WHEN ONE hears the word kabuki, formality comes to mind. It recalls the things seen in pictures: colorful costumes, elaborate sets, and exaggerated gestures and face makeup. Naturally, it is easy to assume that Kabuki has always been the classical theater of Japan, just as the Greek theater has been for the West.
Most people are therefore quite surprised to learn about Kabuki's real origins, namely, that the first Kabuki plays were not plays at all, but erotic dances. They were performed by courtesans for male audiences. It is said that the first Kabuki dancer, Okuni, wore a bright red dress, danced wildly, and played the tambourine. Later she wore men's clothes and carried a
sword. By playing scenes in which she flirted with a woman she gained enormous popularity
with her audiences.
In 1629 the shogunate banned all female performances of Kabuki. Young boys then took the place of women, but these youths too were 30 forbidden in 1652 to perform. Because the public wanted it, "youth" Kabuki soon reappeared. It returned, however, with several changes. The young boys were forced to shave the hair from the front parts of their heads, like adult males. They were not allowed to sing or dance. Without their youthful hairstyles and erotic dances, they were forced to do nothing but act. In a sense Kabuki became a fine art because of government interference.
By the Genroku era (1688-1704), Kabuki had already become a serious, yet popular, form of theater. Roles and plots became complicated; at the same time dramatic skill was emphasized. It was during this period that Japan's greatest playwright, Monzaemon Chikamatsu, lived. He spent his life developing Kabuki as an art form, and has been called the "Shakespeare of Japan."
A few comparisons can be made between Kabuki in general and Shakespearean drama.
In Tokyo, tourists from Japan and abroad visit the Kabuki-za daily. Their tour buses crowd together in the Ginza, loading and unloading passengers. Likewise, tour buses leave London,
taking British as well as foreign tourists to Stratford-on -Avon. There, in Shakespeare's
home town, his plays are often performed out of-doors, just as they were during his lifetime.
In England and in Japan the audiences at such performances have much in common.
Many are tourists seeking "instant culture." Few of them understand everything that is said
onstage, but it does not matter. The spectacle the sets, the costumes, the music- is enough.
In addition to tourists, there are the more serious playgoers. Kabuki fanatics will see every play every season and sit in the theater for four full hours. During the intermissions, these
fans talk con tenuously, exchanging their opinions of the play and the actors' performances.
Their counterparts in the West are the "students of Shakespeare."
But in both places, the tourists dominate. The American crosses the Atlantic on a bargain
tour for a "once-in-a-lifetime experience." Many Japanese people not living in Kyoto,
Osaka or Tokyo do the same. Often they have won their Kabuki tour in a sales-promotion lottery. For most, it is an experience they will never forget.
1 hayashi-kata: Japanese classical arts musicians 12 shogi: a bench
2 shinzo: attendant for a high-ranking courtesan 13 kakae-obi: kimono sash , tied in front
3 hana-michi: aisle-stage used for dramatic entrances 14 hachi-maki: headband
4 mie : dramatic pose ass umed by kabuki actors 15 kuma-dori: makeup
acto r's express ions
5 ja-no-me gasa: oil-paper umbrella used in kabuki 16 Sukeroku: the leading role in the kabuki
play of the same name
6 lkyu : the villain in the kabuki play Sukeroku 17 tachi-yaku: ac tor who performs male roles 7 noren : curtain hung over the entrance to a shop 18 kanzashi : long, ornamental hairpin
........
6 lkyu : the villain in the kabuki play Sukeroku 17 tachi-yaku: ac tor who performs male roles 7 noren : curtain hung over the entrance to a shop 18 kanzashi : long, ornamental hairpin
........
0 comments:
Post a Comment