Although it started out as just another type of dance, Kabuki eventually emerged into an important and fascinating theatre where elaborate makeup and costumes combined to put on entertaining performances for audiences throughout the centuries.
Kabuki started out as a style of dance in the early sixteenth century, also known as the Edo period. Kabuki is an exclusive type of theater in which only males can act on stage. For over 400 years, women have only been allowed in the audience and not on stage. But ironically, a woman named Izumo Okuni along with her female troupe originally created the theatre. Okuni, who may have come from the shrine of Izumo, set up a temporary stage in Kyoto around 1603 where she and her troupe acted out slightly suggestive dances and skits (www.artelino.com).
The Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan’s military dictatorship from 1603 to 1868, disliked this position of women and in 1629 they banned all women from acting on stage. However, Kabuki had become so popular that teenage boys started to act on stage to replace women, taking over all of their roles. In 1652, Kabuki featuring teenage boy, or Waskashu Kabuki, was banned. After that, only adult men could act on stage and this type of Kabuki, known as Yaro Kabuki, continues to be practiced today (www.artelino.com). In the 1750’s, the mawari-butai (revolving stage) was invented, and soon after that came the seri (stage trap) (Reischauer and Jansen 77). The mawari-butai is a machine cut out into the shape of a circle, which turns the part of the floor that is center stage. It is often used for scene changes to make them quicker, smoother and more appealing to the audience. The seri stage trap is used to raise and lower the actors and sets to the stage. It is also...
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... an important role in Japan’s culture. It has entertained millions of people and will continue to do so for many more years to come.
Bibliography
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Reischuer, Edwin, and Marius Jansen. Japanese Today: Change and Continuity. Balknap Press, 1995.
Nipponia No.22 September 15, 2002. The Kabuki Actor Training Center. http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia22/en/feature/feature02.html Corts, Alicia. Costumes in Kabuki. https://asiantheatre.wikispaces.com/Costumes+in+Kabuki+by+Alicia+Corts Agostino, Christopher. Kumadori- The Painted Faces of Japanese Kabuki Theatre. http://thestorybehindthefaces.com/2012/01/20/kumadori-japanese-kabuki-theatre-makeup/ Artelino. Kabuki Theatre. http://www.artelino.com/articles/kabuki_theater.asp
Benson, John. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Japan. DK Travel, 2013.
Kano, Ayako. Acting Like A Woman in Modern Japan: Theater, Gender, and Nationalism. New York, Palgrave. 2001
Since theatre was established as an art form, it has constantly been changing and developing as new methods of theatre styles came to light. This is also true with how musical theatre developed into how we know it today. Vaudeville and burlesque were forms of theatre in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that forged the way for the American musical to emerge. The elements that writers used from vaudeville allowed for not just musical acts to be performed during the course of the story, but eventually became a way for the story to further be told. The American musical was not always as big as it is today, and vaudeville and burlesque acts made it possible for such a type of performance style to develop. Musical writers used multiple elements, not just the song element, in their stories. This change did not just happen overnight. The evolution from vaudeville and burlesque was a gradual one, taking years to further develop the performance styles into the Broadway musical we can see today.
The development of dance took place over multiple years before evolving into what we call dance today. Because of Queen Elizabeth and her influence of dance, the first public theater was built in London (Singman, 150). This did cost money to do the construction but seemed to pull through and finish it. Seatings were arranged so that you looked down at the performers like we still do today in some theaters (Homans, 10). The idea of a stage came from pioneering Italian set designers. Wings, curtains, trapdoors, backdrops and machinery also came from these italian set
I believe that universally, theater is the concentration of passing down history, whether factual or mythical, to future generations paired with various degrees of artistic dignity. Like many other staged performances, the root of Noh is based off of a storytelling tradition, enhanced or exaggerated to be viewed by a wider audience. In the end, it was supposed to be somewhat entertaining, the viewer perhaps receiving a more dramatic interpretation of a past tale accompanied by dance, music, and visuals. In general, another characteristic not as significant from the original literatures and stories that seeps its way into Noh are the religious undertones and shrinking the distance between the world of the living and the world of spirits. In Zeami’s Atsumori, the play concerns characters from a scene in a probably already overdramatic depiction in Heike Monogatari, bringing in a single frame from Japanese military history into a different context. Sumidagawa has a slightly different way of coming into existence, since it does not depend so heavily on an exact picture from Ise Monogatari, and is only loosely associated with it. Nevertheless, both Atsumori and Sumidagawa have interesting ties to literature from earlier periods that make each unique in their presentation.
