kabuki theater 3

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KABUKI THEATERHistory of Kabuki Theater

Prepared by: Liana Ilka Chase ! "ala#arAllysa $on#ales

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Kabuki Theater

Introduction

Kabuki (歌舞伎?)

• is a classical Japanese dance-drama.

• The individual kanji, from left to right, mean sing (歌), dance (舞), and skill

(伎). Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as the art of singing and

dancing

• the !ord kabuki is believed to derive from the verb kabuku, meaning to

lean or to be out of the ordinar", kabuki can be interpreted as avant-garde or bi#arre theatre.

$istor" of Kabuki

1603-1629: Female kabuki

• The histor" of kabuki began in %&' !hen I#umo no kuni, possibl" a

miko of I#umo Taisha, began performing a ne! st"le of dance drama inthe dr" riverbeds of K"oto.

• Japan !as under the control of the Tokuga!a shogunate, enforced b"

Tokuga!a Ie"asu

• The name of the *do period derives from the relocation of the Tokuga!a

regime from its former home in K"oto to the cit" of *do, present-da"Tok"o.

• the st"le !as immediatel" popular, and kuni !as asked to perform

before the Imperial +ourt. In the !ake of such success, rival troupesuickl" formed, and kabuki !as born as ensemble dance and dramaperformed b" !omena form ver" different from its modern incarnation.uch of its appeal in this era !as due to the ribald, suggestive themesfeatured b" man" troupes/ this appeal !as further augmented b" the factthat the performers !ere often also available for prostitution.0%1 2or this

reason, kabuki !as also called 遊女歌舞妓 (prostitute-singing and

dancing performer) during this period.

The shogunate !as never partial to kabuki and all the mischief it brought,particularl" the variet" of the social classes !hich mi3ed at kabuki performances.4omen5s kabuki, called onna-kabuki, !as banned in %&67 for being too erotic.2ollo!ing onna-kabuki, "oung bo"s performed in !akash8-kabuki, but since the"too !ere eligible for prostitution, the shogun government soon banned !akash8-kabuki as !ell.Kabuki s!itched to adult male actors, called "aro-kabuki, in themid-%&''s. ale actors pla"ed both female and male characters. The theatre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_setshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_sets


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remained popular, and remained a focus of urban lifest"le until modern times. 9lthough kabuki !as performed all over uki"o and other portions for the countr",

the :akamura-#a, Ichimura-#a and Ka!ara#aki-#a theatres became the toptheatres in uki"o, !here some of the most successful kabuki performances !ereand still are held.

1629–1673: Transition to yarō-kabuki

• The modern all-male kabuki, kno!n as "ar;-kabuki ("oung man kabuki),

!as established during these decades.

• 9fter !omen !ere banned from performing, cross-dressed male actors,

kno!n as onnagata (female-role) or o"ama, took over.

•

Folden age

• Guring the Fenroku era, kabuki thrived.

• The structure of a kabuki pla" !as formali#ed during this period, as !ere

man" elements of st"le.

• +onventional character t"pes !ere established. Kabuki theater and ning";

j;ruri, the elaborate form of puppet theater that later came to be kno!n asbunraku, became closel" associated !ith each other, and each has sinceinfluenced the other=s development.

%DE6C%D&D> Haru!aka-ch; kabuki


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In the %DE's, fires started terrori#ing *do due to repeated drought. Kabukitheatres, traditionall" made of !ood, !ere constantl" burning do!n, forcing their

relocation !ithin the uki"o. 4hen the area that housed the :akamura-#a !ascompletel" destro"ed in %DE%, the shogun refused to allo! the theatre to rebuild,sa"ing that it !as against fire code

These factors, along !ith strict regulations, pushed much of kabukiunderground in *do, !ith performances changing locations to avoid theauthorities.

• The theatres= ne! location !as called Haru!aka-ch;, or Haru!aka-machi.

The last thirt" "ears of the Tokuga!a shogunate=s rule is often referred toas the Haru!aka-machi period.

• This period produced some of the gaudiest kabuki in Japanese histor".The Haru!aka-machi became the ne! theatre district for the :akamura-#a, Ichimura-#a and Ka!ara#aki-#a theatres.

• The district !as located on the main street of 9sakusa, !hich ran through

the middle of the small cit".

• The street !as renamed after Haru!aka Kan#aburo, !ho initiated *do

kabuki in the :akamura Theatre in %&6E.

• The relocation diminished the tradition=s most abundant inspiration for

costuming, make-up, and stor" line.

•

Ichika!a Kodanji I !as one of the most active and successful actorsduring the Haru!aka-machi period. Geemed unattractive, he mainl"performed bu";, or dancing, in dramas !ritten b" Ka!atake okuami,!ho also !rote during the eiji period to follo!.

• Ka!atake okuami commonl" !rote pla"s that depicted the common lives

of the people of *do. $e introduced shichigo-cho (seven-and-five s"llablemeter) dialogue and music such as ki"omoto.

• $is kabuki performances became uite popular once the Haru!aka-machi

period ended and theatre returned to *do/ man" of his !orks are stillperformed.

• In %D&D, the Tokuga!a shogunate fell apart. *mperor eiji !as restored topo!er and moved from K"oto to the ne! capital of *do, or Tok"o,beginning the eiji period.

• Kabuki returned to the uki"o of *do. Kabuki became more radical in the

eiji period, and modern st"les emerged. :e! pla"!rights created ne!genres and t!ists on traditional stories.

Kabuki after te !ei"i #erio$


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• @eginning in %D&D enormous cultural changes, such as the fall of the

Tokuga!a shogunate, the elimination of the samurai class, and theopening of Japan to the 4est, helped to spark kabuki=s re-emergence.

• 9s the culture struggled to adapt to the influ3 of foreign ideas and

influence, actors strove to increase the reputation of kabuki among theupper classes and to adapt the traditional st"les to modern tastes. The"ultimatel" proved successful in this regardon 6% 9pril %DDB, the eiji*mperor sponsored a performance.

• 9fter 4orld 4ar II, the occup"ing forces briefl" banned kabuki, !hich had

strongl" supported Japan=s !ar since %7%/ ho!ever, b" %7EB the ban hadbeen rescinded.


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Hources

https>en.!ikipedia.org!ikiKabukiKabukiLafterLtheLeijiLperiodhttp>!eb-japan.orgfactsheetenpdfe'Lkabuki.pdf http>!!!.japan-guide.comee6'7'.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki#Kabuki_after_the_Meiji_periodhttp://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e30_kabuki.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki#Kabuki_after_the_Meiji_periodhttp://web-japan.org/factsheet/en/pdf/e30_kabuki.pdf

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