Kamigata
Encyclopedia
Kamigata is a region of Japan referring to the cities of Kyoto
and Osaka
; the term is used particularly when discussing elements of Edo period
urban culture such as ukiyo-e
and kabuki
, and when making a comparison to the urban culture of the Edo
/Tokyo
region.
Kabuki, ukiyo-e, and many of the other related fields of popular and urban culture of the Edo period in fact originated in Kamigata before being transmitted to Edo. The vast majority of scholarship on the urban culture of the Edo period (1603–1867), even today, focuses on culture in Edo; Kamigata culture, though it is beginning to be studied more and more, and represented in museum exhibits more often as well, remains very much overshadowed.
theatre and traditional Shinto
dances, and was originally much more a dance form than drama. After periods of women's kabuki (onna kabuki) and young men's kabuki (wakamono kabuki), in which the dancers/actors were also prostitutes, and thus various proscriptions were put into place, including the banning of women from the stage, men's kabuki (yarō kabuki), the beginnings of what is considered today the mainstream form of kabuki, emerged.
Sakata Tōjūrō
(1647–1709) was one of the first actors in this new form, and an extremely influential one in shaping Kamigata kabuki. He pioneered the wagoto
style, a soft, emotional, and naturalistic style of theatre, which would stand in sharp contrast to the bombastic, bold aragoto style created by his contemporary in Edo, Ichikawa Danjūrō I
. The aesthetics
and philosophy of wagoto would continue to shape and define Kamigata kabuki from then on, and actors from the two regions would more often than not experience great difficulties in adapting to the styles of the opposite region, and appealing to their audiences. Kamigata style uses fewer stage tricks (keren
) than Edo kabuki, and more subdued makeup, costuming, props and sets. In addition to its more naturalistic and realistic style, Kamigata kabuki was originally far more strongly influenced by jōruri
, the puppet theatre of Osaka, and thus to some extent, laid greater importance upon plot than did Edo kabuki, which focused far more heavily on dance. It is not uncommon even today, particularly in Tokyo (Edo), for Kabuki performances to include completely disparate stories and characters inserted, at detriment to the plot's continuity, for the purpose of showing off an actor's dancing, mie
posing, chanting, costumes or stage tricks.
Later in the Edo period, actors began to travel more often between the two regions, influencing one another's styles, and introducing elements of each region's style and repertoire to the other. However, the two regions never ceased to be distinctly different, and to maintain their respective stylistic and aesthetic foundations.
Today, kabuki is on the wane across the country, but remains more popular and thus more stable in Tokyo. Only one theatre remains in Kyoto, the Minami-za
, while a handful remain in Osaka; the Naka no Shibai
closed in 1999. Among the top actors onstage in Kamigata today are Nakamura Ganjirō III
and his sons Nakamura Senjaku III and Nakamura Kanjaku V, Kataoka Hidetarō II, Bandō Takesaburō V and Kamimura Kichiya VI. A number of other Kamigata actors now perform in Tokyo.
illustrated books and paintings. Single-sheet prints depicting kabuki actors, landscapes, or beautiful women (bijinga
), popular in Edo beginning around 1700 did not become common in Kamigata until roughly one hundred years later.
When kabuki prints became popular in Kamigata at the end of the 18th century, they represented a significant departure from actor prints
of Edo. Though the very idea of selling single-sheet prints of actors was inspired by the medium's success in Edo, the tastes of the artists, their customers, and the kabuki being represented were decidedly different. One key stylistic element of Kamigata prints is their realism, relative to those of Edo. Kamigata prints, particularly those of onnagata (male actors in female roles), sought to represent the actor's true appearance. Unlike Edo actors who seemed to never age in prints, and to be just as graceful and slight as if they were actual young women, Kamigata actors showed their age, their chubby figures, and their mannish features in prints.
Another interesting feature of the ukiyo-e scene in Kamigata was the relative lack of formal publishing houses dominating the art world. In Edo, prints were produced only of the top actors, and largely if not exclusively by dedicated publishers commissioned by individual theatres. Kamigata's art world was driven much more so by the literati, and by what were in essence actor fan clubs. Fans produced their own prints, and often their own performances as well.
