Kishoutenketsu vs 3 Act Structure

 In a response to my last post, somebody asked me (on another site) what ‘kishoutenketsu’ means.

Simply put, it’s a dramatic structure popular in the far east. If you’ve watched anime, read manga, or played a jRPG, you’re probably already familiar with it.

Let's start with the more familiar 3 act structure as a point of comparison and refresher.

We’ve all seen plenty of stories like this, the structure is popular for a reason- it works. Set the stage and start the conflict, build on that conflict until the climax (act 2 should be the majority of the story) and then descend and wrap up.

Star Wars followed this structure. You had:

The setup with the characters on all side and the inciting incident that brought them into conflict in R2D2’s message.

The confrontation is when Luke and company start to butt heads with the empire. The conflict then escalates all the way up to the climax, where Luke destroyed the Death Star.

The dénouement, wrap up in the aftermath and, celebration.

Kishoutenketsu isn’t quite like that.

Sometimes called ‘the four act structure’ there is a misconception that it is a style that de-emphasizes conflict.

This is incorrect. It is true that the structure can be used for less conflict heavy stories than the 3 act structure as that one is more specialized in conflict, but as anyone who has watched Akira Kurosawa (at least something he didn’t rip off from Shakespeare), or a good anime, or jPRG can tell you, there is plenty of room for dramatic conflict here.

This structure traces its roots back to ancient Chinese poetry and has a long history. It is probably seen in its purest form in 4 panel manga shorts. A little research into those, and it should become very clear how it works out.

I’m going to use the famous film ‘Yojimbo’ as an example.

Introduction (Ki)- a drifting ronin (masterless samurai) comes into town in the grip of a bloody gang war.

Development (Sho)- scenting an opportunity, he sets off playing both sides against each other for a mixture of fun, profit, and justice.

Twist (Ten)- the introduction of the character Unosuke and how he sees through the ronin’s tricks and almost has him undone.

Conclusion (Ketsu)- The ronin is able to triumph over both Unosuke and the remaining gang members. Work done, he sets off on the road again.

The twist here is not the same as the twist of a three-act structure, that’s more like a plot twist or something the characters didn’t see coming. A kishoutenketsu twist is a new element introduced to the setup and seeing how it interacts with the others. In the case of Yojimbo, it is a new character. The three-act structure doesn’t allow new major characters to be introduced so late in the game like that, and the foreshadowing only arguable counts, as it was pretty light. 

The closest to a ‘twist’ in the sense of the three-act structure in Yojimbo is the ronin’s act of pure kindness at great risk and cost to himself towards a poor family shortly before Unosuke’s arrival.

Additionally, there isn't necessarily an inciting incident, though there can be one if you wish. This method just has the introduction of elements and then how they play out until the twist. It is a bit more flexible than the relatively recent 3 act structure. Yojimbo's 'inciting incident' is only arguable, while the ronin is hassled upon arrival it is really his own choice to get involved above all else. For more slow paced or reflective stories, there isn't even that to argue.

Which structure is the best? See my previous post for a more detailed answer, but the brief response is that it depends on your story. Both have been used to create great stories, either might be just what you need for your story’s pacing and structure.

Or perhaps Shakespearean 5 act structure is the way to go, or Lester Dent’s proven pulp formula. In the end, what the best answer is, depends on the story. Meditate on the advantages and disadvantages of both and see how they might be useful to you. And if one or the other is not useful then, contra Bruce Lee’s famous ‘reject what is useless’ put it aside for the moment. You may find new value in it at a later date.

Just remember that this is more of a ‘behind the scenes’ deal for the reader than some think. Most readers won’t really know or care what specific structure you use. Some (mostly writers themselves) might argue this way or that to try and fit in your story to a structure after the fact, I know of at least one Japanese site that used Little Red Riding Hood to illustrate kishoutenketsu. But so long as it entertains, the audience doesn’t care any more than the average restaurant goer cares about the chef’s methods.

To illustrate further, Akira Kurosawa’s Shakespeare homages/rip-offs are quite popular in Japan. Yojimbo was remade almost shot for shot into ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ which brought Clint Eastwood to stardom.

So much for these methods. Now let’s get back to writing.