Kabuki
Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to have originated in the early Edo period, when the art's founder, Izumo no Okuni, formed a female dance troupe that performed dances and light sketches in Kyoto. The art form later developed into its present all-male theatrical form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theatre in 1629. Kabuki developed throughout the late 17th century and reached its zenith in the mid-18th century.
In 2005, kabuki theatre was proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value. In 2008, it was inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Etymology
The individual kanji that make up the word kabuki can be read as 'sing', 'dance', and 'skill'. Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as 'the art of singing and dancing'. These are, however, characters which do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of 'skill' generally refers to a performer in kabuki theatre.Since the word kabuki is believed to derive from the verb, meaning 'to lean' or 'to be out of the ordinary', the word kabuki can also be interpreted as 'avant-garde' or 'bizarre' theatre. The expression referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed. It is often translated into English as 'strange things' or 'the crazy ones', and referred to the style of dress worn by gangs of samurai. Another explanation attributes the word kabuki to a verb that was used to describe young samurai patrons, meaning "being weird" or "offbeat."
History
1603–1629: Kabuki
The history of kabuki began in 1603 during the Edo period when former shrine maiden Izumo no Okuni, possibly a of Izumo-taisha, began performing with a troupe of young female dancers a new, simple style of dance drama in pantomime, on a makeshift stage in the dry bed of the Kamo River in Kyoto.In the earliest forms of kabuki, female performers played both men and women in comic playlets about ordinary life. It did not take long for the style to become popular, and Okuni was asked to perform before the Imperial Court. In the wake of such success, rival troupes quickly formed, and kabuki was born as ensemble dance and drama performed by women.
Much of the appeal of kabuki in this era was due to the ribald, suggestive themes featured by many troupes; this appeal was further augmented by the fact that many performers were also involved in prostitution. For this reason, kabuki was also known as 'prostitute kabuki' during this period.
Kabuki became a common form of entertainment in the red-light districts of Japan, especially in Yoshiwara, the registered red-light district in Edo. The widespread appeal of kabuki often meant that a diverse crowd of different social classes gathered to watch performances, a unique occurrence that happened nowhere else in the city of Edo. Kabuki theatres became well known as a place to both see and be seen in terms of fashion and style, as the audience—commonly comprising a number of socially low but economically wealthy merchants—typically used a performance as a way to feature the fashion trends.
As an art-form, kabuki also provided inventive new forms of entertainment, featuring new musical styles played on the, clothes and fashion often dramatic in appearance, famous actors and stories often intended to mirror current events. Performances typically lasted from morning until sunset, with surrounding teahouses providing meals, refreshments and place to socialise. The area surrounding kabuki theatres also featured a number of shops selling kabuki souvenirs.
After performances, women performers would offer sexual services for those who could afford it. Since fights would usually erupt among the young samurai patrons, shogunal authorities, who wanted to maintain order, banned women from performing on stage. Following this ban, Okuni replaced the women with boys in Kabuki performances. During the early seventeenth century, within a culture where pederasty was pervasive among samurai, her decision didn't significantly harm the theater's popularity. In fact, it may have even benefited Kabuki, as it caught the attention of the third shogun, Iemitsu, known for his interest in pederasty. He even arranged special performances. However, after Iemitsu's death in 1651 and with samurai now fighting for the attention of boys rather than girls, the shogunate imposed further restrictions, allowing only males over 15 to perform on stage.
Kabuki switched to adult male actors, called, in the mid-1600s. Adult male actors, however, continued to play both female and male characters, and kabuki retained its popularity, remaining a key element of the Edo period urban life-style.
Although kabuki was performed widely across Japan, the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and Kawarazaki-za theatres became the most widely known and popular kabuki theatres, where some of the most successful kabuki performances were and still are held.
1629–1673: Transition to
During the time period of 1628–1673, the modern version of all-male kabuki actors, a style of kabuki known as , was established, following the ban on women and young boys. Cross-dressing male actors, known as "" or "" took over previously female- or -acted roles. Young men were still preferred for women's roles due to their less obviously masculine appearance and the higher pitch of their voices. The roles of adolescent men in kabuki, known as, were also played by young men, often selected for their attractiveness; this became a common practice, and were often presented in an erotic context.The focus of kabuki performances also increasingly began to emphasise drama alongside dance. However, the ribald nature of kabuki performances continued, with male actors also engaging in sex work for both female and male customers. Audiences frequently became rowdy, and brawls occasionally broke out, sometimes over the favors of a particularly popular or handsome actor, leading the shogunate to ban first and then roles for a short period of time; both bans were rescinded by 1652.