The most celebrated Osaka printmaker of the time was Ryūkōsai Jokei
(fl. c. 1772-1816), who produced almost exclusively actor prints in the hosoban format. Influencing, and influenced by, the great Edo printmaker Sharaku
, Ryūkōsai is one of the very few Kamigata artists to be mentioned in most Edo-focused scholarship on ukiyo-e. His students included Shōkōsai Hanbei and Urakusai Nagahide
, who were in turn followed by a number of other print masters. Gion Seitoku and Mihata Jōryū were two of the most prominent Kamigata ukiyo-e painters, influenced largely by the Shijō school
of painting, based in Kyoto.
Kamigata ukiyo-e is especially known for its surimono
, privately commissioned prints of a far higher quality than regular prints. Though surimono were produced in Edo as well, it was not at all uncommon for Edo artists to sub-contract their surimono commissions to Kamigata artists. These prints, often handpainted, with inscribed calligraphy, and/or gold, silver, or mica
used to enhance the image, were commissioned largely by literati and the like, and were closely related to the Kamigata development of poetry circles. Literati, artists, writers, and kabuki actors would gather to drink, relax, and share poetry; haiku
competitions and renga
chain collaborations were common forms of entertainment at these meetings, and the poems would often come to be included in surimono depicting the actor who composed them (or a poem could be composed for an actor). Sometimes the calligraphy on the print would even be done by the actor himself. These styles and motifs, combining actors with poetry and calligraphy, were used not only for the privately commissioned surimono, but also for woodblock printed books. In addition to being purchased by literati or kabuki fans for their own entertainment, these prints or books were often commissioned by these poetry circles, or by their members, as gifts to their members or their esteemed guests, such as artists or actors from Edo.
in Osaka and Shimabara
in Kyoto arose shortly after Edo's Yoshiwara
, all three established by the Tokugawa shogunate
, alongside the theatre districts, to centralize and control these entertainment districts. The pleasure quarters quickly came to be centers of popular culture in general, and the refined world of the courtesans began to attract literati types, along with artists and writers.
As was the case with ukiyo-e, the theatre, and other aspects of popular culture, the pleasure districts of Kamigata were markedly different from those in Edo, in culture and style, if not in organization and administration.
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
; the term is used particularly when discussing elements of Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
urban culture such as ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
and kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
, and when making a comparison to the urban culture of the Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
/Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
region.
Kabuki, ukiyo-e, and many of the other related fields of popular and urban culture of the Edo period in fact originated in Kamigata before being transmitted to Edo. The vast majority of scholarship on the urban culture of the Edo period (1603–1867), even today, focuses on culture in Edo; Kamigata culture, though it is beginning to be studied more and more, and represented in museum exhibits more often as well, remains very much overshadowed.
Theatre
Kabuki, like many other traditional arts, originated in the Kamigata area. It grew out of NohNoh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
theatre and traditional Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
dances, and was originally much more a dance form than drama. After periods of women's kabuki (onna kabuki) and young men's kabuki (wakamono kabuki), in which the dancers/actors were also prostitutes, and thus various proscriptions were put into place, including the banning of women from the stage, men's kabuki (yarō kabuki), the beginnings of what is considered today the mainstream form of kabuki, emerged.
Sakata Tōjūrō
Sakata Tojuro
' refers to a family of kabuki actors in Kyoto and Osaka and it is the stage name of a series of Kabuki actors over the course of the history of the form....
(1647–1709) was one of the first actors in this new form, and an extremely influential one in shaping Kamigata kabuki. He pioneered the wagoto
Wagoto
, or soft style, is a style of kabuki acting that emphasizes realistic speech and gestures. Wagoto actors typically do not employ the exaggerated makeup and costuming common to the more exaggerated aragoto style....
style, a soft, emotional, and naturalistic style of theatre, which would stand in sharp contrast to the bombastic, bold aragoto style created by his contemporary in Edo, Ichikawa Danjūrō I
Ichikawa Danjūrō I
Ichikawa Danjūrō I was an early kabuki actor in Japan. He remains today one of the most famous of all kabuki actors and is considered one of the most influential...
