Theatre of Japan
Encyclopedia
Traditional Japan
ese theatre
includes kabuki
, noh
(and kyōgen
) and bunraku
.
, Kyogen
, Kabuki
, and Bunraku
, or puppet theater.
s, unless their role calls for physical transformation.
Both men and women were allowed to perform Kyogen until 1450.
Like Noh, however, over time Kabuki became not just performing in a new way, but a stylized art to be performed only a certain way.
As a matter of interest, the popular Gekidan Shinkansen, a theatrical troupe based in Tokyo
today, insists it follows pure kabuki tradition by performing historical roles in a modern, noisy, and outlandish way — to shock the audience as kabuki intended, if you will. Whether or not they are kabuki, however, remains a matter of debate and personal opinion.
Kabuki is a type of theatre that combines music, drama, and dance.
records record the use of puppets actually in Noh plays. Puppets are 3- to 4-foot-tall (3 foot) dolls that are manipulated by puppeteers in full view of the audience. The puppeteers controlling the legs and hands are dressed entirely in black, while the head puppeteer is wearing colorful clothing. Music and chanting is a popular convention of bunraku, and the shamisen
player is usually considered to be the leader of the production.
(experimental Western-style theater), which employed naturalistic acting and contemporary themes in contrast to the stylized conventions of Kabuki and Noh. Hōgetsu Shimamura and Kaoru Osanai
were two figures influential in the development of shingeki.
In the postwar period, there was a phenomenal growth in creative new dramatic works, which introduced fresh aesthetic concepts that revolutionized the orthodox modern theater. Challenging the realistic, psychological drama focused on "tragic historical progress" of the Western-derived shingeki, young playwrights broke with such accepted tenets as conventional stage space, placing their action in tents, streets, and open areas and, at the extreme, in scenes played out all over Tokyo.
Plots became increasingly complex, with play-within-a-play sequences, moving rapidly back and forth in time, and intermingling reality with fantasy. Dramatic structure was fragmented, with the focus on the performer, who often used a variety of masks to reflect different personae.
Playwrights returned to common stage devices perfected in Noh and Kabuki to project their ideas, such as employing a narrator
, who could also use English
for international audiences. Major playwrights in the 1980s were Kara Juro, Shimizu Kunio, and Betsuyaku Minoru, all closely connected to specific companies. In contrast, the fiercely independent Murai Shimako
won awards throughout the world for her numerous works focusing on the Hiroshima bombing, which were frequently performed by only one or two actresses. In the 1980s, stagecraft
was refined into a more sophisticated, complex format than in the earlier postwar experiments but lacked their bold critical spirit.
Tadashi Suzuki
developed a unique method of performer training which integrated avant-garde
concepts with classical Noh and Kabuki devices, an approach that became a major creative force in Japanese and international theater in the 1980s. Another highly original East-West fusion occurred in the inspired production Nastasya, taken from Dostoevsky's
The Idiot
, in which Bando Tamasaburo
, a famed Kabuki onnagata (female impersonator), played the roles of both the prince and his fiancée.
Some of the more philosophical playwrights and directors of that time which are still active today are Noda Hideki
, Shōji Kōkami
and Keralino Sandorovich (a pen name for a Japanese playwright).
Popular sho-gekijo theatrical troupes include Nylon 100, Gekidan Shinkansen, Tokyo Sunshine Boys
, and Halaholo Shangrila.
and from those of Fyodor Dostoevsky to Samuel Beckett
, are performed in Tokyo. An incredible number of performances, perhaps as many as 3,000, are given each year, making Tokyo one of the world's leading theatrical centers.
The opening of the replica of the Globe Theatre
was celebrated by importing an entire British company to perform all of Shakespeare's historical plays, while other Tokyo theaters produced other Shakespearean plays including various new interpretations of Hamlet
and King Lear
. The Globe Theatre, located in Shin-Ōkubo
in Tokyo, now belongs mostly to Johnny's Entertainment and the promotion of pop idols
in the acting field.
