P6+Theater

Japanese Theatre

Ryan H. and Claire G.

//Introduction// Theater and Samurai have a certain tie between them. There are three different types of theatre. There is the Kabuki, the Bunraku, and the Noh theatre. A major part of theatre is the actors and the costumes. Most of the time the actors have lines like theatre in the United States, but sometimes the theatre is performed in different ways. Theater can be exciting to all people, merchants, artisans, farmers, etc. Samurai also might like theater for entertainment, but sometimes they aren’t allowed in certain theaters.

//Kabuki// The Kabuki theatre is a very entertaining type of Japanese theatre. It was created for specific social classes. Merchants, farmers, and artisans were the only ones that were allowed in the Kabuki Theater. The Samurai and people that were in a higher class were forbidden to go there. The reason Samurai and other important people weren’t allowed there is because most people thought merchants were pests. The merchants didn’t sell what they made, they profited from farmer’s and artisan’s creations. The Kabuki theatre is known as the second oldest theatre in Japan. Women used to play all of the roles but now men play all of the roles. The Kabuki theatre was always a very long performance. During this long performance there would be a lot of singing and dancing. The chorus would sing the main part of the story while the actors would act their parts and only say a little bit. The actors would always exaggerate the makeup, costumes, and gestures. This makes sense because the word Kabuki means to get freaked out. The Kabuki theatre involves very good entertainment for lower class people.

//Bunraku// The Bunraku theatre is a very interesting and creative type of Japanese theatre. The Japanese theatre was for adults only. Even though it was a puppet show, children weren’t allowed. This form of theatre is the second type of theatre that adult Samurais could go to. The Bunraku theatre didn’t involve any actors. It involved life-sized puppets. The puppets would be controlled by puppeteers that would be dressed in black. Even though the puppeteers are in clear view of the audience most people would just tune it out after a while. The puppets were controlled by 3 people. One would control the feet, one would control the left arm, and the last person would control the body and right arm. Since the puppets aren’t talking a narrator called a Tayu says the puppets lines and tells the story.

//Noh// The last type of theatre is called the Noh theatre. The Noh theatre is the oldest type of Japanese theatre. The Japanese believe that the Noh theatre was discovered by the gods. The Noh theatre was for the Samurai and upper classes only. The artisans, farmers, and especially merchants weren’t allowed to watch it. The Noh theatre was normally about ghosts and evil spirits. Masks were used very frequently. The actors would constantly be changing masks to show different emotions. The stage is very simple in the Noh theatre, and the stage is made of cedar. The Hombuta is the main part of the stage. The Atoza is the back stage. The Guitaza is the side section of the stage. The last part of the stage is the Hashigakari. The Hashikagari is the hallway in the theatre. The main character is called the shite and the supporting characters are called the waki. The reason the types of characters are named is because there are very few actors in a Noh performance. That is the last form of theatre is Japan.

//Costumes// Another very important thing in theatre is the costumes. There are two different types of costumes the Nuihaku and the karaori. The Nuihaku is a textile worn by women actors that would be made of either thin pieces of gold or silver. The karaori is a textile with multiple colored patterns. The costumes in the Noh theatre would mainly consist of masks with different emotions. Sometimes military and court garments would be given to actors. When the actors are presented with these gifts it gives them an outline of what the next play might be. Some other types of costumes are the Osode and the Kosode. The Osode is an outer robe that means large sleeves. The Kosode is another outer robe and had small sleeves. Props or extra parts of the costumes are added on if the actor wishes to put them on. Costumes are very important in Japanese history.

//Actors// Actors are very important to the Japanese theater. In the Kabuki Theater actors must begin their fundamental preparatory training starting in childhood. It must include their artistic culture of music and dancing. When the actors enter the theater they have special names, called yago. The yago is added to their original name. Even though actors must have training and work in the theater with special names, they have low social status. There are certain people who are not actors that appear on stage. These people, normally hooded in black, appear before the actual performance. They are called kurogo, which means man in black. In the Noh Theater there are also different types of actors. The Shite is normally the hero character of the story. The Waki is a man with no make-up or mask with the cast of characters. Kouken is the exact same, no mask or make-up but within the cast of characters. One actor or role play has two functions, the Ai. The Ai tells the story and says short stories to the audience like a Narrator. The Ai also plays himself in the short story. The Hayahi Kata are musicians on the Atoza stage playing the Large Drum, Small Drum, Flute, and Taiko. There are chorus singers called Jiutai. Actors affect the Japanese theatre so much that is what makes one theatre different from another.

//Conclusion// The many types of theater that involve the Samurai in the Tokugawa Period. This is because of the different social classes with the Samurai. For example, the Noh Theater was only allowed for Samurai and upper classes. This social status isn’t just for Samurai. The Kabuki Theater was performed for lower class people such as artisans, farmers, and merchants. The Bunraku Theater was only allowed for adults unlike the other Theaters. Overall, the Samurai had a main part in the Tokugawa Period, even in theaters.

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Citations Denney, Joyce. "Noh Costume". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. [] (December 2008) February 16, 2010.

Hoobler, Dorothy and Hoobler, Thomas. The Ghost a the Tokaido Inn. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1999. Print. KABUKI: Traditional Theatrical Arts. JPN. The International Society for Educational Information, Inc., Tokyo. []. February 17, 2010. Kalman, Bobbie. Japan the Culture. Toronto: Crabtree Publishing Company, 1989. Print.

Les A. Makela. "Traditional Theater in Japan" Csuohio. February 6, 2001. []. February 16, 2010.