. The aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
and philosophy of wagoto would continue to shape and define Kamigata kabuki from then on, and actors from the two regions would more often than not experience great difficulties in adapting to the styles of the opposite region, and appealing to their audiences. Kamigata style uses fewer stage tricks (keren
Keren (kabuki)
are stagecraft tricks used in Japanese kabuki theater, making use of trapdoors, revolving stages, and other equipment.Often translated as "playing to the gallery," many drama enthusiasts consider these sorts of adaptations to be demeaning to the art of kabuki...
) than Edo kabuki, and more subdued makeup, costuming, props and sets. In addition to its more naturalistic and realistic style, Kamigata kabuki was originally far more strongly influenced by jōruri
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...
, the puppet theatre of Osaka, and thus to some extent, laid greater importance upon plot than did Edo kabuki, which focused far more heavily on dance. It is not uncommon even today, particularly in Tokyo (Edo), for Kabuki performances to include completely disparate stories and characters inserted, at detriment to the plot's continuity, for the purpose of showing off an actor's dancing, mie
Mie
Mie may refer to:* KMIE, the ICAO code for the Delaware County Airport near Muncie, Indiana* Mie Prefecture, Japan* Mie District, Mie, a district of Japan* Mie, Ōita, a town of Japan* Mie University, a university in Tsu, Mie, Japan...
posing, chanting, costumes or stage tricks.
Later in the Edo period, actors began to travel more often between the two regions, influencing one another's styles, and introducing elements of each region's style and repertoire to the other. However, the two regions never ceased to be distinctly different, and to maintain their respective stylistic and aesthetic foundations.
Today, kabuki is on the wane across the country, but remains more popular and thus more stable in Tokyo. Only one theatre remains in Kyoto, the Minami-za
Minami-za
is the primary kabuki theatre in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded in 1610 as Shijō Minami-za. The current building with 1,086 seats was built in 1929.- External links :*...
, while a handful remain in Osaka; the Naka no Shibai
Naka no Shibai
Naka no Shibai , also known as Naka-za , was one of the major kabuki theatres in Osaka, Japan.-History:It was first built in 1652, in Osaka's Dotonbori entertainment district, and saw the premieres of many famous plays; closely related to the nearby jōruri theatres, Naka would often be the first to...
closed in 1999. Among the top actors onstage in Kamigata today are Nakamura Ganjirō III
Sakata Tojuro IV
' is a Japanese kabuki actor in the Kamigata style. and is officially designated a Living National Treasure. Unlike most kabuki actors, he performs both male and female roles, and is renowned as both a skilled wagotoshi and onnagata...
and his sons Nakamura Senjaku III and Nakamura Kanjaku V, Kataoka Hidetarō II, Bandō Takesaburō V and Kamimura Kichiya VI. A number of other Kamigata actors now perform in Tokyo.
Ukiyo-e
The ukiyo-e art of the Kamigata area, for a long time consisted primarily of woodblock printedWoodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
illustrated books and paintings. Single-sheet prints depicting kabuki actors, landscapes, or beautiful women (bijinga
Bijinga
Bijinga , is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre, which predate photography...
), popular in Edo beginning around 1700 did not become common in Kamigata until roughly one hundred years later.
When kabuki prints became popular in Kamigata at the end of the 18th century, they represented a significant departure from actor prints
Yakusha-e
Yakusha-e , often referred to as "actor prints" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the ukiyo-e style popular through the Edo period and into the beginnings of the 20th century...
of Edo. Though the very idea of selling single-sheet prints of actors was inspired by the medium's success in Edo, the tastes of the artists, their customers, and the kabuki being represented were decidedly different. One key stylistic element of Kamigata prints is their realism, relative to those of Edo. Kamigata prints, particularly those of onnagata (male actors in female roles), sought to represent the actor's true appearance. Unlike Edo actors who seemed to never age in prints, and to be just as graceful and slight as if they were actual young women, Kamigata actors showed their age, their chubby figures, and their mannish features in prints.
Another interesting feature of the ukiyo-e scene in Kamigata was the relative lack of formal publishing houses dominating the art world. In Edo, prints were produced only of the top actors, and largely if not exclusively by dedicated publishers commissioned by individual theatres. Kamigata's art world was driven much more so by the literati, and by what were in essence actor fan clubs. Fans produced their own prints, and often their own performances as well.