Yukio Ninagawa
is an internationally known Japanese director and playwright who often turns to elements of Shakespeare for inspiration. In 1995 he performed the "Shakespeare Tenpo 12Nen", an interpretation of the wildly popular British theatre Shakespeare Condensed: all of Shakespeare's plays in two hours. Famous actors such as Natsuki Mari and Karawa Toshiaki were involved.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
includes 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...
, noh
Noh
, 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...
(and kyōgen
Kyogen
is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts, on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen...
) and bunraku
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...
.
Traditional form of theater
There are four major forms of traditional Japanese theater that are famous around the world. These are 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...
, Kyogen
Kyogen
is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts, on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen...
, 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 Bunraku
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...
, or puppet theater.
Noh and Kyogen
The earliest existing Kyogen scripts date from the 14th century. Kyogen was used as an intermission between Noh acts — it linked the theme of the Noh play with the modern world by means of farce and slapstick. The Noh was only performed to the high level class. Unlike Noh, the performers of Kyogen do not wear maskMask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
s, unless their role calls for physical transformation.
Both men and women were allowed to perform Kyogen until 1450.
Kabuki
The most well-known form of Japanese theatre is Kabuki. It was performed by Okunis. Perhaps its fame comes from the wild costumes and swordfights, which used real swords until the 1680s. Kabuki grew out of opposition to Noh — they wanted to shock the audience with more lively and timely stories. The first performance was in 1603.Like Noh, however, over time Kabuki became not just performing in a new way, but a stylized art to be performed only a certain way.
As a matter of interest, the popular Gekidan Shinkansen, a theatrical troupe based in 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...
today, insists it follows pure kabuki tradition by performing historical roles in a modern, noisy, and outlandish way — to shock the audience as kabuki intended, if you will. Whether or not they are kabuki, however, remains a matter of debate and personal opinion.
Kabuki is a type of theatre that combines music, drama, and dance.
Bunraku
Puppets and Bunraku were used in Japanese theatre as early as the noh plays. MedievalHistory of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
records record the use of puppets actually in Noh plays. Puppets are 3- to 4-foot-tall (3 foot) dolls that are manipulated by puppeteers in full view of the audience. The puppeteers controlling the legs and hands are dressed entirely in black, while the head puppeteer is wearing colorful clothing. Music and chanting is a popular convention of bunraku, and the shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
player is usually considered to be the leader of the production.
Modern theatre
Japanese modern drama in the early 20th century, the 1910s, consisted of ShingekiShingeki
Shingeki was the Japanese retelling of Western realist theatre during the late 19th century through to the early 20th century. Retellings included the works of Western writers such as Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and Eugene O'Neill, and reflected the styles of Russian proscenium theatre...
(experimental Western-style theater), which employed naturalistic acting and contemporary themes in contrast to the stylized conventions of Kabuki and Noh. Hōgetsu Shimamura and Kaoru Osanai
Kaoru Osanai
was a Japanese theater director, playwright, and actor central in the development of modern Japanese theater.-Biography:Graduating from Tokyo University, Osanai founded the Free Theater with Ichikawa Sadanji II in 1909 and staged translations of Ibsen, Chekov, and Gorky, but there he experienced...
were two figures influential in the development of shingeki.
In the postwar period, there was a phenomenal growth in creative new dramatic works, which introduced fresh aesthetic concepts that revolutionized the orthodox modern theater. Challenging the realistic, psychological drama focused on "tragic historical progress" of the Western-derived shingeki, young playwrights broke with such accepted tenets as conventional stage space, placing their action in tents, streets, and open areas and, at the extreme, in scenes played out all over Tokyo.
Plots became increasingly complex, with play-within-a-play sequences, moving rapidly back and forth in time, and intermingling reality with fantasy. Dramatic structure was fragmented, with the focus on the performer, who often used a variety of masks to reflect different personae.
