Abstract
Ever since its first staging in 1715, Chikamatsu Monzaemon's (1653–1725) Kokusenya kassen (The Battles of Coxinga) has been often hailed as the playwright's most successful jidaimono 時代物 (history play). Previous studies frequently deem the play a manifestation of either the patriotic sentiment in Edo Japan or Japanese invasive intention over China. Nevertheless, both strands of scholarship ultimately pin the hero down as Japanese despite his father's origin in the Ming state and his mother's in Edo Japan, without further inquiring how the play shapes and reshapes its characters’ identities. Such an inquiry is not only political or philosophical but also theatrical, since a practical consideration in bunraku 文楽 (puppet theater) is precisely how to distinguish the characters that the puppets represent. Focusing on the characters’ identity shifts, particularly those of the hero, this article pinpoints four identity-shaping parameters in The Battles of Coxinga. It then proceeds to investigate the hero's identities in particular and contends that they undergo a series of reshapings that situate him in a sinicizing imaginary, which, along with the persistent elements that connect him with Japan, ultimately challenges the static understanding noted above.
