What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word “kabuki”?
Kabuki is a unique form of Japanese culture and entertainment, with its overwhelmingly unique music, costumes, gestures, hairstyles, and make-up. As it was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, Kabuki theater is becoming more popular as one of the top destinations for tourists.
With its long history, Kabuki is full of unspoken rules. One visible (yet invisible to beginners) example is the way different make-up identifies the different roles of the performers. We will go over five things that will help you enjoy your first experience at the kabuki theater.
As soon as you become ready for your first visit, check out famous kabuki performances and theaters that are explained in this other article.
Contents
History of Kabuki
Kabuki is a traditional performing art that Japanese people have enjoyed for over 400 years. Let’s take a look at a brief history with some highlighted plays from each period.
Okuni Kabuki
Kabuki traces its roots back to 1603 during the Edo period. A woman named Okuni, who referred to herself as a shrine maiden from Izumo Taisha, suddenly appeared in Kyoto, and the “Kabuki Odori (Dance)” that she performed became very popular. Kabuki Odori was a comprehensive entertainment in which women dressed up as men and performed songs, dances, and skits.
Onna Kabuki
As Kabuki Odori became popular, groups of ladies also began to perform with a new instrument called the Shamisen (three-stringed guitar). However, the Shogunate banned the female entertainers from performing on the stage claiming that their dance was too amorous and disturbed public morals.
Wakashu Kabuki
After Onna Kabuki was banned, young men’s performance called Wakashu Kabuki started to gain popularity. Original dances with acrobatic movements and onnagata (male playing female roles) were developed at this time. However, because of the alluring looks of the young male performance, Wakashu Kabuki also ended up getting banned by the Shogunate.
Yaro Kabuki
Since both women and boys were banned, adult men began to dance and perform kabuki. Acting ability became more important than appearance.
Edo Kabuki
Around 1688-1704, Edo citizens were enraptured by aragoto, a form of kabuki developed by Danjuro Ichikawa. Aragoto refers to the role of superheroes with supernatural powers and the performance was rather high-spirited with over-glamorous costumes.
Kamigata Kabuki
During the Edo period, wagoto was pioneered by Sakata Tojuro in the Kansai region. In contrast to Edo Kabuki, Kamigata Kabuki focused on reality and its performers did not put on exaggerated make-up or use exaggerated gestures.
Shin Kabuki
Kabuki performances created between 1889 and about 1939 is called shin kabuki. It is characterized by many works by writers influenced by Western plays and novels.
Super Kabuki
In 1986, Ennosuke Ichikawa III created Super Kabuki. It is characterized by the fusion of modern technology and traditional kabuki.
Kabuki Make-Up
Kabuki’s unique make-up, including the one most famously known Kumadori, have a number of formulas. The audience can understand the basic setting of the characters by looking at their face.
Face Paints
In kabuki plays, the colors of the face paints represent each role and personality.
White Paint
A person whose face painted white is basically a noble, good man, or a man in a romantic relationship. Also, occasionally some main villains are painted white.
Mild Orange
The faces of adult roles such as samurai, townspeople, and villains are often painted mild orange.
Akattsura (Red paint)
The faces of a retainer or a minion of a villain who is wild and full of energy are mostly painted red.
Kumadori
Kumadori is a very distinctive method of kabuki make-up. Red, indigo, and brown are used, and there are more than 100 ways to identify the role depending on the color and type. Red kumadori represents justice, courage, and goodness. Indigo represents cold-hearted villains, and brown represents non-human roles such as demons and monsters.
Onnagata and Tachiyaku
What is Onnagata?
In kabuki plays, all female roles are (now) played by men. You can tell the role of onnagata performers by looking at their wigs and costumes. Let’s take a look at some typical examples.
Keisei
Keisei is a general term for a courtesan of the highest rank, literally meaning “Castle toppler”. The role is considered to be the most important of all the onnnagata roles. The wig, which has a large up-do, is decorated with gorgeous combs and hairpins, and the costume is a luxurious kimono called uchikake (long outer robe) with a large, extravagantly ornamented obi and very high geta (wooden sandals) on the feet.
Akahime
Akahime is a princess who wears a red, long-sleeved kimono called a furisode. The color red indicates a passionate role. An Akahime often wears a big silver flower pin on top of the wig.
Katahazushi
Katahazushi originally referred to the hairstyle of samurai wives or waiting women at a samurai residence. It then started to be used as a term for the ladies themselves. A Katahazushi wears a wig with an off-center topknot.
Musumeyaku
Musumeyaku are young girls living in cities or villages. The daughters of wealthy families wear long-sleeved furisode, whereas those living in a village wear short plain green kimonos with short sleeves.
What is Tachiyaku?
Young adult roles or actors other than villains are called tachiyaku. Here are two typical roles and how to identify them.
Aragoto
Aragoto refers to a role characterized by boldness and forcefulness, whose style represents most of the heroes in kabuki plays. They have superhuman strength and a childlike temperament. Their face is usually painted white with red patterns.
Wagoto
Wagoto is an acting style with elegance and softness. They often wear bright blue-green striped kimonos and accompany the chief aragoto.
Kabuki Facilities
Kabuki theaters can be found in different locations throughout Japan. Let’s look at inside the venues now, as the stage has some unique mechanisms.
What is Hanamichi?
Hanamichi is a corridor extending from the lower part of the stage (stage left, or shimote) into the audience seating area. It is a place for the audience to enjoy the performance very close to the actors.
Live Music
All Kabuki plays are basically a live performance. Although the audience tend to focus on the actors on the main stage (honbutai), the music is also performed live in a small room called kuromisu, which is located in the lower part of the stage (shimote) and black bamboo blinds are attached to the windows to cover the players. The music is called nagauta, a type of vocal music with singing and shamisen (a stringed instrument) with narimono, a group of percussion instruments and flutes.
A Little Preparation for Watching Kabuki
So far, we have explained what you need to know before watching kabuki. Now let’s review some of the things you might consider when actually going to watch the performance in Japan.
Is There a Dress Code?
There is no official dress code! Some people watch the show in kimonos, but you can wear normal clothes. Also, you would look very stylish if you wore something related to the performance, such as a brooch of autumn leaves during the performance called “Momijigari” (autumn leaves hunting).
3 Helpful Things at The Venue
Opera Glasses (Theater Binoculars)
Most Kabuki theaters consist of three floors with different price ranges, so it is definitely helpful to bring opera glasses if your seats are on the second or third floor.
Suzigaki
A brochure called “suzigaki” is usually sold inside the facility. It contains the storyline, highlights, and cast member information to help you further understand the play.
Earphone guides
An earphone guide provides audio explanations of the synopsis, cast, costumes, tools, historical background, and kabuki’s own rules in a timely manner as the play progresses. Some theaters have English earphone guides, too.
Summary
In this article, we have explained the first 5 things you should know about kabuki.
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