... in body and mind, to governing of the Emperors, to the study of the martial arts. Their code of honor and loyalty are traditions that all Japanese respect and try to live up to even today. The self sacrifice of ones own life for a common cause was even seen in World War II when Japanese pilots deliberately crashed their planes into United States ships anchored at Pearl Harbor. This was a devastating attack and can show the horror caused by revenge and their belief in sacrifice and honor. They were even called kamikaze pilots after the famous samurai battle of long ago. The influence of the samurai continues to be seen in Japan today in a positive way with the stories and legends of heroic samurai and the bushido as their guide.
The samurai have had a long time in Japan and stayed around for centuries. They led Japan and created many government systems that would be used through that time. They helped cities be destroyed and flourish. Their ways of life and honor have influenced and their spirits stay with Japan to this day.
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
Showed how Japan easily accepts and institutes foreign markets and ideas without hesitation or humiliation. They adapt so well to the outside world.
Japan is known for its unique gardening style, their diverse plants, their food, and their beautifully woven tapestries. Yet, most do not know about the history of their drama. Japanese Noh theatre is one of the most precise and prestigious art forms. It has been this way since the fourteenth century when Zeami first created Noh theatre. Zeami’s most famous plays, such as Kinuta, are still performed today. Japanese drama has not changed much since the fourteenth century because it has made a lasting effect on the culture. Noh theatre had a major influence on fourteenth century Japan and has affected modern day drama.
Ballet began during Italian balls held in the king’s court. Specifically during Bal des Ardents (Burner’s Ball). A king dressed the dancers in flammable costumes, and they caught fire. All but one died because of their burns. Dances started being performed by a specific group of people dressed identically or in costume. This would lead to opera ballets which would give rise to modern ballet.
The geisha of Japan were more than entertainers they were a part of the bigger picture of the Japanese society from the early 1600s to today, their role as an entertainer for men was respected at a point in which man that had time with geisha were praised and they were even respected by the wives of the clients. One of the most significant historical contexts of geisha in Japanese society is the empowerment of women, they were the only women in the history to create a set of norms and social tradition for themselves, and the group of women to have control of men. Geisha are the representation of Japanese tradition and
Geisha’s are effectively known to be introduced by the Japanese tradition. They are mainly known as female entertainers or courtesans who went through five years of training and sometimes beyond. Their skills and training includes performing diverse kinds of arts which can also be referred to it as a specific kind of art like playing classical music, dancing and playing games. They mainly focus on their conversation or communication skills in order to amuse their male customers, particularly because they need to make their customers happy and content. In the modern-day world Geisha’s not only work for the amusement of their male customers but also for their female patrons. It is known that people particularly from the old age often visit Japan
Women were prohibited because many of the performers were cheap mistresses outside of the theater and because of fights among the actresses' courters (Graves 378, Johnson 1). The government thought this set a bad example and proclaimed that only men could perform kabuki. The restriction of females performing kabuki was a positive strategy because it stressed the significance of talent instead of attractiveness. In addition it emphasized acting instead of dancing (Johnson 1). Along with the ban also came the introduction of onnagata performers, or males that portrayed ladies. (Graves 378)
The origins of the kathak style lies in the traditional unfolding of Hindu myths by Brahmin priests called kathiks, who used mime and gesture for dramatic effect. Gradually, the storytelling became more stylized and developed into a dance form. With the arrival in northern India of the Mughals, kathak was taken into the royal courts and developed into a sophisticated art form; through the patronage of the Mughal rulers, kathak took its current form. The emphasis of the dance moved from the religious to the aesthetics. In cooperation with the aesthetics of Islamic culture, abhinaya which is defined as the use of mime and gesture, became more delicate, with emphasis placed on the performer's ability to express a theme in many different ways.
Theatre as we know it now was born more than two thousand years ago and has gone through many streams until it reached the current modernity. Among these streams is the avant-garde theatre. This theatre achieved a break in the traditional theatre and became the forefront of a new experimental theatre. Therefore it is necessary to ask how this theatre started, what impact it had on society and if this type of theatre is still common in our modern era.