Kabuki theatre intangible heritage culture sector unesco. In edo, the zamoto was somebody who received a license from the shogunal authorities to produce kabuki in his own theater. Male actors specialized in womens roles are called onnagata. Perfect activity for cultural studies or an international theater unit. In the sewamono, the makeup is more realistic than the jidaimono. Static characters stays the same throughout the story. This is a meeting place of two leading characters, one of the most popular kabuki scenes. Kabuki and the production of texts this article examines the role of performance defined in its broadest sense in japanese. Nov 20, 2015 kabuki is wellknown for japanese traditional act.
Two other major role types are aragoto rough style and wagoto soft style. White faces usually denote nobility of spirit, while red faces generally belong to villains the kabuki style of makeup is said to have been inspired by that of the beijing opera. Although it started out as a type of dance, kabuki eventually evolved into a fullblown type of theater, where its performers wear elaborate costumes and apply elaborate makeup to tell a dramatic story. Characters and costumes characters and actors in kabuki. Kabuki plays were divided into 3 types, shosagoto, jidaimono and sewamono. Kabuki is the traditional japanese classical drama which started about 400 years ago. Concerning the japanese kabuki stage heldermannverlag. Dancing is an essential part of kabuki, but in contrast to the noh dances, which are very deliberate and stately, most kabuki dances are closer to lively folk dances, featuring rapid energetic vertical movements and jumps.
Red tends to be good, and is used to express virtue, passion, or. Sometimes actors enter riding on midair using chunori or wiring attached to the actors costume. What kinds of character roles are in kabubi productions. Kabuki performers during the earliest years of the genre were primarily women. In other words, what you are thinking about is changing the shape of your body. Are important accessories, with each costumes having its own type. The depiction of the performance space in japanese kabuki theatre illustrations has. Introduce characteristics of kabuki theater for students to identify and analyze, focusing on how diverse cultures, periods, and styles affect drama or how kabuki is a reflection of japanese culture and tradition. Certain types of plays make full use of these stage tricks of the fully developed kabuki stage, while some others use them sparingly, if at all. The bioenergetic character types of alexander lowen.
Owner of the right to organize kabuki performances. Onnagata female characters portrayed by male actors wagotomale characters played with a feminine acting style such as romantic leads. The wagoto characters have a more narrow stance than the aragoto characters and their movement is more fluid in comparison. What youll see you will att end a schooltime performance by zenshinza theatre company of japan. Kabuki developed uniquely japanese aesthetics and conventions, but the art traveled abroad in the years since commodore perry forcibly reopened the nations harbors to international trade. Japanese originally used this as a verb meaning act dissolutely later interpreting the word as ka for song, bu for dance, and ki for artskill. Kabuki theatre free download as powerpoint presentation. A special type of sound effect found in kabuki is the dramatic crack of two wooden blocks hyoshigi struck together or against a. One of the most distinctive features of kabuki is the onnagata, a male actor who plays female characters. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Fundamental themes of kabuki plays are conflicts between humanity and the feudalistic system it is largely due to this humanistic quality of the art that it gained such an enduring popularity among the general public. Each character in the kabuki repertoire has a prescribed costume and makeup. The most famous names are danjuro, ebizo, danzo, and ebijuro, and, according to kabuki convention, these names were assumed by a natural or adopted son of the ichikawa family when his skill entitled him to inherit the mantle of a famous ancestor. Some kabuki stages have trap doors, or revolving stages and other staging effects.
Ichikawa family, kabuki actors flourishing in edo modern tokyo from the 17th century to the present. It is known for its very stylized acting and the elaborate makeup worn by the actors. Noh theater is one of the oldest stillpracticed forms of performance in the world. Kabuki is a comic book series created by artist and writer david mack, first published in razor and shi special july, 1994 by london night studios and soon after by caliber comics.
Kabuki has its origins in the late sixteenth century or early seventeenth century in the kabuki dance kabuki odori performed on the kamo riverbed by okuni also okuni, a shrine maiden at the. Kabuki acting styles are evocative of the history of kabuki as a dance. For examples, princesses always wear elaborate crowns of twinkling silverfoil flowers. It also demanded new plays in which aragoto would be the leading character. Ichikawa danjuro i 16601704, inspired by a certain bunraku puppet type, developed the flashiest of all the kabuki male characters, aragoto, the powerful largerthanlife type, full of energy. In this lesson, well explore its history and characteristics and see what makes it so special. Let me get your brownie, jawanna barked at maria as she towered over her in the lunchroom.
