Kabuki: The Popular Theater of Japan

264 Pages·1970·70.523 MB·English

by  Yasuji Toita

m
PERFORMING A
Kabuki: The Popular Theater
Kabuki is theater in the most vibrant sense
of the term: brilliant spectacle and stirring
action in which the actor himself is given
every chance to display his virtuosity.
The stage, immensely wide, is capable of
an amazing variety of pictorial illusions.
Whole buildings rise into view or sink from
sight, a ship arrives at a wharf, a sword
battle breaks out and heads roll. The actors
are all male. Even the fairy-tale princesses
and the gorgeously dressed courtesans are
played by men. The costumes and settings
are often incredibly sumptuous. The acting
style is bold and forceful, and dance is an
integral part of the drama.
The plays themselves cover a fascinating
range: feudal-period dramas of warfare
and revenge, chilling tales of ghosts and
demons, comedies and tragedies of domes-
tic life in old Japan, dance dramas of
strange and alluring beauty, and display
pieces in which the actors demonstrate
their special talents, including even acro-
batics and other physical feats. It is a
magical world that the Kabuki stage cre-
ates, and its pleasures are practically
limitless.
This book invites the reader into the
world of Kabuki for an intimate look at its
history, its techniques, its repertoire, and
its actors. The approach is largely a visual
one, as the generous selection of illustra-
tions makes clear. Photographs of cele-
brated actors in their favorite roles, scenes
from famous plays, views of onstage and
backstage activity, drawings and paintings
from Kabuki history—all these comple-
(continued on back flap)
71-01044
792 Toita, Yasuji
T Kabuki; the popular theater. Walker,
1970
245 p illus (Performing arts of
Japan, 2)
1. Kabuki (Japanese drama and theater)
I. Title
12/70 595

KABUKI
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/kabukipopulartheOOtoit
PERFORMING ARTS OF JAPAN.* II
KABUKI
The Popular Theater
by Yasuji Toita
translated by Don Kenny
with an introduction by
Donald Keene
O
A WEATHERHILL BOOK
WALKER/WEATHERHILL, New York & Toky
IN COLLABORATION WITH TANKOSHA, KYOTO
This book was originally published in Japanese
by Tankosha, Kyoto, under the title Kabuki.
1970
FIRST EDITION,
Jointly published by John Weatherhill, Inc., of New York and Tokyo, and Tankosha
of Kyoto / Distributed in the F ar East by J 7-6-13 Roppongi,
OHN WEATHERHILL, INC.,
Minato-ku, Tokyo 106, and in the United States by 720
WALKER AND COMPANY,
Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10019 / Copyright © 1967, 1970, by Tankosha.
Printed in Japan
LCC 76-105675
CARD NO.
ISBN 0-8027-2424-8
71-01044
Table of Contents
Kabuki: An Appreciation, by Donald Keene 3
Kabuki as Theater 3
The Repertory 6
The History 9
The Actors 27
The Audience 65
1. The Idiosyncracies of Kabuki 73
Function of the Female Impersonator 73
Male Roles 75
Kabuki Sensuality 77
Characters and Costumes 77
Range of Roles 79
The Stage as a Picture SO
Idealized Reality 81
%
Good-humored Roles 82
v
vi Contents
Use of Hand Properties 84
Construction of the Theater 85
Costume Color 88
Actors’ Names and Crests 98
The Kojo Ceremony 99
Self-Sacrifice for Superiors 100
Position of the Stage Assistant 102
2. Kabuki History 104
Origins 104
The Awakening of Kabuki 106
Birth of the Onnagata 107
Aragoto of the Genroku Era 108
Wagoto of the Genroku Era 108
Character-Type Divisions 109
Introduction of Puppet Joruri 110
/ Early Kabuki Theaters 111
Scripts and Dialogue 112
Preservation of Acting Styles and Patterns 153
Shibai-e 154
Accompaniment Music 156
JDance Dramas Based on Noh Plays . 157
Realistic Techniques 158
Witch or Wicked-Woman Plays 159