Kishotenketsu Four- Part Story Structure

Kishōtenketsu: Exploring The Four Act Story Structure

Kishōtenketsu is a story told in four parts. It is a Japanese story structure that doesn’t need conflict to tell a story! Learn to write without conflict

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Let’s talk about Kishōtenketsu, or how Asian story structure subverts our Western concepts of how stories work. 

In Western culture, if you want to write a story you have about a dozen different story structures to choose from. You can use the Three Act Structure, or the Hero’s Journey, which I wrote a thorough guide to here, or maybe the Seven Point Structure. So many choices, but they all have one thing in common. 

They all revolve around conflict. The protagonist is introduced, they run face-first into some sort of obstacle, and they spend most of the rest of the story overcoming that obstacle. This is a fine way to write a story, but it’s not your only option. 

Kishōtenketsu is a Japanese story structure that doesn’t need conflict to work. It’s the guiding structure behind popular urban legends, jokes, comic strips, and even video game design. And, there’s a reason for the rising popularity of Kishōtenketsu. It’s something that most readers have never seen. 

It’s a unique twist on how stories are told. Actually, twists are very important to Kishōtenketsu, but more on that later. 

So, if you want to learn a new story structure that will delight your readers, and challenge their thinking then let’s check out Kishōtenketsu together. 

What is Kishōtenketsu? 

Kishōtenketsu is a story told in four parts. This kind of storytelling is most closely associated with Japan, but it is also used in classic Chinese and Korean narratives. In fact, it was originally used in Chinese four-line poetry. 

The plot of a Kishōtenketsu story relies on the third act twist. This is what puts the whole narrative into context. A traditional Western story starts by introducing conflict and builds to a climax. In Kishōtenketsu, the story is mostly set up that builds towards the story’s major twist. 

A quick word on the graphic above. A reader pointed out to my that the original image was incorrect, so I have replaced it based on her suggestion. She also pointed out the importance hiring own voices/ lived experiences for articles and diagrams such as this one. I totally agree with her, but I don’t have the budget to hire any outside writers or graphic artists at this time. Instead, I will link to her article, author Kim Yoon Mi, below. I will also embed a video that she suggested. Both of these resources are far more detailed than the article I’ve written here and I encourage you to visit them.

Image credit: Kim Yoon Mi

For a more detailed description of Kishōtenketsu please read Worldwide Story Structure by Kim Yoon Mi.

Or check out the video below:

The unique thing about Kishōtenketsu is that they do not have to tell a transformative story. Meaning, your protagonist doesn’t have to suffer trauma and come out better or worse for it. There is a twist, but the twist doesn’t have to be earth-shattering or even a negative event. Twists are often used for humor or just to surprise the reader. 

Let’s break down the four parts of a Kishōtenketsu in greater detail. 

Kishōtenketsu, a story structure that subverts our Western concepts of how stories work by relying on a twist rather than conflict. Click To Tweet

What is the Kishōtenketsu Four-Part Structure? 

Introduction (ki)

The set up of the story. Just like the beginning of a three-act story, here you want to introduce characters, settings, and any other information that’s important to the understanding of your story. 

Development (shō)

Take your setup and expand on it. Tease out the situation, flesh out the characters. You’re giving readers a broader, or deeper view into the story. The important thing to remember about this stage is that it is about expansion, but not change. No major changes occur during this development stage. 

Twist (ten)

This is the most important part of your story. The twist is an unexpected turn or development in your story. The twist in a Kishōtenketsu is like the climax of a Western story. It’s what your entire story is building toward. It will often recontextualize the previous events of the story. 

Conclusion (ketsu)

Here you’re just wrapping up the story. It’s important to note that in a Kishōtenketsu your characters don’t have to show growth, and sometimes barely any action has happened. Just show us the aftermath of the twist. 

Example: 

So, there are many ways that this Kishōtenketsu is used in the real world. We’ll talk about some of them at the bottom. But, the stories that use this form, and are most familiar to Westerners, are urban legends. Let’s take a look at an urban legend. Notice how the twist (ten) of this story recontextualizes the first two acts. 