The most celebrated Osaka printmaker of the time was Ryūkōsai Jokei
Ryukosai Jokei
Ryūkōsai Jokei was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints, painter, and illustrator in Osaka, who was active from about 1777 to 1809. He was a student of Shitomi Kangetsu , who in turn was the son and pupil of Tsukioka Settei . Ryūkōsai is considered to be either the founder or...
(fl. c. 1772-1816), who produced almost exclusively actor prints in the hosoban format. Influencing, and influenced by, the great Edo printmaker Sharaku
Sharaku
is widely considered to be one of the great masters of the woodblock printing in Japan. Little is known of him, besides his ukiyo-e prints; neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known with any certainty...
, Ryūkōsai is one of the very few Kamigata artists to be mentioned in most Edo-focused scholarship on ukiyo-e. His students included Shōkōsai Hanbei and Urakusai Nagahide
Urakusai Nagahide
Urakusai Nagahide , was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints who was active from about 1804 to about 1848. He is also known as Yūrakusai Nagahide , Nakamura Nagahide , Chōshū , and as Chōshūsai . “Nagahide” and “Chōshū” are written with the same kanji...
, who were in turn followed by a number of other print masters. Gion Seitoku and Mihata Jōryū were two of the most prominent Kamigata ukiyo-e painters, influenced largely by the Shijō school
Shijo school
The Shijō school , also known as the Maruyama-Shijō school, was an offshoot school of the Maruyama school of Japanese painting founded by Maruyama Ōkyo, and his former student Matsumura Goshun in the late 18th century. This school was one of several that made up the larger Kyoto school...
of painting, based in Kyoto.
Kamigata ukiyo-e is especially known for its surimono
Surimono
are a genre of Japanese woodblock print. They were privately commissioned for special occasions such as the New Year. Surimono literally means "printed thing". Being produced in small numbers for a mostly educated audience of literati, surimono were often more experimental in subject matter and...
, privately commissioned prints of a far higher quality than regular prints. Though surimono were produced in Edo as well, it was not at all uncommon for Edo artists to sub-contract their surimono commissions to Kamigata artists. These prints, often handpainted, with inscribed calligraphy, and/or gold, silver, or mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
used to enhance the image, were commissioned largely by literati and the like, and were closely related to the Kamigata development of poetry circles. Literati, artists, writers, and kabuki actors would gather to drink, relax, and share poetry; haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
competitions and renga
Renga
' is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry....
chain collaborations were common forms of entertainment at these meetings, and the poems would often come to be included in surimono depicting the actor who composed them (or a poem could be composed for an actor). Sometimes the calligraphy on the print would even be done by the actor himself. These styles and motifs, combining actors with poetry and calligraphy, were used not only for the privately commissioned surimono, but also for woodblock printed books. In addition to being purchased by literati or kabuki fans for their own entertainment, these prints or books were often commissioned by these poetry circles, or by their members, as gifts to their members or their esteemed guests, such as artists or actors from Edo.
Pleasure districts
The ShinmachiShinmachi
Shinmachi was a courtesan's district in Osaka, built between 1615 and 1623, and operating until its destruction in World War II. It was situated roughly two kilometers southwest of Nakanoshima...
in Osaka and Shimabara
Shimabara, Kyoto
Shimabara was a courtesans' district in Kyoto. It was established in 1640 for a brothel owned by Hara Saburoemon, and was closed in 1958, when prostitution was outlawed in Japan. The name Shimabara most likely refers to the large gate that resembled the gate of Shimabara castle in Bizen...
in Kyoto arose shortly after Edo's Yoshiwara
Yoshiwara
Yoshiwara was a famous Akasen district in Edo, present-day Tōkyō, Japan.In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka. To counter this, an order of Tokugawa Hidetada of the Tokugawa shogunate restricted prostitution to...
, all three established by the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
, alongside the theatre districts, to centralize and control these entertainment districts. The pleasure quarters quickly came to be centers of popular culture in general, and the refined world of the courtesans began to attract literati types, along with artists and writers.
As was the case with ukiyo-e, the theatre, and other aspects of popular culture, the pleasure districts of Kamigata were markedly different from those in Edo, in culture and style, if not in organization and administration.