Kabuki Drama

Syutaro Miyake, Miyake

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781136208348
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

First published in 2006. Kabuki is the most popular form of Japanese traditional theatre. More fast-moving than Noh, it is a colourful and exciting spectacle based around traditional, historical and mythic narratives, many of which involve the code of the samurai. A recurrent theme is the ethical ideal of the samurai who gives up his life for his lord and his country, and the actors who take on the roles of handsome young samurai enjoy large and enthusiastic followings. Kabuki plays are set in the feudal samurai era, and the actors wear dramatic makeup and costumes and engage in wonderfully choreographed swordplay. A feature of traditional Kabuki is that all the female roles are played by men known as onnagata.

III. Machinery Peculiar to the Kabuki Stage

1. Curtains

The leading theatres where the Kabuki plays are staged are also used for performances of the modern school. In view of this circumstance, the managements of most of such theatres find it convenient to use the European curtain. But if possible, the European curtain which works up and down is avoided. Instead, a maku (curtain) of simple-patterned cotton is regularly used. “This curtain is not of the lift type, but is pulled aside. In Tokyo theatres, when the maku is used, it is usually striped with thick lines of green, red-brown, and black, while in the Kansai, there is more variety and colour in the design of the traditional Kabuki stage curtain. The simple-patterned curtain of the Kabuki stage is termed zyōhiki-maku (“proper curtain”), and it is considered by competent critics to be in perfect keeping with the spirit of the Kabuki.

2. “Hanamiti”

Hanamiti, or “flower way,” is a passage leading to the stage through the left section of the theatre. There is diverse opinion as to the history of the hanamiti, and no detailed account of it can be given here. Suffice it to say that the hanamiti has been in use for about two centuries. The passage of the actors on to the stage over the hanamiti is called de (advance) and the passage back from the stage to the exit screened with a small curtain termed agamaku is called hikkomi (withdrawal). The use of the hanamiti is considered very important and productive of histrionic effect. Foreigners are unanimous in their praise of this particular feature of the Kabuki stage. It is said that a Russian dramatist, Meierchold, who deeply appreciated the Kabuki, was so much pleased with the hanamiti that he adapted it in a modified form in a Russian theatre with which he was connected. The hanamiti is sometimes doubled to enhance the spectacular effect and maintain closer contact with the audience. The auxiliary passage, kari-hanamiti (“provisional flower way”), runs parallel on the opposite side of the main passage, and it is narrower than the hanamiti by about one-third. These two passages are sometimes used by actors to great advantage in such scenes as the one called “Numazu-no-ba” in the Kabuki version of “Igagoe Dōtyūsugoroku,” a puppet play. The hanamiti, a theatrical device peculiar to Japan, is no doubt a valuable adjunct to the Kabuki.

A player coming back on the hanamiti from the stage

The revolving stage turns to right for the rapid shifting of scenes

3. The Revolving Stage

This is a device for the rapid shifting of scenes, bringing to view, by means of a mechanism similar to the turntable, the scene which is ready behind the stage. This device is called mawari-butai, or revolving stage. Its invention is ascribed to Syōzō Namiki, a playwright of Osaka, who lived some two hundred years ago. The mawari-bntai makes for much economy in time, by shortening the intervals between acts, and is deservedly well commented on by Western play-lovers.

A Samurai appears on the hanamiti by the seriage device

Another device, which like the mawari-butai, is a time saver, is the seriage, or platform on which a character is raised to the stage from underneath. There is also a device which reverses the process, so that an actor may disappear from the stage into the ground. It is called the serisage. Such inventions, products of the fertile brain of Syozō Namiki, add to the uniqueness of the Kabuki play.

4. “Ki”

In the Kabuki, ki or wooden clappers invariably accompany the pulling on and off of the curtain. Ki or hyōsigi are a pair of square-shaped sticks made of hard kasi wood. The clapper is about three inches thick and about a foot long. The hyōsigi are clapped by a kyogenkata, who is a sort of assistant to the stage manager. The peculiar, sharp sounds of the hyōsigi, like the sound of the bell or the gong of the Western plays, are used to punctuate the beginning, close, or intervals of a play. Simple as it may seem, considerable skill is really required for the proper operation of the hyōsigi.

Mie, an impressive pose, heightens esthetic appeal

In the Kabuki, the climax of a piece of acting is accentuated by an impressive pose in which the actor becomes statue-like with his eyes wide open. This posing is called mie. It effectively heightens esthetic appeal. A good Kabuki actor must be skilful in this posing. Mie is seen at its best when performed by Kitiemon Nakamura, a well-known modern Kabuki actor.

A mie is emphasized by the striking of the wooden clappers against a thick board by the assistant stage-manager, who sits on one side of the stage. The sound of the wooden clappers is called hike. Its function is to call attention to the posing of the actor. In fact, the hyōsigi is part of the fabric of a Kabuki play, and a neglect of their value keeps the audience from understanding much of the charm and significance of a Kabuki drama.

5. “Tyobo”

This music is an indispensable adjunct of the Kabuki dramas of puppet-play origin. Tyobo means Gidayu or Zyōruri, or music which dates back some three hundred years. Gidayū stands highest in artistic merit among various kinds of music in Japan. The term tyobo is used only when Gidayū is performed in accompaniment to a Maruhonmono, or a Kabuki drama of puppet-play origin. The words are recited by a tayū and the musical accompaniment is supplied by a samisen player. A singer and musician form a group and occupy a section of the stage. They are always attired in kamisimo, a costume dating from feudal times. Tyobo is essential to the effective rendering of a Maruhonmono play. The tyobo players, though in the sight of the audience, appear without any other make-up or disguise than the kamisimo already mentioned. The reciter has a play-book before him resting on a kendai, or small decorative desk, from which he reads in a highly dramatic manner. Sometimes the tyobo musicians perform behind a bamboo screen which is situated on one side of the stage.

6. “Geza”

A geza is a kind ot music box. It is on the opposite side of the stage from the tyobo which is always on the stage. The box is inconspicuously placed, so it passes often unnoticed by the audience. It is manned by a number of musicians, ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• I. How to Appreciate the Kabuki
• II. Characteristics of the Kabuki
• III. Machinery Peculiar to the Kabuki Stage
• IV. Principal Kabuki Plays
• V. Technique Peculiar to the Kabuki
• VI. Symbolism and Impressionism in the Kabuki
• VII. The Story Value of the Kabuki
• Practical Guide to the Present-day Kabuki