Kabuki Theater

Lavish costumes, vibrant makeup, and highly stylized performance: Kabuki Theater has been a mainstay of Japanese culture for more than four hundred years.

Its origins date to the Edo period of Japan (1603-1867) when Okuni, a Shinto maiden, was sent to Kyoto to solicit contributions for the Shrine. She performed dances and songs, rapidly becoming popular. She decided to set up her own theater on the banks of the Shijo River and created the Kabuki form.

In 1629, the government banned women’s participation in Kabuki in an effort to curb some of the scandal associated with it. Young boys replaced women in the female roles until this too was banned in 1652.

The Kabuki cast became all male. Specialized female-role actors, or onnagata, took over the women’s roles and Kabuki developed into a sophisticated theater form, gradually replacing Noh, the traditional Japanese form. Even when the ban was lifted in 1880, the onnagata continued in the female roles.

Kabuki, derived from the Japanese word kabuku, which means “to tilt” or “to set off kilter” is comprised of singing, dancing, and drama. The plays are divided into three categories: history, dances pieces, and plays about the common people. Some of the most famous were written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrote plays for the Bunraku, or Japanese Puppet Theater.

The Kabuki stage is specially-designed to highlight the opulent performances. Rather than a traditional square stage, it is a long rectangle that rotates and has platforms and trap doors. The hanamichi is a wooden passage that runs through the audience and is used for the actors’ entrances and exits.

Heavy makeup is an important and distinguishing feature of Kabuki. Varying shades of white, called oshiroi, create the foundation of the mask; the brighter the white, the higher the class of the character. Red and black lines outline the eyes and mouth in different shapes to indicate male and female characters. Kumidori is the special makeup of villains and superheroes with dramatic colors and lines representing different qualities.

Similarly, the costumes of Kabuki are ornate: the more opulent the material and design, the higher the class of the character. During plays which call for rapid costume changes, the kouken, or stagehands, take out basting stitches to remove the outer costume as the actor continues his performance.

Traditionally, Kabuki actors pass their skills from generation to generation. Some Kabuki families go back as many as 17 generations. In 1969, the National Theater in Tokyo established the Kabuki Actor Training Center to train actors from outside the Kabuki world. The free program lasts two years and graduates are eligible for roles on today’s Kabuki stage.

Kabuki Theater is still being performed. In 2000, Nakamura Kankuro, a Japanese Kabuki actor, created a new troupe called the Heisei Nakamura-za. They perform traditional plays, preserving the all-male requirement and white stage makeup of the past. They performed at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. and at the Lincoln Center in New York.

Kankuro is a veteran of the Kabuki-Za Theater in Tokyo, which first opened in 1889, and still stages daily Kabuki plays. Modern Kabuki can be seen at the National Theater in Tokyo, the Minami-Za in Kyoto, and at Sundance Cinemas in San Francisco.

For more information on Kabuki Theater and its history:

Artelino: Information about play styles and actors roles.

University of Texas: Extensive background, repertoire, elements, and stage information.

Kabuki 21: Comprehensive information including actors, theaters, programs, characters, as well as a glossary and chronology.

Theatre History: In-depth historical information and description of styles.

Kabuki Story 2001: Multiple pages covering history, in-depth anatomy of a Kabuki play including music, dance, costume, and makeup, as well as a glossary of terms.

History of Kabuki: Detailed historical timeline and stage drawing.