Kabuki Theatre Final Copy

Kabuki is thought to have originated in the very early Edo period, when fou=
nder Izumo no Okuni formed a female dance troupe who performed dances and l=
ight sketches in Kyoto. The art form later developed into its present all-m=
ale theatrical form after women were banned from performing in kabuki theat=
re in 1629. Kabuki developed throughout the late 17th century and reached i=
ts 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 UN=
ESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[1=
]

Kabuki Theatre Final Copy
DOWNLOAD https://shoxet.com/2wIAcx



The individual kanji that make up the word kabuki can be read as "sing" (=
=E6=AD=8C), "dance" (=E8=88=9E), and "skill" (=E4=BC=8E). Kabuki is therefo=
re sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing". These are, how=
ever, ateji characters which do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of =
"skill" generally refers to a performer in kabuki theatre.

As an art-form, kabuki also provided inventive new forms of entertainment, =
featuring new musical styles played on the shamisen, clothes and fashion of=
ten dramatic in appearance, famous actors and stories often intended to mir=
ror current events. Performances typically lasted from morning until sunset=
, with surrounding teahouses providing meals, refreshments and place to soc=
ialise. The area surrounding kabuki theatres also featured a number of shop=
s selling kabuki souvenirs.

Although kabuki was performed widely across Japan, the Nakamura-za, Ichimur=
a-za and Kawarazaki-za theatres became the most widely known and popular ka=
buki theatres, where some of the most successful kabuki performances were a=
nd still are held.[5]

The famous playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, one of the first professional k=
abuki playwrights, produced several influential works during this time, tho=
ugh the piece usually acknowledged as his most significant, Sonezaki Shinj=
=C5=AB (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki), was originally written for bunraku.=
 Like many bunraku plays, it was adapted for kabuki, eventually becoming po=
pular enough to reportedly inspire a number of real-life "copycat" suicides=
, and leading to a government ban on shinju mono (plays about love suicides=
) in 1723.

The shogunate, mostly disapproving of the socialisation and trade that occu=
rred in kabuki theatres between merchants, actors and prostitutes, took adv=
antage of the fire crisis in the following year, forcing the Nakamura-za, I=
chimura-za and Kawarazaki-za out of the city limits and into Asakusa, a nor=
thern suburb of Edo. This was part of the larger Tenp=C5=8D Reforms that th=
e shogunate instituted starting in 1842 to restrict the overindulgence of p=
leasures.[14] Actors, stagehands, and others associated with the performanc=
es were also forced to move in lieu of the death of their livelihood; despi=
te the move of everyone involved in kabuki performance, and many in the sur=
rounding areas, to the new location of the theatres, the inconvenience of t=
he distance led to a reduction in attendance.[5] These factors, along with =
strict regulations, pushed much of kabuki "underground" in Edo, with perfor=
mances changing locations to avoid the authorities.

The theatres' new location was called Saruwaka-ch=C5=8D, or Saruwaka-machi;=
 the last thirty years of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule is often referred t=
o as the "Saruwaka-machi period", and is well known for having produced som=
e of the most exaggerated kabuki in Japanese history.[5]



Saruwaka-machi became the new theatre district for the Nakamura-za, Ichimur=
a-za and Kawarazaki-za theatres. The district was located on the main stree=
t of Asakusa, which ran through the middle of the small city. The street wa=
s renamed after Saruwaka Kanzaburo, who initiated Edo kabuki in the Nakamur=
a-za in 1624.[5]

Despite the revival of kabuki in another location, the relocation diminishe=
d the tradition's most abundant inspirations for costuming, make-up, and st=
orylines. Ichikawa Kodanji IV was considered one of the most active and suc=
cessful actors during the Saruwaka-machi period. Deemed unattractive, he ma=
inly performed buy=C5=8D, or dancing, in dramas written by Kawatake Mokuami=
, who also wrote during the Meiji era to follow.[5] Kawatake Mokuami common=
ly wrote plays that depicted the common lives of the people of Edo. He intr=
oduced shichigo-cho (seven-and-five syllable meter) dialogue and music such=
 as kiyomoto.[5] His kabuki performances became quite popular once the Saru=
waka-machi period ended and theatre returned to Edo; many of his works are =
still performed.

Sh=C5=ABmei (=E8=A5=B2=E5=90=8D, "name succession") are grand naming ceremo=
nies held in kabuki theatres in front of the audience. Most often, a number=
 of actors will participate in a single ceremony, taking on new stage-names=
. Their participation in a sh=C5=ABmei represents their passage into a new =
chapter of their performing careers.

Closer to the cultural epicenter of kabuki in Edo (later Tokyo), commoners =
had other methods to enjoy performances without attending the shows. Bunrak=
u (=E6=96=87=E6=A5=BD, puppet theatre)[53] was type of performance in Tokyo=
, but unlike kabuki, it was shorter in length and more affordable to the co=
mmon class. Bunraku performances were often based on plots used in kabuki, =
and the two styles shared common themes. Kabuki shinp=C5=8D (=E6=AD=8C=E8=
=88=9E=E4=BC=8E=E6=96=B0=E5=A0=B1, "Kabuki news")[54] was another popular m=
edium for kabuki consumption among commoners and elites alike. During the c=
ourse of its publication, this magazine allowed those unable to attend perf=
ormances to enjoy the liveliness of kabuki culture.

