Sinhala

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Noh Drama, Its Portrayal of Buddhism and Its Influence on Sinhala Drama
(A Glimpse of Japanese Culture, The University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1997) Kumarasinghe, K.
Japanese Traditional Theatre can be divided into six categories. 1 Early dances imported and indigenous, dating from the 7th century. 2 Noh, a classical lyric drama beginning in the 14th century. 3 Kyogen, comic interludes in Noh, also beginning in the 14th century. 4 Bunraku, or Ayatsuri Shibai, the puppet theatre, dating from the 16th century. 5 Kabuki, popular classical dance dramas, dating from the 17th century. 6 Modern Theatre, foreign translations and original works dating from the 19th century. Aside from its importance as the first reference to any type of dramatic performance in Japanese history, the ?legend? has a deeper significance. It includes three fundamental aspects of all subsequent Japanese theatre arts: 1 The supernatural or religious elements primarily associated with Noh. 2 The erotic element, particularly characteristic of Kabuki and certain types of post-war modern theatre. 3 The dance element, an integral part of all Japanese dramatic arts. Early religion was animistic. It saw gods and spirits everywhere; in animals and trees. It worshipped the forces of nature. These beliefs survived the introduction of later cults, produced a wealth of folklore and greatly influenced the drama. In Noh, the spirits of the iris and the cherry can take human form and speak, and dead lovers assume the shape of trees. In Kabuki, men can be metamorphosed into animals and animals into men. Comic vignettes called Kyogen provide the comic relief between the heavier Noh plays. These two forms have developed side by side through the centuries and are collectively referred to as Nohgaku. This can be seen not only in Zeami?s Noh plays, but also his treatises, which were written about Noh theories. The religion of the Noh plays is predominantly Amidist; it is the common, average Buddhism of medieval Japan. Ediriweera Sarachchandra, an authority on Buddhist Philosophy, was deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism through the Noh theatre while he was studying drama in Japan. This influence motivated him to develop an indigenous Sinhala dramaturgy. The drama Maname was based on the legend Chulla Danuddara which depicts a rebirth story of the Bodhisatva. Sarachchandra composed and produced the drama Maname selecting scenes from the narrative which were most suitable for dramatizing.
The Subjects including Sinhala Language belong to the Humanities are facing problems
(Maanawa Zaastra Pieta Zasthrieya Sangrahaya, 2014) Kumarasinghe, K.
In any study describes the experiences of countries (such as Japan and Korea) that have adopted the mother-tonge as the medium of instruction for higher education. The mother-tonge can be considered as the vital medium of the education which can be seen in any developed country in the world. For example In China, Chinese is the main language of university education as well as the primary, secondary and higher education. This is common to other countries such as Japan and Korea. In those countries, students have to study their mother-tonge until completing their university education. They have to improve their language skills step by step. To achieve this, the authorities in the field of education should carry out the most suitable and correct policy decisions for the development of linguistic skills. However, all students of those countries would prefer to study English as an international language or second language. Japan and Korea commence English medium education from grade three at the primary level. Accordingly most of the Japanese scholars and the students prefer to study English to improve their subject knowledge by reading books written in English and develop their writing skill in English. However, the authorities have understood the methods that they should improve the talents of young students. In Sri Lanka, the mother-tonge is compulsory only for students who study for the O?Level examination. After passing the O?L, there is no need to continue studying in the mother-tonge. In Sri Lanka, scholar?s intelligence has been measured by the knowledge of English which has emerged since the colonial period. Some scholars also use English as a ?weapon? Not only the mother-tonge but also other subjects that belong to the Humanities have been facing some critical problems since the last two decades. The book titled Not for the profit; why Democracy Needs the Humanities written by Prof. Martha Nussbaum has expressed that subjects that belong to the category of Humanities have been facing defficulties this has a great impact on the deterioration of subjects in the Humanities.