Abstract
The author's narrative generation study is based on two types of systems: the integrated narrative generation system (INGS) as a single narrative generation and reception mechanism and the Geinō information system (GIS) as a multiple narrative production and consumption mechanism. The first theme of the chapter is to introduce an idea that deals with narrative phenomena as the integration of both systems. This theme is tied to the topic of narrative content creation by presenting kabuki narrative generation or kabuki-oriented narratology and Watakushi Monogatari as a collection of narrative content to be created by the author. Hence, the second objective is to describe kabuki-oriented narrative generation and the third is to explain the ideas, thoughts, and design underlying Watakushi Monogatari in the context of internal and external narrative generation to create and distribute narrative content. Through these three themes, this chapter bridges the gap between narrative generation systems and narrative content with kabuki-oriented narratology and Watakushi Monogatari.
TopIntroduction
The author published a series of books (Ogata, 2020a, 2020e) that systematically Shōwan integrated approach to studying narrative generation. These books assert that research on content generation and narrative generation forms an important, challenging field that has a fundamentally interdisciplinary characteristic. This characteristic is based on artificial intelligence (AI) (including cognitive science) and narratology (including literary theories), grounded in an integrated, interdisciplinary narrative generation system of study through a model of multiple narrative structures, as well as other philosophical considerations. In the first part of this chapter, the author describes the meanings of the concept of an integrated approach to narrative generation. “Integration,” in this case, connotes a broad range of senses beyond the integration conveyed in the Integrated Narrative Generation System (INGS) that the author has been designing and developing. The term “integration” includes the following:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Kabuki-Oriented Narratology: The author’s goal, based on kabuki -oriented narratology, is to scrutinize narratological research and critiques in the world of kabuki and apply the results to the modeling, design, and development of the narrative generation mechanisms of kabuki . In this chapter, the author focuses on two contemporary kabuki scholars, Yukio Hattori (1932–2007) and Tamotsu Watanabe (1936–), and two classical kabuki documents, Sakusha Shikiho Kezairoku (1972) and Sekai Komoku (1916).
Sakusha Shikiho Kezairoku: This is a comprehensive, theoretical document written during the Edo era (1801) by a real kabuki writer, Namiki Shoza II. The author pays attention to the parts in which unique theories and ways of how kabuki scenarios should be written and created are described, including a type of grammatical statement showing a narrative development structure and a technique for inserting narrative contrivances ( shuko in Japanese) into a determined or stereotyped flow ( shigumi ) according to a sekai ( world ) as a typical type of narrative.
Internal Narrative Generation: This term forms the counterpart to the above external narrative generation. The internal narrative generation corresponds to the aspect of creating narrative works by the author, using developed narrative generation systems, mainly INGS and GIS. The author integrates such narrative works according to the concept of Watakushi Monogatari .
Watakushi Monogatari: Watakushi Monogatari (“My Story” or “My Narrative,” or “I-Story” or “I-Narrative”) means a new narrative genre that should be practiced using narrative generation systems. Although it is a type of story or narrative genre in which narrative worlds and narrations are pursued and represented through “I” ( watakushi ), this does not necessarily mean that the narrative world to be generated should be narrow and the field related only to “I.” Rather, it means that the first-person world gradually opens to the second-person and third-person worlds to construct an entire narrative dependent on their organic relationships.
Sekai Komoku: Sekai means a narrative system or collection (a kind of knowledge base) that has been used to produce kabuki scenarios. Sekai Komoku is a document written in the middle of the Edo era that systematically collects many sekai s as a knowledge base. In this chapter, the author analyzes the book’s entire structure and the mechanism of each sekai ’s unit. In the future, an interesting and practical theme would be to pursue the author’s unique, new Sekai Komoku that perhaps treats modern and contemporary periods and topics.
Narrative Generation of Kabuki: The narrative generation study of kabuki is a type of kabuki research according to constructive, productive, engineering, computational, and cognitive scientific methods. It aims to analyze diverse components of kabuki based on one or more narrative generation systems. Further, the narrative generation of kabuki attempts to utilize the acquired results for various narrative generation mechanisms as narrative techniques and knowledge.
Geino Information System (GIS): This indicates a system model of geino production and consumption. GIS has been considered a framework in which various levels of narrative production processes are driven by writers, receivers, characters, and actors. Furthermore, GIS is a model for circulative narrative generation, which repeats the narrative generation process. In contrast, in the author’s narrative generation study, the INGS corresponds to a single-level narrative generation system.
Post-Narratology: A concept for a field in which narratology and literary theories are organically introduced into computational and cognitive approaches. The author calls this type of narratology post-narratology, in contrast to classical narratology, which only focuses on only human and social scientific fields. However, the author’s concept of post-narratology deals with classical narrative knowledge, such as kabuki , and positively introduces the Japanese cultural worlds to which the author himself belongs. In various senses, the conception of post-narratology exceeds an interdisciplinary narratology between literary and informational areas.
Integrated Narrative Generation System (INGS): INGS is a synthetic narrative generation system architecture that integrates previous studies by the author. From the broadest angle, INGS is divided into knowledge and procedures. INGS aims to be a narrative synthesizer that integrates a variety of narrative techniques, methods, rhetoric, and knowledge into an organic, dynamic generation framework.
External Narrative Generation: External narrative generation refers to the social development and distribution of the narrative generation systems, including the Integrated Narrative Generation System (INGS) and the Geino Information System (GIS), as well as content produced by the narrative generation systems, such as computer games and automatic generation stories and novels. The first goal of external narrative generation is to develop a computational environment for using the above systems.
GIS With INGS: Although GIS and INGS are relatively different narrative generation systems, they function as a linked mechanism. INGS plays a role in creating individual narratives, and GIS produces each sequential narrative by connecting the narratives produced by INGS into a broader story line. GIS is a more comprehensive framework of narrative generation that contains INGS.