1673–1841: Genroku period kabuki
During the Genroku period, kabuki thrived, with the structure of kabuki plays formalising into the structure they are performed in today, alongside many other elements which eventually came to be recognised as a key aspect of kabuki tradition, such as conventional character tropes. Kabuki theater and, an elaborate form of puppet theater later known as, became closely associated with each other, mutually influencing the other's further development.The famous playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, one of the first professional kabuki playwrights, produced several influential works during this time, though the piece usually acknowledged as his most significant, , was originally written for. Like many plays, it was adapted for kabuki, eventually becoming popular enough to reportedly inspire a number of real-life "copycat" suicides, and leading to a government ban on in 1723.
Also during the Genroku period was the development of the style of posing, credited to kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I, alongside the development of the mask-like makeup worn by kabuki actors in some plays.
In the mid-18th century, kabuki fell out of favor for a time, with taking its place as the premier form of stage entertainment among the lower social classes. That occurred partly because of the emergence of several skilled playwrights in that time. Little of note would occur in the further development of kabuki until the end of the century, when it began to reemerge in popularity.
1842–1868: kabuki
In the 1840s, repeated periods of drought led to a series of fires affecting Edo, with kabuki theatres—traditionally made of wood—frequently burning down, forcing many to relocate. When the area that housed the Nakamura-za was completely destroyed in 1841, the refused to allow the theatre to be rebuilt, saying that it was against fire code.The shogunate, mostly disapproving of the socialisation and trade that occurred in kabuki theatres between merchants, actors and prostitutes, took advantage of the fire crisis in the following year, forcing the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and Kawarazaki-za out of the city limits and into Asakusa, a northern suburb of Edo. This was part of the larger Tenpō Reforms that the shogunate instituted starting in 1842 to restrict the overindulgence of pleasures. Actors, stagehands, and others associated with the performances were also forced to move as a result of the death of their livelihood; despite the move of everyone involved in kabuki performance, and many in the surrounding areas, to the new location of the theatres, the inconvenience of the distance led to a reduction in attendance. These factors, along with strict regulations, pushed much of kabuki "underground" in Edo, with performances changing locations to avoid the authorities.
The theatres' new location was called Saruwaka-chō, or Saruwaka-machi; the last thirty years of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule is often referred to as the "Saruwaka-machi period", and is well known for having produced some of the most exaggerated kabuki in Japanese history.
Saruwaka-machi became the new theatre district for the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za and Kawarazaki-za theatres. The district was located on the main street of Asakusa, which ran through the middle of the small city. The street was renamed after Saruwaka Kanzaburo, who initiated Edo kabuki in the Nakamura-za in 1624.
European artists began noticing Japanese theatrical performances and artwork, and many artists, such as Claude Monet, were inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. This Western interest prompted Japanese artists to increase their depictions of daily life, including the depiction of theatres, brothels, main streets and so on. One artist, Utagawa Hiroshige, produced a series of prints based on Saruwaka from the Saruwaka-machi period in Asakusa.
Despite the revival of kabuki in another location, the relocation diminished the tradition's most abundant inspirations for costuming, make-up, and storylines. Ichikawa KodanjiIV was considered one of the most active and successful actors during the Saruwaka-machi period. Deemed unattractive, he mainly performed, or dancing, in dramas written by Kawatake Mokuami, who also wrote during the Meiji era to follow. Kawatake Mokuami commonly wrote plays that depicted the common lives of the people of Edo. He introduced dialogue and music such as. His kabuki performances became quite popular once the Saruwaka-machi period ended and theatre returned to Edo; many of his works are still performed.
In 1868, the Tokugawa ceased to exist, with the restoration of the Emperor. Emperor Meiji was restored to power and moved from Kyoto to the new capital of Edo, or Tokyo, beginning the Meiji period. Kabuki once again returned to the pleasure quarters of Edo, and throughout the Meiji period became increasingly more radical, as modern styles of kabuki plays and performances emerged. Playwrights experimented with the introduction of new genres to kabuki, and introduced twists on traditional stories.