JAPANESE IDEA OF A THEATRE TODAY'S JAPAN HAS TWO TYPES OF DRAMA: the classi=
cal and the "new." The classical theatre includes the No, the Comic Interlu=
de (no kyogen), the Puppet Theatre (joruri) and the Kabuki. The "new" theat=
re was created in the early twentieth century on the model of modem Western=
 drama and has developed under the influence of Ibsen, Maeterlinck, Chekhov=
 and Strindberg. Naturally the Japanese idea of a theatre is far more manif=
est in the former type, although it has entered into the latter, too, with =
some subtle modifications. In the following pages I shall try to outline th=
is Japanese concept of a theatre as it emerges from the remarks of some pro=
minent actors and playwrights in the past. It will center upon five major i=
ssues of dramatic art: 1) life versus drama, 2) affective response of the d=
rama, 3) two major dramatic forms-tragedy and comedy, 4) internal structure=
 of the drama, and 5) the use of drama. What is the relationship between li=
fe and drama? The professionals of classical Japanese theatre unanimously a=
nswer that drama "imitates" life. "Imitation is the essence of our art," sa=
ys Zeami (1363-1443), the foremost actor and playwright in the formative ye=
ars of the No. "Generally speaking," he adds, "the aim is to imitate all ob=
jects as they are, whatever they may be." okura Toraaki (1597-1662) says th=
e same thing about the Comic Interlude of which he was a master actor: "Mor=
e than anything else," he affirms, "the Comic Interlude is an art of imitat=
ion." "All puppet plays," observes Chikamatsu (1652-1724), a most successfu=
l playwright in the prime days of the Puppet Stage, "present facts as they =
are." "A Kabuki actor," remarks Sakata Tojiiro (1647-1709), himself an expe=
rt Kabuki actor, "should singlemindedly try to copy real life in performing=
 whatever role he is cast in." Characters in the play are imitations of rea=
l people, and aCtors on the stage duplicate the speech and deportment of me=
n and women in real life. An actor performing a courtier's role should fait=
hfully copy the ways in which a real courtier speaks and behaves; an actor =
impersonating a drunkard should carefully follow the ways of real drunkards=
. There are a number of anecdotes describing how hard some Japanese actors =
tried to do this. Tojiiro, once cast in an adulterer's role, schemed to bec=
ome an adulterer in his real life so that he could understand the psycholog=
y of illicit relationship. Another Kabuki actor of his time tricked his fel=
low actors into getting drunk in his dressing room, thereby teaching them h=
ow to perform a similar scene in a play. 348 1967 JAPANESE IDEA OF A THEATR=
E 349 One factor essential to "imitation" in drama is the dissolution of th=
e personal self on the actor's or playwright's part. A dramatic character m=
ust be an integrated, self-contained whole. The Japanese are especially ins=
istent on the actor's responsibility to dissolve his ego and become at one =
with the object of his imitation. "Imitation" approaches "identification" i=
n its ultimate form. "In the art of imitation ," Zeami says, for instance, =
"there is a realm called 'non-imitation .' If the actor pursues the art to =
the ultimate and truly grows into the object, he will not be aware of his a=
ct of imitation." Toraaki arrives at a similar conclusion: "An actor expert=
 in the Comic Interlude enters into the object smoothly and without effort.=
" Toraaki has also composed a didactic poem on this for the benefit of begi=
nning actors: Let your soul be As shapeless as water. Whether round Or squa=
re, leave to your container The forming of its shape. In the Kabuki there a=
re some examples in which an actor carried his dramatic "container" even in=
to his private life. One eighteenthcentury actor, noted for his skill to im=
personate a woman (as classical Japanese theatre permitted no woman to perf=
orm on the stage), once when he was offered a man's dish at dinner, decline=
d to eat it. T6jur6 is said to have treated Kabuki female impersonators as =
real women in everyday life. It is, of course, no easy task for anyone to c=
ompletely identify himself with something which he is not...

As part of its program to promote democracy in Japan after World War II, th=
e American Occupation, headed by General Douglas MacArthur, undertook to en=
force rigid censorship policies aimed at eliminating all traces of feudal t=
hought in media and entertainment, including kabuki. Faubion Bowers (1917-1=
999), who served as personal aide and interpreter to MacArthur during the O=
ccupation, was appalled by the censorship policies and anticipated the exti=
nction of a great theatrical art. He used his position in the Occupation ad=
ministration and his knowledge of Japanese theatre in his tireless campaign=
 to save kabuki. Largely through Bowers's efforts, censorship of kabuki had=
 for the most part been eliminated by the time he left Japan in 1948.
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