The Holy Terror
A possible retreat from goodreads ... though I'm tempted to yell "get off my lawn" at this site's tumblresque-ness. Yes, that's totally a word.
I only read one of the plays for a class on modernity in Japanese literature but it actually made me tear up a bit! It was The Love Suicides at Sonezaki and told the story of a merchant and a prostitute who fell in love but had to commit seppuku for love and in order to save face. This was written for the puppet theater and it's overly dramatic to make up for the lack of live actors so there's a lot of weaping and wailing. The love between the two characters is apparent though even with it being such a short play. I enjoyed it and didn't feel like it was a chore to read. This is only the second puppet play I've read but so far I haven't been disappointed!
