, it was very interesting to see this period not from the literary angle, but from the scientific angle. This is an interesting book.

It is also highly recommended to learn about the currents of late 16th and 17th century England. I highly recommend this work to Shakespeare fans.
Yukio Ninagawa and Contemporary Theater

Akihiko Ogita, The Gekkai of Yukio Ninagawa: The Essence of Ninagawa's Direction as Seen from the Perspective of a Critic Who Has Followed the Stage for Many Years

In this book, you will get to know Ninagawa as only he could see him, as he has followed him all his life. How did his direction change as he matured from his debut as a director? And what is the essence of his theater that makes it so special?

However, this book is a bit difficult to read as an introduction to Ninagawa. It is recommended to read this book after seeing several of Ninagawa's stage productions or reading other books to get a feel for his personality and production process.

I highly recommend this work to anyone who wants to learn more about Yukio Ninagawa's direction and his personality. It was an extremely stimulating read.
Shakespeare, a treasure trove of masterpieces

Akihiko Ogita, "The Stage Speaks" - A book that provides background on the Shakespeare boom in Japan! Also recommended to learn about the currents of contemporary theater!

This book is the counterpart to "Contemporary Theatre in Japan," which was introduced in the previous article.

It was a pleasure to hear about the Shiki Theater Company, "Les Miserables" and other musicals that I also love.

And most importantly, it was a great opportunity to learn about the flow of Shakespeare's plays in Japan. The historical background of Shakespeare's boom in Japan was very interesting. The appearance of translator Takeshi Odajima and director Norio Deguchi, and the existence of the Shakespeare Theatre, of which Kotaro Yoshida was a member. The influence of Peter Brook, Trevor Nunn, and other prominent foreign playwrights. And the innovative direction of Yukio Ninagawa.

You can listen to Mr. Ogita's masterful commentary on these processes.