Japanese Theatre

Noh
Kabuki
 Noh Drama
 Emerged in the 14th c.
 Frozen in the 17th c.
 Invention attributed to
Kanami Kiyotsugu
(1333-1384)
 Perfected by his son,
Zeami Morokiyo (1363-
1443)
Noh Stage
 Musicians

•Hayashikata (instrument players) of

whistle, drums, etc. sit at the back of
the stage.

•The Jiutai (singers) sit in a line

on the left
 Noh
Characters
 Conventional roles in all dramas
 Shite: principal character -- the only
true “person”
 Waki: secondary character --
introduces story and asks questions;
often a priest
 Tsure: shadowy companion to shiite
and/or waki
 Kokata: child
 Kyogen: clown -- usually lower class
 Noh Conventions
Very short, no definite plot, tragic in mood
Highly stylized with very slow pace: 200-300 lines of
play can take an hour to perform
Integrate singing, speech instruments, and dancing
No limitation in time or space
Highly allusive, poetic, symbolic language
Less about characters than emotions
Yugen: haunting poetic quality, suggesting quiet
elegance and grace, subtle and fleeting beauty
 Types of Noh Plays
 A Day’s Entertainment contains:
A god play
A warrior play
 A woman play
 A realistic play
 A demon play
 Kyogen Plays: placed between Noh
plays as comic relief
No music
Broad humor
About 20 minutes long
 Noh Masks
Female Mask

Male Mask

Demon Mask

Old Man Mask

 Noh Costumes
Costumes are heavy silk kimonos
often luxuriously embroidered

The ability of the shite and waki to

express volumes with a gesture is
enhanced by their use of various
hand properties, the most
important of which is the folding
fan (chukei). The fan can be used
to represent an object, such as a
dagger or ladle, or an action, such
as beckoning or moon-viewing.
Narrator and
Shamisen
 Kabuki
• Common man’s drama = kabuki

– Began around 1600 when a woman started

singing and dancing to crowds in the street

– Continued though women were banned from

stage in 1629

– Wide range of subject matter – tension filled

historical tragedies, domestic love triangles, ect.
 Kabuki (Japanese) Theater
• Translates into sing, dance, skill
• Created by a shrine maiden named Okuni, who
began performing dance/skits in dry river beds
of Kamo River
• Style was immediately popular
• Around 1629, women were banned from the
Kabuki stage for the purpose of protecting
public morals
• Government thought Kabuki was expressing
dangerous thoughts in minds of men
 Characteristics of Kabuki
1. Use of exaggerated body movements,
monotone voice & dance accompanied by
Japanese instruments

2. Use of makeup and wigs to convey character

(makeup referred to as Kumodori and is very
non-realistic)

3. Use of universal themes/historical events

4.Use of costumes, scenery, plot & stage
devices to enhance plot
(Also known for its use of properties)
Ex: Paper fan- prop used to represent things

5. Use of Onnagata: men studying psychology

and behaviors of women
• During WWII, many Kabuki houses were
destroyed; died out for a time, but re-
emerged again

• In modern Japan, Kabuki is still relatively

popular
Kabuki Stage
Kabuki
Stage
• Kabuki Playhouse
1. Actors often enter through audience and up a
ramp
2. Trap doors in stage
3. Revolving stage (1793)
**All borrowed by western theatre**

• Extra
– Acting profession often inherited – lifelong
– Extremely symbolic – artificial movements
Kabuki
Characters
 Aragota:
vigorous heroes

Onnagata:
females played by male actors. The
ideal for the onnagata is not to
imitate women but to symbolically
express the essence of the feminine.
 Kabuki Colors
• Deep Red- anger, forcefulness
• Red- passion, eagerness
• Pink- youthfulness
• Light Blue- calmness, coolness
• Indigo- melancholy
• Light Green- Tranquility
• Purple- nobility, loftiness
• Brown- selfishness
• Gray on chin- dreariness, cheerlessness
• Black- fear, terror, gloom