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Kabuki is, along with [[Noh]] and ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' (aka ''bunraku''), one of the three most prominent forms of traditional Japanese theater. Emerging around [[1603]] and developing into something very closely resembling its current form by [[1800]], kabuki remains strong today.

Kabuki is, along with [[Noh]] and ''[[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]]'' (aka ''bunraku''), one of the three most prominent forms of traditional Japanese theater. Emerging around [[1603]] and developing into something very closely resembling its current form by [[1800]], kabuki remains strong today.

Unlike the Noh theatre, which grew out of ritual dances, and which is more symbolic, poetic, spiritual, and more serious in tone, focusing strongly on the strict performance of set forms (''[[kata]]''), kabuki is a more purely narrative form, focusing on telling an understandable story and providing the audience with an entertaining spectacle. While the Noh features a more reserved, minimalist aesthetic, and while the puppet theatre is by its very nature necessarily somewhat small-scale, kabuki makes use of a fuller arrangement of elaborate stage sets and multiple set changes; large casts; bold costumes and, sometimes, multiple costume changes; and an extensive orchestra (known as a ''[[hayashi]]'') accompanied by an array of devices for various sound effects.

Unlike the Noh theatre, which grew out of ritual dances, and which is more symbolic, poetic, spiritual, and more serious in tone, focusing strongly on the strict performance of set forms (''[[kata]]''), kabuki is a more purely narrative form, focusing on telling an understandable story and providing the audience with an entertaining spectacle. While the Noh features a more reserved, minimalist aesthetic, and while the puppet theatre is by its very nature necessarily somewhat small-scale, kabuki makes use of a fuller arrangement of elaborate stage sets and multiple set changes; large casts; bold costumes and, sometimes, multiple costume changes; and an extensive musical ensemble (known as a ''[[hayashi]]'') accompanied by an array of devices for various sound effects.

A colorful and bombastic style of theatre, kabuki makes extensive use of bold face makeup patterns called ''[[kumadori]]''; special effects including trap doors and wirework, known as ''[[keren]''; dramatic poses called ''[[mie]]''; a distinctive form of chanting; and bold, sometimes rather over-the-top costumes.

A colorful and bombastic style of theatre, kabuki makes extensive use of bold face makeup patterns called ''[[kumadori]]''; special effects including trap doors and wirework, known as ''[[keren]]''; dramatic poses called ''[[mie]]''; a distinctive form of chanting; and bold, sometimes rather over-the-top costumes.

Kabuki was a core element of [[Edo period]] urban popular culture, intimately intertwined with ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints and popular publishing, and the culture of pleasure districts such as the [[Yoshiwara]]. Though some plays are set in the historical past, nearly all adapt the historical narrative to a contemporary Edo period setting, making kabuki an excellent source for experiencing and understanding Edo period material culture, albeit a trumped-up, over-the-top stage version of it.

Kabuki was a core element of [[Edo period]] urban popular culture, intimately intertwined with ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints and popular publishing, and the culture of pleasure districts such as the [[Yoshiwara]]. Though some plays are set in the historical past, nearly all adapt the historical narrative to a contemporary Edo period setting, making kabuki an excellent source for experiencing and understanding Edo period material culture, albeit a trumped-up, over-the-top stage version of it.

==Performance Style==

==Performance Style==

Stage layout (hanamichi; origins of the distinctive style of curtain), Costumes, makeup, dance, mie, special effects

Stage layout (hanamichi; origins of the distinctive style of curtain), Costumes, makeup, dance, mie, special effects

===Music===

===Music===

The music in kabuki is performed live, by [[shamisen]] players and an ensemble known as the ''[[hayashi]]''. In ''matsubamemono'' (plays adapted from Noh and ''[[kyogen|kyôgen]]'')<ref>松羽目物, named after the prominent painting of a pine tree that dominates the back of the stage in Noh, ''kyôgen'', and this category of kabuki plays.</ref>, the musicians are often positioned in clear view, seated on an upstage platform that extends across the stage. Normally, however, the shamisen players, along with some drummers and other musicians are located in a compartment to one side of the stage, behind a screen, called a ''misu'', while the remainder of the ''hayashi'', including those performing sound effects such as bird and insect sounds, perform off-stage.