Introduction (ki)

A young couple gets married. For their honeymoon, they travel to the Bahamas. They spend two weeks swimming on the beach everyday.

Development (shō)

When the couple arrives home the woman starts to feel quesy, and the couple assumes she pregnant.

Twist (ten)

The woman goes into labor and the couple rushes to the hospital. She gives birth to a beautiful baby… squid. While swimming, on their honeymoon, the woman swallowed eggs and they incubated her stomach. 

(don’t worry, I did some research. It’s not actually possible to give birth to a squid. Unless, of course, you are a squid.)

Conclusion (ketsu)

After a doctor explains the situation, the couple return home horrified. 

Most urban legends operate with this same model. A normal scenario is laid out, but the twist turns everything the story on its head. Usually, this twist is meant to scare or disgust the reader. 

Note that the characters in these stories don’t have goals or a conflict to overcome. Events just happen to them. The twist changes the color of those events as the reader, and the characters, realize that the first two acts were not what they thought. 

But, urban legends, and horror stories, are not the only narratives that make use of this technique. More on that below. 

Now, let’s talk about an important thing that seems to be missing from these stories. 

Where’s the Conflict? 

Pretty much anyone who talks about storytelling will tell you that conflict is the most important part of your story. That, without conflict, you don’t have a story. I know I’ve said it somewhere on this blog. 

Well, it turns out that’s wrong. Western story structure does depend on conflict, but Kishōtenketsu doesn’t. Sure, Kishōtenketsu can have conflict, but it doesn’t need it. For a refresher, let’s take a look at how the Three Act Structure compares to Kishōtenketsu. 

Kishōtenketsu vs. The Three Act Structure 

The Three Act Structure 

Setup 

Like the introduction and development stages of Kishōtenketsu, the setup establishes characters, settings, and the situation. 

Read more about setting here.

Confrontation 

This is where you introduce conflict into your story. Usually an inciting event – read more about inciting events here– will disrupt the character’s life in some way. The character will spend the rest of the story trying to overcome that conflict. 

Resolution 

In the final act of the story, the character will resolve their conflict. Life will return to normal, and usually, the character will have changed, or grown, in a fundamental way.

The Three-Act Story Structure

While other story models like the Hero’s Journey, or the Seven Point structure are more complex, they work off the same principle. Some form of conflict will disrupt a character’s life and they will work to overcome that conflict. At the heart of all these Western story structures is conflict, and usually, growth. 

Ketsu- How to conclude a story with no conflict

So, how do you conclude a story with no conflict? Well, in the Ketsu portion of the four-act story you can return the characters to where they were before. The twist may create an unresolved tension in the place of a resolved conflict. This is what makes the story interesting to the reader. 

Go back to our urban legend example. Does the couple strive to accomplish some goal? No, they just have a bizarre thing happen to them. At the end of the story the return home. They’re left to process their confusion and disgust with the event. And, so is the reader. That tension is just left for everyone to deal with in their own way. 

Truthfully, we don’t need conflict, or character growth, to make a narrative interesting or worthy. This lack of resolution makes Kishōtenketsu stories appealing in an important way. They are true to life. 

We rarely get a clear and neat resolution to the conflicts that emerge in our own lives. Things can happen to us, positive or negative, that are completely out of our control. We just have to deal with them. 

Conclusions are inevitable. Everything ends, eventually, but we are not guaranteed any resolutions. That is how Kishōtenketsu, and life, work, and that’s what makes these stories impactful. 

Examples of Kishōtenketsu

Super Mario Level Design 

Nintendo game designer, Koichi Hayashida, has famously used the Kishōtenketsu structure for Super Mario games over the last decade. Starting with Super Mario Galaxy, on the Wii U, Mario levels conform to the four-part structure. 

