Changes

The actors themselves, like prostitutes, were considered a separate social category or sub-class, outside of the [[mibunsei|four-class schema]] of samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants. They were restricted to the theatre districts, and forbidden from living alongside non-actors. It has been suggested that these restrictions were put into place chiefly in order to prevent actors from performing at the private residences of wealthy merchants or samurai. Of course, as with so many of the other regulations, these were not strictly observed, and actors ''did'' perform at private parties. Actors were further forbidden from going out disguised as normal townsmen, and normal townsmen forbidden from dressing as actors or performing entertainments; as with many social policies of the Tokugawa era, responsibility for enforcement was placed chiefly in the hands of ''[[goningumi]]'' and other local neighborhood- and district-based self-regulatory systems. It has also been suggested that part of the reason that actors, prostitutes, and other entertainers were separated out from the four-class structure was because their work, being intangible, was more difficult to tax; thus, as people producing little to no taxable or directly financially measurable contributions to society, they were considered a sort of outcaste.

The actors themselves, like prostitutes, were considered a separate social category or sub-class, outside of the [[mibunsei|four-class schema]] of samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants. They were restricted to the theatre districts, and forbidden from living alongside non-actors. It has been suggested that these restrictions were put into place chiefly in order to prevent actors from performing at the private residences of wealthy merchants or samurai. Of course, as with so many of the other regulations, these were not strictly observed, and actors ''did'' perform at private parties. Actors were further forbidden from going out disguised as normal townsmen, and normal townsmen forbidden from dressing as actors or performing entertainments; as with many social policies of the Tokugawa era, responsibility for enforcement was placed chiefly in the hands of ''[[goningumi]]'' and other local neighborhood- and district-based self-regulatory systems. It has also been suggested that part of the reason that actors, prostitutes, and other entertainers were separated out from the four-class structure was because their work, being intangible, was more difficult to tax; thus, as people producing little to no taxable or directly financially measurable contributions to society, they were considered a sort of outcaste.

Edicts issued by the shogunate chiefly included attempts to restrict or eliminate prostitution (including same-sex relations) among those associated with the theaters, [[sumptuary regulations]] aimed at keeping the costumes, architecture, and other material aspects of the theaters within the boundaries of what was appropriate for commoners, and bans on certain political content. Sumptuary laws issued in the 1630s-60s attempted to ban kabuki actors and ''ningyô jôruri'' puppets from wearing sumptuous fabrics onstage; however, by the late 1660s, the authorities began to concede ground on this.<ref>Actors were also forbidden from riding in palanquins or on horseback, though this was often violated, and their swords could be painted wood, but could not be made of metal, nor covered in metal foil to give the impression of being a real blade.</ref> As for the matter of policing content, as with policies regarding the content of ''ukiyo-e'' prints, any major samurai figures or events from roughly the 1570s onwards were forbidden from being portrayed, as were current events whether political or popular in nature. Nevertheless, plays based on recent scandals ([[shinju|love suicides]], revenge stories, etc.), and plays commenting on contemporary politics but faintly disguised by setting them in the historical or literary past, were among the most common and popular. Kabuki was tolerated as a commoner theatre, but it was strongly discouraged that samurai, especially high-ranking lords, should attend; they regularly did, however. Theaters constructed temporary screens to shield elites from being seen by the ''hoi polloi'', and made sure they could be put up and taken down quite quickly, in order to avoid enforcement of a series of bans on such screens issued repeatedly beginning in 1646. Many lower-ranking samurai, though also forbidden from going to the kabuki theaters, did so relatively openly, purchasing box seats often without screens. Elite ladies, meanwhile, very often did not go into the theaters, but merely peeked from within their palanquins in through the entrance of the theater; this was a common enough practice that edicts were issued specifically banning it.

Edicts issued by the shogunate chiefly included attempts to restrict or eliminate prostitution (including same-sex relations) among those associated with the theaters, [[sumptuary regulations]] aimed at keeping the costumes, architecture, and other material aspects of the theaters within the boundaries of what was appropriate for commoners, and bans on certain political content. Sumptuary laws issued in the 1630s-60s attempted to ban kabuki actors and ''ningyô jôruri'' puppets from wearing sumptuous fabrics onstage; however, by the late 1660s, the authorities began to concede ground on this.<ref>Actors were also forbidden from riding in palanquins or on horseback, though this was often violated, and their swords could be painted wood, but could not be made of metal, nor covered in metal foil to give the impression of being a real blade.</ref> As for the matter of policing content, as with policies regarding the content of ''ukiyo-e'' prints, any major samurai figures or events from roughly the 1570s onwards were forbidden from being portrayed, as were current events whether political or popular in nature. Nevertheless, plays based on recent scandals ([[shinju|love suicides]], revenge stories, etc.), and plays commenting on contemporary politics but faintly disguised by setting them in the historical or literary past, were among the most common and popular. Kabuki was tolerated as a commoner theatre, but it was strongly discouraged that samurai, especially high-ranking lords, should attend; they regularly did, however. Theaters constructed temporary screens to shield elites from being seen by the ''hoi polloi'', and made sure they could be put up and taken down quite quickly, in order to avoid enforcement of a series of bans on such screens issued repeatedly beginning in 1646. Many lower-ranking samurai, though also forbidden from going to the kabuki theaters, did so relatively openly, purchasing box seats often without screens. Elite ladies, meanwhile, very often did not go into the theaters, but merely peeked from within their palanquins in through the entrance of the theater; this was a common enough practice that edicts were issued specifically banning it. Even so, despite these various divisions, the kabuki theatre was nevertheless one of the chief places in the city where people of nearly all hierarchical statuses - from ''daimyô'' down to the lowest urban laborer who could afford a ticket - mingled, or at least occupied the same building, to a greater extent than almost anywhere else in the city.<ref>Clark, 34.</ref>

===Genroku===

===Genroku===