Changes

[[File:Kabukiza-curtains.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The distinctive red, green, and brown kabuki stage curtain, seen here at [[Kabuki-za]] in 2008.]]

[[File:Kabukiza-curtains.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The distinctive red, green, and brown kabuki stage curtain, seen here at [[Kabuki-za]] in 2008.]]

The distinctive green, brown, black striped kabuki curtain still seen today is said to have originated when Shogun [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] donated a ship's sail to the [[Nakamura-za]] (one of the three licensed theaters in [[Edo]]) as a reward for service, the pattern being adopted by other theaters in the [[Meiji period]].<ref>Lisa Ann M. Omoto and Kathy Welch, "Kabuki Spectacle," in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i'', University of Hawaii (1994), 50. </ref>

The distinctive green, brown, black striped kabuki curtain still seen today is said to have originated when Shogun [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]] donated a ship's sail to the [[Nakamura-za]] (one of the three licensed theaters in [[Edo]]) as a reward for service, the pattern being adopted by other theaters in the [[Meiji period]].<ref>Lisa Ann M. Omoto and Kathy Welch, "Kabuki Spectacle," in ''101 Years of Kabuki in Hawai'i'', University of Hawaii (1994), 50. </ref>

===Costumes & Makeup===

===Costumes & Makeup===

==History==

==History==

===Origins===

===Origins===

The origins of kabuki are typically attributed to a woman known as [[Izumo no Okuni]], whose troupe's performances, on temporary stages set up in the Kawaramachi dry riverbed of the [[Kamo River]] in [[Kyoto]], beginning in [[1603]], are said to have been the very first "kabuki" performances. However, some scholars point out that these performances, often referred to today as "Okuni kabuki," were likely not radically different from those performed by other women's groups at the time, and drew heavily upon recent performance trends of the [[Azuchi-Momoyama period]].<ref>McQueen Tokita. p230.</ref> These earliest "kabuki" performances consisted chiefly of showy dances, with a minimum of plot or characterization, and were much more similar to today's ''[[taishu engeki|taishû engeki]]'' than the more fully staged and heavily narrative form that kabuki has since evolved into. The musical accompaniment for Okuni kabuki is believed to have consisted of the standard Noh ensemble - chiefly flutes and drums - with only a few other instruments, such as the ''shinobue'' flute and ''[[surigane]]'' hand-gong added in; ''kouta'' was the dominant style of music. The shamisen would not become standard until around [[1650]], bringing with it a dramatic shift in kabuki music; it may have been used prior to that time, but it has also been suggested that Okuni kabuki may have only used the shamisen as a stage prop, rather than as an instrument incorporated into the musical accompaniment.<ref>Tsubaki, 304-305.</ref>

The origins of kabuki are typically attributed to a woman known as [[Izumo no Okuni]], whose troupe's performances, on temporary stages set up in the Kawaramachi dry riverbed of the [[Kamo River]] in [[Kyoto]], beginning in [[1603]], are said to have been the very first "kabuki" performances. However, some scholars point out that these performances, often referred to today as "Okuni kabuki," were likely not radically different from those performed by other women's groups at the time, and drew heavily upon recent performance trends of the [[Azuchi-Momoyama period]].<ref>McQueen Tokita. p230.</ref> These earliest "kabuki" performances consisted chiefly of showy dances, with a minimum of plot or characterization, and were much more similar to today's ''[[taishu engeki|taishû engeki]]'' than the more fully staged and heavily narrative form that kabuki has since evolved into. The musical accompaniment for Okuni kabuki is believed to have consisted of the standard Noh ensemble - chiefly flutes and drums - with only a few other instruments, such as the ''shinobue'' flute and ''[[surigane]]'' hand-gong added in; ''kouta'' was the dominant style of music. The shamisen would not become standard until around [[1650]], bringing with it a dramatic shift in kabuki music; it may have been used prior to that time, but it has also been suggested that Okuni kabuki may have only used the shamisen as a stage prop, rather than as an instrument incorporated into the musical accompaniment.<ref>Tsubaki, 304-305.</ref>

Despite the shogunate's concerns about kabuki as a negative moral influence, the shogunate never sought to ban kabuki entirely, seeing it, like prostitution, as a necessary evil and believing that an outright ban would only bring further trouble. Not only would a ban run the risk of inspiring protest or even riots, but banning it only in Edo would lead to numerous wealthy patrons, commercial businesses, and the like leaving the city and weakening its economy. As a result, the authorities merely aimed to control kabuki, restricting it to particular areas of the city, and to particular style and content. At times, the shogunate even patronized the art form. Troupes performed at [[Edo castle]] four times in [[1650]]-[[1651]]. Some ''[[Daimyo|daimyô]]'' are also known to have patronized the art, though in sharp contrast to Noh, kabuki would continue to always be primarily a commoner/popular art.