The music in kabuki is performed live, by [[shamisen]] players and an ensemble known as the ''[[hayashi]]''. In ''matsubamemono'' (plays adapted from Noh and ''[[kyogen|kyôgen]]'')<ref>松羽目物, named after the prominent painting of a pine tree that dominates the back of the stage in Noh, ''kyôgen'', and this category of kabuki plays.</ref>, the musicians are often positioned in clear view, seated on an upstage platform that extends across the stage. Normally, however, the shamisen players, along with some drummers and other musicians are located in a compartment at stage right, behind a screen, called a ''geza'' or ''kuromisu'', while the remainder of the ''hayashi'', including those performing sound effects such as bird and insect sounds, perform off-stage.

Though not strictly musical instruments, a pair of clappers, called ''ki'' (木, lit. "wood"), located to the right of the stage, play an important role in emphasizing dramatic poses (''mie''), sword strikes, and other moments, as well as marking the beginning and ending of acts, beating out a dramatic rhythm as the curtain opens or closes.

Though not strictly considered musical instruments, a pair of clappers, called alternatively ''ki'' or ''tsuke'', located to the right of the stage, play an important role in emphasizing dramatic poses (''mie''), sword strikes, and other moments, as well as marking the beginning and ending of acts, beating out a dramatic rhythm as the curtain opens or closes.

Kabuki uses a combination of numerous styles of shamisen music, including styles from dance traditions, the ''bunraku'' puppet theater, and other storytelling traditions. ''[[Nagauta]]'' is perhaps the most common and dominant style, though the ''[[tokiwazu-bushi]]'', ''[[kiyomoto-bushi]]'', and ''[[gidayu-bushi|gidayû-bushi]]'' styles or genres are also used extensively. Multiple styles are often used within a single play, which may combine dances, narrative sections, sections based on the puppet theater, etc. in a single scene or act.

At the core of kabuki music are song and [[shamisen]], performed in a variety of styles or genres, ''[[nagauta]]'' chief among them, each of which incorporates both. Within a single play, act, or even scene, a series of different genres of song+shamisen are employed as needed to musically accompany dance pieces, narrative sections, sections borrowing from the puppet theater, etc. ''Nagauta'', a form that evolved within the kabuki theater, and which along with ''[[kouta]]'' and ''[[jiuta]]'' was quite common within the pleasure quarters as well, is perhaps the most common and dominant style, though the ''[[tokiwazu-bushi]]'', ''[[kiyomoto-bushi]]'', and ''[[gidayu-bushi|gidayû-bushi]]'' styles, born out of the puppet theater, dance traditions, and storytelling traditions, are also used extensively.

 

The songs sung & played on the shamisen are often "theme music" of a sort, relating to a certain character or place. In the play ''[[Ise Ondo Koi no Netaba]]'', for example, the song "Ise Ondo" is not only played during a climactic dance scene where the song is diegetic, and being danced to, but it is also played, in different variations, throughout the play at points where it is used to highlight the identity of the setting as [[Ise]]. Certain characters might have their own theme songs that are played when they make their entrance or exit, or otherwise dominate the scene, such as during a dramatic monologue. As much of Japanese poetry and music is strongly tied to seasonal themes, songs can also be used to indicate or suggest the season. Some pieces are purely instrumental, or ''aikata''<ref>A term deriving from the ''[[naniwa-bushi]]'' storytelling traditions, referring to the shamisen accompanist. In kabuki, singers accompany themselves on shamisen. "[http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%C1%EA%CA%FD Aikata]." Hatena Keyword はてなキーワード.</ref>, while others incorporate vocal song. Often, an instrumental or sung piece will consist of only a brief pattern known as ''meriyasu'' (lit. "stretchy material"), or brief excerpt of a longer piece, repeated or stretched out as necessary to suit the length and mood of a scene. All in all, there are perhaps more than 800 pieces in the traditional kabuki shamisen repertoire, if one includes those from different genres, regional variations (e.g. Edo vs Kamigata), and for different situations and circumstances (e.g. seasons, weather, settings).<ref>McQueen Tokita. p232.</ref>

 

Like the actors, kabuki musicians make changes and shifts in the musical scheme for each production. Though traditional associations (e.g. the use of a given song for a given scene) are of great importance, there is a degree of flexibility, as there is in the acting, and so precisely which pieces must be played for precisely each part of the play is not set in stone. A notebook known as a ''tsukechô'' is employed by the musicians to record a rough sketch of which pieces will be played on which cues, for that day's, or that month's, version of the production.