As a player enters a stage they will be introduced to a mechanic. Usually, a way to use some part of the environment to achieve an objective. They will have a low-risk area to practice the mechanic. As the player moves forward the mechanic will evolve and become more complicated. 

At the climax of the level, developers will introduce a twist on the mechanic. Players will have to use it in a way they weren’t expecting. This hard to explain in words so check out this video from Youtube channel, Game Makers Toolkit to learn more. 

Yonkoma Manga 

Yonkoma is four-panel comic strips that have been around since the early 20th century. These comics are very popular throughout Japan, and they are an eloquent example of Kishōtenketsu storytelling. 

Here’s an example. 

It was pretty difficult to track down the origin of this comic (I admit, I’m not an avid Manga reader), but I believe it comes from a series called, Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! If I’m wrong please let me know in the comics. 

Practice Your Own Kishōtenketsu

Grab a blank sheet of paper and draw four boxes. Then make your own four-panel comic. Don’t worry if you’re not a great artist. That’s what stick figures are for! Just remember that the third panel needs to introduce a twist. 

But, don’t overthink it. The twist doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. It can be played for humor like the one above. Or, it can introduce an element of horror. Whatever. Just surprise your reader. Then once you’ve made one comic, make another one! 

Wrapping Up 

If there’s one thing to take away from this post it’s that there is more than one way to tell a story. What Kishōtenketsu teaches us is that you don’t have to have a conflict to tell an interesting story. As a writer, don’t be afraid to explore new formats or to stretch your creative mind. 

Now, one last time, let’s go over those steps… 

Jack Black Goosebumps

Resources: 

Wikipedia: Kishōtenketsu

Tofugu: The Skeleton Structure of Japanese Horror Fiction

Mythic Scribes: Kishōtenketsu for Beginners

22 comments on “Kishōtenketsu: Exploring The Four Act Story Structure”

  1. I won’t spoil any details, but the movie Your Name is an excellent example of kishoutenketsu.

    I’d add that the conclusion phase needs to continue the arc and themes of the introduction and development. They can be absent during the twist itself but will return in some form afterwards.

    For example, take this alternate ending to the squid urban legend:

    — The doctor that delivered the squid never got over the experience, and in the months since then multiple women have unexpectedly become pregnant after getting physical exams from her. None have yet come to full term.

    This still shows the aftermath of the twist, but it’s not kishoutenketsu.

    1. Hey Gates,

      Thank you for your insight on Kishotenketsu! I love your advice about continuing established themes in the conclusion phase of the story. I missed that. Thanks!

      Also, I’ll have to check out Your Name. Thanks again, Gates!

  2. Hi, John!

    This was really interesting. I would love to use some of this in my bachelor degree, and therefor I’m asking if there’s any chance to get your full name and date of posting this? Just to call this post more of a reliable source. Hope you get the thought 🙂 Sorry if you find this question weird hehe.

    – Lizette (Norway)

    1. Hi Lizette!

      I’d be happy to help you with that! My name is John Kerr and this article was published on July 8, 2020. Good luck with your degree! If you need anything else feel free to email me at john@artofnarrative.com

      1. Thank you so much, this is super helpful 🙂
        Keep up the good work!

  3. The diagram for Kishotenketsu is wrong. The wist is at the high point of the story, not the falling action. The Y-axis should be “Emotion” and then the bottom should be divided by the space the story takes up. I have a feeling someone not Japanese made that image.

    The original Japanese diagram and the one that matches for Korea’s and China’s version is found here: youtube [.] com/watch?v=Tfi0FvD9Yu0

    The one above is a fiction that doesn’t actually work with the plot structure since the twist is the high point. Also, it’s an argument for why people should hire ownvoices/lived experience for making articles and diagrams. ’cause someone Japanese would have looked at the above diagram and knew it was wrong.

    Please consider fixing it to the correct diagram with artistic credit.

    1. Hi Yoonmi,

      Your assumption is correct. I made the graphic based on my research while writing the article.

      Thank you for pointing out my error. I’ve done my best to correct it.

      -John

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