Kabuki, the traditional drama of Japan is more
than drama, it is spectacle! It is a feast for the
eyes, a delight for the ears and an occassion
for feeling and expressing emotion.

According to legend, kabuki had its origin in
the early seventeenth century when a renegade
Shinto priestess (Okuni) and her troupe of dancers
and actors began performing dances in the dry
river beds in the ancient capital of Kyoto. Soon
other troupes of female dancers began to lure
audiences with their sensuous performances as
well as their off stage activities.

In the early years, the interests of such
acting groups seems to have been more in sex
than in serious dramatic performance. Alarmed
by the immorality of the theater, the government
banned all women performers from the stage in
an effort to safeguard the public's morals.

This move radically changed the direction of
kabuki, because now, more importance was
placed on skill over beauty and more stress placed
on drama than dance. These changes put kabuki
on the path of developing into a dramatic art form
and the ban on women performers resulted in the
appearance of the "onnagata", men who became
highly skilled in playing women's roles. Some
of kabuki's greatest actors have gained a large
following by specializing in just such roles

Kabuki was, in many ways, a child of the Genroku era, when the merchant class emerged as a strong economic force in the urban areas.Common people soon became enamored of these dramas with their gaudy and bright costumes, violent actions and strong emotional tension; the colorful day-long performances attracted people from
all ranks of society, shop keepers
and merchants to samurai.

To appreciate its appeal, one must see kabuki
as a fusion into a single form of the arts of music,
dance, acting, literature as well as the graphic arts.
Color and motion are important elements in kabuki;
ingenious mechanical devices such as the
revolving stage, trapdoors, and the passageway
('hanamichi"-flower road) that runs directly through
the audience enabled production managers to
heighten the dramatic effects of the plays.

Kabuki had its ownShakespeare in the person of
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725) who wrote
more than one hundred and sixty dramas and
puppet plays. His plays dealt not only with
significant historical events but also with the
lives of ordinary people of his time.

A favorite theme was the love suicide drama.
The plot usually involved a hero who was either a
samurai or townsman and a heroine who was a
courtesan from the "pleasure quarters"
("yoshiwara"). The focus then was on the
conflict between love and duty or "ninjo" (human
feelings) and "giri" (social and moral obligations).
Too often, the only solution to this conflict for
the lovers was suicide. This struggle between
"ninjo" and "giri" continues to be a
constant in Japanese life.

As a "traditional" form of theater, kabuki
today faces competition from modern forms
of entertainment like movies and television.
Its position as "traditional theater" often
makes it seem "stuffy" to some. Still, the
kabuki stage is very much alive today, being
ably maintained by hereditary lines of great
actors at the kabuki theater in Tokyo
("Kabukiza") and elsewhere in Japan.

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