MUSIC

• Kabuki Theater


  • Classical Japanese dance drama invented by a shrine maiden, Izumo Okuni
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  • Dance dramas or the shosagot - popular plays that deal with the world of spirits and animals
• Kabuki


  • Art form rich in showmanship
  • The aragoto or "rough style" of acting is exemplified by exaggerated actions, dramatic eye-catching makeups, and elaborately designed costumes
  • The highly styled movement served to convey meaning to the audience
  • Major style used in kabuki: kumadori, uses dark lines to create mask-life effect on the performer's face
  • Actors apply make-up to highlight the temperament or emotion of the character they're playing
  • Plots are usually based on historical events, warm hearted dramas, moral conflicts, love stories, tales of tragedy of conspiracy, supernatural creature or other well-known stories
  • It is an all-male theatre and actors who play females are known as onnagata or oyama. Their roles include a high-ranking samurai lady, a young maiden or a wicked witch
• Kinds of Music that Accompany Kabuki Actions

  • Debayashi (onstage ensemble)
  • Joruri (narrative)
  • Geza (off-stage music)
• Kabuki Theatre


  • Has dynamic stage sets such as large, revolving stage and scenic backdrops and trapdoors for surprise entrances or prompt changes of scenes
  • Another specialty of the kabuki stage is a footbridge or hanamachi that leads through the audience, allowing for dramatic entrances or exits
  • Ambiance is aided with live music performance using traditional Japanese instruments
  • Various elements combine to produce a visually stunning and captivating performance
• Noh Drama


  • Mysterious, tragic, usually supernatural, and ceremonial music dance - drama
  • Written about 599 years ago by the members of one family
  • The shite who interrogated, prompted, and challenged by the waki
  • Grew out of ritual dances and is more symbolic, poetic, spiritual, and serious in tone focusing strongly on the strict performance of set forms (kata)
• kabuku - "art of singing and dancing"
• • Debayashi (onstage ensemble) - accompaniment made up of the hayashi ensemble, and later on, the shamisen
• • Joruri (narrative) - derived from the gidayu-shamisen singer
• Geza (off-stage music) - provides mood, set scenes, and musical clues as to location or action