John Michael Gian

Contents

Introduction
Kabuki Stage

Elements of Kabuki

Kabuki “Hero” Character

Kabuki Costume
 Introduction
The history of Kabuki began in 1603 when
Okuni who called herself a priestess began
performing a new style of dance drama in Kyoto.
Female performers played both men and women. It
was bout ordinary life. The style was instantly
popular. Rival troupes quickly formed and Kabuki
was born as ensemble dance drama performed by
women. Much of its appeal in this era was due to
the ribald, suggestive performances put on by
many of the imitators; these actresses were often
available for prostitution.
 What is Kabuki?
• Kabuki- meaning “off balance” or
“unconventional”
• Ka for music, bu for dance, and ki for skill
• Okuni drew inspiration from Buddhist dances
with contemporary forms
• Plays that once lasted a full day, but today
only last about 5 hours.
• Includes themes of feuds, revenge,
adventure, and romance
 Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese
drama with highly stylized song, mime,
and dance, now performed only by male
actors.
Japanese, originally as a verb meaning
“act dissolutely,’ later interpreted as: ka –
song, bu – dance and ki – art/skill.
 Kabuki theater is known for the stylization
of its drama and for the elaborate make-up
worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is
therefore sometimes translated as "the art of
singing and dancing". Since the word kabuki is
believed to derive from the verb kabuku,
meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the
ordinary", kabuki can be "bizarre" theater. The
expression kabukimono referred originally to
those who were bizarrely dressed and paraded
on a street.
Kabuki Stage
The Kabuki stage features:

• Hanamichi – a flower path, a walkway which

extends into the audience and via which dramatic
entrances and exits are made; Okuni also
perform on a hanamichi stage with her
entourage.
• Kogakudo - kabuki theaters that have stages both
in front of the audience and along the sides help
create a bond between the actors and viewers
• Mawaro butal -the interior of the theater
contains a revolving stage
• Suppon - a platform that rises from below
the stage
• Hanamicho – a walkway that cuts through
the audience seating area to connect the
stage with the back of the theater
• Magicians and supernatural beings often
make their entrances from trap doors in the
hanamichi
• Some stages have 17 trapdoors.
The three main categories of the kabuki
play are:
• jidai-mono- historical, or pre-Sengoku
period stories
• sewa-mono- domestic, or post-Sengoku
stories and
• shosagoto - dance pieces
Jidaimono, or history plays, were set within the
context of major events in Japanese history. Strict
censorship laws during the Edo period prohibited
the representation of contemporary events and
particularly prohibited criticising the shogunate or
casting it in a bad light, although enforcement
varied greatly over the years.
Sewamono focused primarily upon commoners
(townspeople and peasants). It is generally related
to themes of family drama and romance.
 Elements of kabuki:
• Mie - in which the actor holds a picturesque
pose to establish his character and his
house name yagō, is sometimes heard in a
loud shout (kakegoe) from expert audience
member, serving both to express and
enhance the audience's appreciation of the
actor's achievement. An even greater
compliment can be paid by shouting the
name of the actor's father. Keshō
Actors are separated into two
main categories:
• Onna-gata - female roles and;
• Aragoto - male roles.
Most main characters in Kabuki plays are
aragoto, because of its super-stylized
masculine, heroic style.

Onna-gata Role(left) Aragoto Role (right)

 Kabuki "Hero" character
Make-up is also one of the most iconic
parts of Kabuki. Actors apply their own make-
up by painting their faces and necks white,
then adding stylized lines in red, black, or
blue. The colors and lines that are used tell
you what kind of character is being
performed.
• Red and blue are usually aragoto roles, onna-
gata playing young women have very little
paint
• These are examples of
famous Kabuki characters. A
character's make-up, like
everything else, is decided
by tradition.
 Kabuki make-up, provides
an element of style easily
recognizable even by those
unfamiliar with the art form.
Rice powder is used to create
the white oshiroi base for the
characteristic stage make-up,
and kumadori enhances or
exaggerates facial lines to
produce dramatic animal or
supernatural character.
• The color of the kumadori is an
expression of the character's nature:
• red lines are used to indicate
passion, heroism, righteousness, and
other positive traits;
• pink, for youthful joy;
• light blue, for an even temper;
• pale green, for peacefulness
• blue or black, for villainy, jealousy,
and other negative traits;
• green, for the supernatural; and
• purple, for nobility
• Kabuki is performed in full-day programs.
Audiences escape from the day-to-day
world, devoting a full day to
entertainment. Though some individual
plays, particularly the historical
jidaimono, might last an entire day, most
were shorter and sequenced with other
plays in order to produce a full-day
program.
The play occupies five acts. The first
corresponds to
• jo, an auspicious and slow opening which
introduces the audience to the characters
and the plot
• ha, speeding events up, culminating
almost always in a great moment of
drama or
• tragedy in the third act and possibly
a battle in the second and/or fourth
acts.
• kyu, is almost always short, providing
a quick and satisfying conclusion.
Kabuki props are often quite interesting.
Flowing water is usually represented by
fluttering roles of linen; and creatures
like insects and foxes. Props often have
symbolic meanings. Fans are used to
symbolize wind, a sword, a tobacco
pipe, waves or food.
 Costumes are swung from sticks
or manipulated by helpers who come
on stage dressed in black hooded
robes so they are invisible to the
audience. The female characters
generally wear an elaborate kimono
and obi.
 Pleated hakuma trousers are
worn by characters of sexes. Actors
playing both sexes often have a
supported midriff because a straight
and curveless figure are regarded the
essence of beauty.
 Costume changing is considered
as an art. There are special teams
that take care of complete and
partial costume changes and are
done as part of the performances.
• Wigs are important accessories, with
each costume having its own type.
Specialized craftsmen shape the wigs
to the head. Wigs are made of
human hair or horse hair or, bear fur
or yak-tail hair imported from Tibet.
1. A platform that raises the performers
from below the stage in Japan’s Kabuki.
a. Hanamichi c. Mawaro butal
b. Kogakudo d. Suppon
2. It is a Japanese terminology which
means male roles.
a. Aragoto b. Suppon
b. Onna-gata d. Hanamichi
3. It is the Japanese traditional drama.
a. Kabuki c. Nang
b. Peking opera d. Wayang Kulit
4. In Kabuki theater art, fan as props
symbolizes ______.
a. Bird c. rain
b. insects d. wind
5. The female characters in Kabuki
wear an elaborate.
a. Balinese costumes
b. Kimono and obi
c. Saya and Barong Tagalog
d. Xingtou