 

In addition to the shamisen, the ensemble also includes a variety of drums, including ''[[o-tsuzumi|ô-tsuzumi]]'', ''[[ko-tsuzumi]]'', ''[[shime-daiko]]'', and ''[[taiko|ô-daiko]]'', which not only play alongside the shamisen, but are also used for announcements, and for sound effects. Prior to a show beginning, traditionally, a large ''taiko'' (drum) placed in a drum tower above the theater would be played, in a pattern known as ''ichiban-daiko'', to announce that a show was going to be taking place. Once the lead actor had entered the theater and begun his preparations (i.e. putting on makeup, getting dressed), the drum pattern would shift to ''niban daiko'', indicating to passersby and to the audience that the show would be starting soon. During the show, drums could be used in a variety of ways to create sound effects to help set the scene, such as waves (for a seaside or shipboard scene), wind, rain, or snow. To take one example, even though snow in reality falls silently, heavy drumbeats, hit at a very slow tempo, set the mood of the cold and dark night, and of the weight of the snow as it rests on tree branches and rooftops.

 

The ''hayashi'' is rounded out by flutes, bells, gongs, and other struck or rung instruments known as ''narimono''<ref>鳴り物, lit. "things that ring", often used interchangeably with the word ''hayashi'', to refer to the entire ensemble outside of the shamisen players.</ref>. These, too, accompany the shamisen and drums in performing songs during a play, but can also be used for sound effects. A variety of objects designed specifically for sound effects are employed in kabuki, including a set of clappers used specifically for the clip-clop of a horse, and a tiny reed instrument which, when blown in one manner produces surprisingly realistic bird tweets or chirps, and when used in a different manner, produces the sound of crickets or the buzz of summer cicadas. Stories call for a wide variety of sound effects, depending on the settings and events, and the ''hayashi'' is prepared to produce more or less any sound necessary, some more literal (such as a Buddhist temple bell, or summer cicadas), and some more stylized and distinctive to kabuki (such as the example of the sound of snow).

==Plays==

==Plays==

Jidaimono, sewamono. Juhachiban.

*''[[Jidaimono]]''<ref>Note the relation to the term ''[[jidaigeki]]'' (lit. "period play") used to refer to "period" films, especially samurai films.</ref> (lit. "period thing") are period plays, either set in the past, or referencing a traditional or historical narrative but altering it by setting it in the present (in the Edo period). These plays tend to be more bombastic, colorful, and action-packed, featuring bold characters and samurai heroes and villains. Some of the most famous ''jidaimono'' include ''[[Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura]]'', ''[[Kanadehon Chushingura|Kanadehon Chûshingura]]'', and ''[[Battles of Coxinga|Kokusen'ya kassen]]'' ("The Battles of Coxinga").

 

*''[[Sewamono]]'', most often called "contemporary plays," by contrast, were set in the Edo period and focused more closely on commoner characters. These plays tend to be more reserved in their aesthetics, with more dialogue and less fighting scenes or special effects, though the content of the narrative is often more deeply, emotionally, dramatic. Some of the most famous ''sewamono'' are ''[[Sonezaki Shinju|Sonezaki Shinjû]]'' ("Love Suicides at Sonezaki") and ''[[Kuruwa Bunsho]]''.

 

There are some plays which do not cleanly fall into either of these categories, including dance pieces such as the lion dance piece ''[[Renjishi]]'' and ''[[Kakuju senzai]]'', an auspicious New Year's dance piece. The extensive repertoire can also be sub-divided into numerous sub-categories.

==History==

==History==

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 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. The shamisen would not appear until around [[1650]], bringing with it a dramatic shift in kabuki music.

The word "kabuki" (歌舞伎) is today written with three [[kanji|characters]] meaning song (歌), dance (舞), and technique or skill (伎). However, the name of the art form is said to derive from, or be related to, the term ''[[kabukimono]]'' (傾奇者), which referred to eccentric types seen on the streets of Kyoto and Edo around that time, who dressed and behaved unusually, and in general were described as leaning (傾) towards the bizarre and unconventional (奇). Okuni herself is said to have been a ''kabukimono'', along with [[Nagoya Sansaburo|Nagoya Sansaburô]], a figure often said to have been Okuni's onstage partner and off-stage lover, and worthy of credit as co-founder of kabuki theater, but who might in reality have never met Okuni, or might not even have existed at all.

