Kabuki

• Kabuki


  A traditional Japanese theater with singing and dancing performed, focused on telling an understandable story and providing an entertaining spectacle to the audience
• Kabuki theaters

  • Two- or three-story buildings with multiple floors of dressing rooms and reception rooms
  • Main floor of seating in front of the stage divided up into boxes (masugata) where people gathered groups, eating and drinking while watching the play
• Modern Kabuki


  • Makes use of elaborate stage sets and multiple set changes
  • Large casts
  • Bold costumes with several costume changes
  • Employs an extensive musical ensemble (hayashi) with various sound effects
• Kabuki stage design

  • Uses the lower hand (Shimote) and the upper hand (Kamite) similar to stage right and left
  • Has a lattied compartment behind which the musicians are located (Geza Orkuromisu)
  • Has a long, narrow walkway (Hanamichi) extending from the stage to the back used for dramatic entrances and exits, as well as for monologues
  • Has a rotating stage (Mawari-butai) that allows scene changes to be done quickly and dramatically
• Kabuki costumes and makeup


  • Actors wear a skull cap (habutae) under their wigs
  • Wigs worn by actors playing female roles (onnagata) are purple in color (murasaki boshi)
  • Kabuki makeup (kesho) has a unique appearance and style
• Kabuki makeup (oshiroi)


  • White paint made from rice powder, mixed with water
  • Red lines indicate passion, heroism, righteousness, and other positive traits
  • Blue or black lines represent villainy, jealousy, and other negative traits
  • Green for supernatural and purple for nobility
• Jidaimono


  History plays set within the context of major events in Japanese history, focused upon the samurai class, tend to be more bombastic, colorful, and action-packed, featuring bold characters and samurai heroes and villains
• Sewamono


  Contemporary plays focused more closely on commoner characters like townspeople and peasants, tend to have more dialogue and less fighting scenes or special effects, though the content of the narrative is often more deeply, emotionally, dramatic
• Noh Theater


  A Japanese theatrical art form that has been designated as an "Intangible Cultural Heritage" by UNESCO, a total art form comprised of drama, music, and dance elements
• Sarugaku Noh and Dengaku Noh


  Forms of classical Japanese dance drama that have been performed since the 14th century, derived from a form of popular entertainment named sangaku imported to Japan from China during the Nara Period