shimpa
melodrama
Learn about this topic in these articles:
Japanese performing arts
- In Japanese performing arts: Meiji period
These shimpa, or “new school,” plays, however, were little more than crude melodramas. Yakko and other actresses performing in shimpa marked the first time women had appeared on the professional stage since Okuni’s time. One shimpa troupe continues to perform today, in a style that retains…
Read More
Korean performing arts
- In Korean performing arts: Chosŏn and modern periods
…melodramas, called “new school,” or shimpa, plays (the same name as in Japan), were performed by a dozen troupes that formed and disbanded between 1908 and about 1930. The new school movement was begun by the novelist Yi Injik. Other major figures had learned the style while studying in Japan.…
Read More