The word "kabuki" (歌舞伎) is today written with three [[kanji|characters]] meaning song (歌), dance (舞), and technique or skill (伎). However, the name of the art form is said to derive from, or be related to, the term ''[[kabukimono]]'' (傾奇者), which referred to eccentric types seen on the streets of Kyoto and Edo around that time, who dressed and behaved unusually, and in general were described as leaning (傾) towards the bizarre and unconventional (奇). Okuni herself is said to have been a ''kabukimono'', along with [[Nagoya Sansaburo|Nagoya Sansaburô]], a figure often said to have been Okuni's onstage partner and off-stage lover, and worthy of credit as co-founder of kabuki theater, but who might in reality have never met Okuni, or might not even have existed at all.

The so-called ''onna kabuki'' ("women kabuki") performances also served as advertising for the women themselves, as prostitutes. As a result, in [[1629]], the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] banned women from appearing onstage. Professional kabuki<ref>''Jishibai'' rural/regional amateur performances, as well as those performed by universities and other amateur contexts, often feature both men and women on-stage; in addition, there are a limited number of women-only troupes officially endorsed by the [[Ichikawa family]] or other segments of the professional kabuki establishment.</ref> remains today a male-only theater form.

The so-called ''onna kabuki'' ("women kabuki") performances also served as advertising for the women themselves, as prostitutes. As a result, in [[1629]], the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] banned women from appearing onstage. Professional kabuki<ref>''Jishibai'' rural/regional amateur performances, as well as those performed by universities and other amateur contexts, often feature both men and women on-stage; in addition, there are a limited number of women-only troupes officially endorsed by the [[Ichikawa family]] or other segments of the professional kabuki establishment.</ref> remains today a male-only theater form.

''Onna kabuki'' was thus replaced by so-called ''wakashû kabuki'' ("young men kabuki"), in which beautiful young men played all the roles. This marked the beginnings of the tradition of the ''[[onnagata]]''. However, these young men performed as prostitutes as well, and before long ''wakashû kabuki'' came to an end as well, due to the same shogunate concerns about public propriety and morality.

''Onna kabuki'' was thus replaced by so-called ''wakashû kabuki'' ("young men kabuki"), in which beautiful young men played all the roles. This marked the beginnings of the tradition of the ''[[onnagata]]''. ''[[Koto]]'' was sometimes incorporated into the musical ensembles in ''wakashû kabuki'', the only string instrument used in Japanese theater prior to the introduction of the shamisen. The young men in ''wakashû kabuki'' performed as prostitutes, however, like their female predecessors, and before long ''wakashû kabuki'' came to an end as well, due to the same shogunate concerns about public propriety and morality. ''Wakashû kabuki'' was followed by ''yarô kabuki'' in [[1652]], when laws were changed again, now allowing only older men to perform onstage. This eliminated the element of prostitution from kabuki, and marks the beginning of kabuki's shift towards becoming a more purely theatrical form. Younger actors would eventually be permitted back onto the stage, however.

''Wakashû kabuki'' was followed by ''yarô kabuki'', as only older men, for a time, were permitted onstage, eliminating the element of prostitution from kabuki, and marking the beginning of its shift towards a more purely theatrical form. Younger actors would eventually be permitted back onto the stage, though professional kabuki remains a male-only form today.

Though today kabuki theaters are typically filled with Western-style seating, traditionally, the area today called "orchestra seating" would have been composed of ''masu-gata'' seating - a grid of square areas separated by a thin wooden rail elevated a short distance above the floor. Audience members would gather in these squares, bringing food and drink, and sitting on the floor, enjoying a somewhat picnic-like atmosphere. Productions went on all day, and audience members would come and go, eating, drinking, chatting, and even commenting out loud about the play (including shouting at the performers). It is easy to imagine how the practice of ''kakegoe'', shouting one's excitement or appreciation of the appearance of a favorite actor or favorite dramatic moment, would have developed in such a laid-back atmosphere.

Licensed theatre system, censorship

Licensed theatre system, censorship

Meiji, post-war, today, rebuilding of Kabuki-za

Meiji, post-war, today, rebuilding of Kabuki-za

==References==

==References==

*McQueen Tokita, Alison. "Music in kabuki: more than meets the eye." ''The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music''. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. pp229-260.

*McQueen Tokita, Alison. "Music in kabuki: more than meets the eye." ''The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music''. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. pp229-260.

[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]

[[Category:Poetry and Theater]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]