The art of kabuki, a type of stylized japanese dancedrama, is a fascinating reflection of japanese culture. Originally, both men and women acted in kabuki plays, but eventually only male actors performed the plays. Antagonist the characters, things or forces that works against the protagonist. Kabuki theater and ningyo joruri, the elaborate form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, became closely associated with each other, and each has since influenced the others. This makeup is applied heavily to create a brightly painted mask that uses colors in symbolic ways to indicate the age, gender, and class of each character, as well as their moods and personalities. The actors speak in a monotone voice and are accompanied by traditional instruments. Most main characters in kabuki plays are aragoto, because of its superstylized masculine, heroic style. Japanese originally used this as a verb meaning act dissolutely later interpreting the word as ka for song, bu for dance. It belongs to the kabuki juhachiban collection and to the guilds naritaya and koraiya. The basis of all 3 different types of plays is dance and all actors must go through intensive training binnie. Printable worksheet helps students plan out a kabuki character based on common archetypes in the dramatic genre. Actors techniques and training the acting technique of kabuki is, to a great extent, based on imitation of the actions and behaviour of the people of japans various historical periods. Kabuki of japan is a form of traditional japanese drama with highly stylized song, mine, and dance, now performed only male actors. Kabuki played to the popular audiences of its time.
Comparecontrast kabuki theater with western theater andor with elizabethan theater. The clothing, hairstyles, speaking styles and other aspects of people in the edo period differed according to various factors, such as their social status, occupation. There are 2 slides at the end that cover tips on making a paper mache kabuki mask and a page that gives a brief outlin. Okuni was a dancer who started to appear in performances that. Onnagata female impersonator roles became increasingly sophisticated, and. Kabuki is a popular japanese theater form which experts date back to 17th century kyoto, at the. Cultivated mainly by the merchants in its early days. The second page includes a makeup face template for students to draw a make up design. Actors usually specialise in particular types of roles. There were important differences between edo and the kamigata. It contains a page that tells students about color representation of the make up the actors wear. As the themes treat the affairs of the common people, these dramas were enacted more factually and realistically.
The two styles are often mixed in a play to present different aspects of a character. Kumadori the painted faces of japanese kabuki theatre the. Kabuki is a japanese traditional theatre form, which originated in the edo period at the beginning of the seventeenth century and was particularly popular among townspeople. Vocal and instrumental features performances are accompanied by music usually played on three types of instrument. My intention in this thesis was to research the ways in which kabuki has affected art traditions both inside and outside of japan. The word kabuki is made up of three chinese characters. Kabuki theater and ningyo joruri, the elaborate form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku. Young boys dressed as women then performed the programs, but this type of kabuki was suppressed in 1652, again because of concern for morals. However, it is agreed among scholars that the style of dance used in kabuki had at least been around since the 1590s ortolani 174. Kabuki is thought to have originated in the dances and light theater first performed in kyoto in 1603 by okuni, a female attendant at the izumotaisha grand shrine.
This slide covers the basic knowledge of kabuki, which may help your understanding of the play. Pages in category kabuki characters the following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. Aragoto translates as rough stuff or business and refers to the super heroes and villains in kabuki plays, such as the character narukami. Kabuki characters are often drawn from japanese folklore, and a major part of the kabuki performance is the dramatic makeup worn by the actors. The two best performers of the great role of benkei are matsumoto koshiro and ichikawa danjuro. The sensuous character of the dances and the prostitution of the actors proved to be too disruptive for the government, which in 1629 banned women from performing. Kabuki dance techniques japanese performing arts resource. Kanjincho, which is derived from the classical no drama ataka, is the most popular play of the current kabuki repertoire. The dance master bando kotoji, who performed for the videos we have here and led the workshop demonstrating techniques, says that there are two basic modes of acting in kabuki dance. Kabuki performances promoter during the edo period.
Kabuki plays are about historical events and moral conflict in relationships of the heart. It also means strange and different, to be outside what is normal. This is a 18 slide power point that introduces students to japanese kabuki theater. Kabuki simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Kabuki, traditional japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized manner. The actors become living special effects to present the story, and extravagant masking and makeup is integral to this complete transformation of the actor, so asian theatre generally includes the most sophisticated facepainting designs in the world, such as the kumadori makeup tradition in japanese kabuki theater. Kabukis origins are typically attributed to the dancer, okuni in the year 1603. A rich blend of music, dance, mime, and spectacular staging and costuming, it has been a major theatrical form in japan for four centuries. He had the right to transmit his title, his license and. Kabuki is an assassin belonging to a special, governmentbacked circle of masked and costumed female enforcers called the noh in nearfuture japan. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Apr 04, 2015 the kabuki theatre a stage area and an extra stage or walkway called a hannamichi which extends into the audience. The word kabuki had connotations of the shocking, unorthodox.