The East Asian Four-Part Plot Structure
Daniel Baird
Introduction
In East Asia there is a pervasive story structure that is quite different from the three-part structure that is common in the West. Understanding how this structure works and differs from what is common in the West will increase your enjoyment of literature and media from China, Japan, and Korea.
Western Three-Part Structure
As a reminder, the basic Western plot structure looks like this:
- set-up – introduces the setting, characters, etc.
- confrontation – presents the critical conflict of the story
- resolution – shows the results of the conflict, ending of story
First with the set-up we are introduced to the important characters — the hero, the villain, the setting for the story, etc. The story proceeds building up to a critical conflict, whether a confrontation between the hero and the villain or perhaps an inner conflict where the main character must overcome a character flaw. The resolution of the conflict usually provides closure for the audience, or an opening for the story to continue. In other words, in this structure the most important part of the story occurs when the confrontation takes place, often called the climax of the story.
East Asian Four-Part Structure
In contrast to the Western 3-part structure, many East Asian stories have a four-part structure. East Asian storytelling can be thought of as having the following parts:
- introduction – establishes theme, setting, characters, etc.
- development – expands the theme, situation, plot, etc.
- twist – usually introduces unrelated content or presents a different viewpoint
- conclusion – ties together part three with the previous content
The important feature here is that part three often seems unconnected to what came before. Then the conclusion will bring everything together, showing how the twist gives greater meaning to the story.
In East Asian stories conflict is not a required part of the plot structure. There can be conflict in an Asian story, but it is handled differently and therefore is not considered part of the structure of the plot. In comparison, the Western model demands conflict because confrontation is built in — you need to have the climax or critical conflict.
Examples
Look at this famous Japanese poem1 by Sanyō Rai (1780–1832) for better understanding of the four-part structure:
The daughters of Itoya in Honmachi of Osaka,
The eldest daughter is sixteen and the younger one is fourteen.
Historically in Japan, warriors have killed their enemy with bows and arrows.
However, the daughters of Itoya kill only with their eyes.
The first line is the introduction, the second develops the first line, then the third has a twist — that is, it gives unrelated content. You are probably thinking, “Why are we suddenly talking about warriors?” It is the fourth line that brings the first three lines together in a delightful way by tying the two ideas, the daughters and warriors, together with the phrase “kill with their eyes.”
Here is a more complex example from a poem2 by the samurai-poet Kagawa Kageki (1768–1843):
As if moonlight
were cascading down on me
that is how I feel
As I travel through the night,
how snow piles onto my sleeves!
Here we have five lines, so a little reorganization is necessary to see the four parts:
- As if moonlight (introduction)
- were cascading down on me (development)
- that is how I feel as I travel through the night (twist)
Something new. How does it relate to earlier lines? Why does the writer feel this way? Seriously, what kind of feeling does the moonlight give this traveler? - how snow piles onto my sleeves (conclusion)
Ah, we understand now, the moonlight shining on the nighttime traveler’s sleeves resembles snow—that is how everything ties together.
Part of what makes the poem and by extension the four-part structure so interesting is this way it can open new meanings to what has already been presented. (Did you think of snow when you read the first two lines?)
Conclusion
This is not the only structure in East Asian stories, but once you start looking for this four-part structure you begin to realize how pervasive it is.
Further Reading
- For more about how this works, see this comparison between Western and Asian storytelling: “The significance of plot without conflict.”
- You can also look at this webpage “Kishōtenketsu for Beginners – An Introduction to Four Act Story Structure” that includes an example from the movie Kiki’s Delivery Service.
- Here is another fun webpage called “The Skeletal Structure of Japanese Horror Fiction” that shows how it differs from Western (Hollywood) horror movies.
WORKS CITED
- Maynard, S. K. Japanese communication: Language and Thought in Context. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997, pp. 159–160. https://libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=39366&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_159
- Carter, Steven D. How to Read a Japanese Poem. Columbia University Press. Ebook, p. 218. https://libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2087949&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_218