Playwrights returned to common stage devices perfected in Noh and Kabuki to project their ideas, such as employing a narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, who could also use English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
for international audiences. Major playwrights in the 1980s were Kara Juro, Shimizu Kunio, and Betsuyaku Minoru, all closely connected to specific companies. In contrast, the fiercely independent Murai Shimako
Murai Shimako
is a Japanese playwright. She was born in Hiroshima, but was not in the city on the day of the atomic bombings. She lost many friends in the bombing, and her profound sense of guilt led her to devote most of her life to producing plays connected with the Hiroshima bombings.She felt a strong...
won awards throughout the world for her numerous works focusing on the Hiroshima bombing, which were frequently performed by only one or two actresses. In the 1980s, stagecraft
Stagecraft
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
was refined into a more sophisticated, complex format than in the earlier postwar experiments but lacked their bold critical spirit.
Tadashi Suzuki
Tadashi Suzuki
Tadashi Suzuki is a theatre director, writer and philosopher working out of Toga, Toyama, Japan. Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga , organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival , co-founder of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute in Saratoga...
developed a unique method of performer training which integrated avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
concepts with classical Noh and Kabuki devices, an approach that became a major creative force in Japanese and international theater in the 1980s. Another highly original East-West fusion occurred in the inspired production Nastasya, taken from Dostoevsky's
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
The Idiot
The Idiot (novel)
The Idiot is a novel written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of...
, in which Bando Tamasaburo
Bando Tamasaburo
is a stage name taken on by a series of Kabuki actors of the Bandō family. Of the five who have held this name, most were adopted into the lineage. Many members of the Bandō family were also adopted or blood members of the Morita family, who established and ran the Morita-za theatre in...
, a famed Kabuki onnagata (female impersonator), played the roles of both the prince and his fiancée.
Sho-Gekijo
The 1980s also encouraged the creation of the Sho-Gekijo, or literally, little theatre. This usually meant amateur theatrical troupes making plays designed to be seen by anyone and everyone — not necessarily as meaningful in nature as they were simply entertaining.Some of the more philosophical playwrights and directors of that time which are still active today are Noda Hideki
Hideki Noda
is a racing driver from Japan. He participated in 3 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in the 1994 European Grand Prix, but did not score any championship points. He replaced Yannick Dalmas in the Larrousse car for the last 3 Grands Prix of the season, but failed to finish in any of the three races....
, Shōji Kōkami
Shoji Kokami
is a Japanese playwright, director, actor, and filmmaker.-Career:Born in Niihama, Ehime, Kōkami was attending Waseda University when he founded the theatrical company Daisanbutai . Becoming "one of the prime movers in the 1980s small-scale youth theater movement in Japan", he won the Kunio Kishida...
and Keralino Sandorovich (a pen name for a Japanese playwright).
Popular sho-gekijo theatrical troupes include Nylon 100, Gekidan Shinkansen, Tokyo Sunshine Boys
Tokyo Sunshine Boys
The is a Japanese theatrical troupe that was active from 1983 until about 1994. Since it disbanded almost all of its members have continued acting on theatre and in film.-History:...
, and Halaholo Shangrila.
Western plays in Japan
Many Western plays, from those of the Ancient Greek theatre to William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and from those of Fyodor Dostoevsky to Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, are performed in Tokyo. An incredible number of performances, perhaps as many as 3,000, are given each year, making Tokyo one of the world's leading theatrical centers.
The opening of the replica of the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
was celebrated by importing an entire British company to perform all of Shakespeare's historical plays, while other Tokyo theaters produced other Shakespearean plays including various new interpretations of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
and King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
. The Globe Theatre, located in Shin-Ōkubo
Shin-Okubo Station
is a railway station located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Opened on November 15, 1914, it is close to the large local Korea Town. Shin-Ōkubo station has only one exit....
in Tokyo, now belongs mostly to Johnny's Entertainment and the promotion of pop idols
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
in the acting field.
Yukio Ninagawa
Yukio Ninagawa
is a Japanese theatre director, particularly known for his Japanese language productions of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies. He has directed Hamlet differently six times....
is an internationally known Japanese director and playwright who often turns to elements of Shakespeare for inspiration. In 1995 he performed the "Shakespeare Tenpo 12Nen", an interpretation of the wildly popular British theatre Shakespeare Condensed: all of Shakespeare's plays in two hours. Famous actors such as Natsuki Mari and Karawa Toshiaki were involved.
External links
- Japan Cultural Profile - national cultural portal for Japan created by Visiting Arts/Japan Foundation