Despite the shogunate's concerns about kabuki as a negative moral influence, the shogunate never sought to ban kabuki entirely, seeing it, like prostitution, as a necessary evil and believing that an outright ban would only bring further trouble. Not only would a ban run the risk of inspiring protest or even riots, but banning it only in Edo would lead to numerous wealthy patrons, commercial businesses, and the like leaving the city and weakening its economy. As a result, the authorities merely aimed to control kabuki, restricting it to particular areas of the city, and to particular style and content. At times, the shogunate even patronized the art form. Troupes performed at [[Edo castle]] four times in [[1650]]-[[1651]]. Some ''[[Daimyo|daimyô]]'' are also known to have patronized the art, though in sharp contrast to Noh, kabuki would continue to always be primarily a commoner/popular art.

The restriction of the theaters in Edo to only designated areas of the city began in [[1661]], in the aftermath of the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], which leveled much of the city, thus creating an opportunity for district reorganization. At that time, kabuki theaters were officially restricted to the neighborhoods of Sakai-chô and Fukiya-chô to the northeast of [[Nihonbashi]], and to Kobiki-chô, to the south of [[Kyobashi|Kyôbashi]], while the licensed prostitution quarters, destroyed in the fire, were rebuilt as the Shin-Yoshiwara, or "New [[Yoshiwara]]," further out from the city center. The rebuilding of the theaters in the designated districts at this time marks the beginning of kabuki being housed in more substantial buildings; prior to this, kabuki theaters more closely resembled Noh stages, in which the stage alone stands as a separate structure, with its own roof. The audience was enclosed within simple bamboo fencing, and protected from precipitation by simple bamboo blinds hung overhead. The new buildings, by contrast, by 1700, came to be multi-story structures, with often three levels of box seats, three levels of dressing rooms, and a lavish attached teahouse (''[[shibai jaya]]'').

The restriction of the theaters in Edo to only designated areas of the city began in [[1661]], in the aftermath of the [[1657]] [[Meireki Fire]], which leveled much of the city, thus creating an opportunity for district reorganization. At that time, kabuki theaters were officially restricted to the neighborhoods of Sakai-chô and Fukiya-chô to the northeast of [[Nihonbashi]], and to Kobiki-chô, to the south of [[Kyobashi|Kyôbashi]], while the licensed prostitution quarters, destroyed in the fire, were rebuilt as the Shin-Yoshiwara, or "New [[Yoshiwara]]," further out from the city center. The rebuilding of the theaters in the designated districts at this time marks the beginning of kabuki being housed in more substantial buildings; prior to this, kabuki theaters more closely resembled Noh stages, in which the stage alone stands as a separate structure, with its own roof. The audience was enclosed within simple bamboo fencing, and protected from precipitation by simple bamboo blinds hung overhead. The new buildings, by contrast, by 1700, came to be multi-story structures, with often three levels of box seats, three levels of dressing rooms, and a lavish attached teahouse (''shibai jaya'').

Beginning in 1661 with the establishment of more permanent theater buildings within designated districts, the number of theaters that could operate legally in the city was limited to four large theaters (''ôshibai'') and eight small ones (''koshibai''); Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines also occasionally staged performances, with the authorization of the ''[[machi bugyo|machi bugyô]]''. In Kyoto, the large theaters were gradually reduced to three, and in Osaka, four. In conjunction with this, of course, unlicensed theaters and unauthorized performances were, nominally at least, strictly forbidden (with certain exceptions, e.g. for performances at certain festivals).

Beginning in 1661 with the establishment of more permanent theater buildings within designated districts, the number of theaters that could operate legally in the city was limited to four large theaters (''ôshibai'') and eight small ones (''koshibai''); Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines also occasionally staged performances, with the authorization of the ''[[machi bugyo|machi bugyô]]''. In Kyoto, the large theaters were gradually reduced to three, and in Osaka, four. In conjunction with this, of course, unlicensed theaters and unauthorized performances were, nominally at least, strictly forbidden (with certain exceptions, e.g. for performances at certain festivals).