Kabuki

October 17, 2009 · Posted in Japanese Culture, Kabuki · Comment

Hello Friends we back again at Japantopten.com, still with me Danny and now we talk about the japanese Culture … do you now KABUKI ?? As was the stage tradition in Elizabethan England, kabuki is performed entirely by men. Strangely enough however, this art form was created by Okuni, a female shrine attendant, in the 17th century. Although greatly influenced by the aristocratic noh, kabuki was largely popular entertainment for the masses. A large part of the popularity of the early, all-female performances was due to their sensual nature. The performers were also prostitutes and male audiences often got out of control. As a result, women were banned from performing by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ironically, the young male actors who took over kabuki also engaged in prostitution and audience disturbances continued to break out. Again, the Shogunate clamped down and troupes composed of older actors were required to perform more formalized and strictly theatrical dramas, based on kyogen. Changes were made to the traditional noh stage, such as adding a draw curtain and a hanamichi (catwalk) through the audience to allow dramatic entrances and exits. Widely considered as Japan’s greatest dramatist, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653~1724) spent the mid-part of his Read more