Traditional Japanese Drama

Traditional Japanese Drama

Kabuki

Kabuki emerged as a popular form of entertainment by women dancing lewdly in the early 17th century; before long, the authorities banned it as a threat to public order. Eventually it cleaned up its act, and by the latter half of the 18th century it had become popular with common folks -- especially the townspeople of bustling Edo, which would grow into Tokyo. Kabuki had music, dance, and spectacle; it had acrobatics and sword fights; it had pathos and tragedy, historical romance and social satire. It no longer had bawdy beauties, however -- women have been banned from the Kabuki stage since 1629 -- but in recompense it developed a professional role for female impersonators, who train for years to project a seductive, dazzling femininity. It had -- and still has -- superstars and quick-change artists and legions of fans, who bring their lunch to the theater, stay all day, and shout out the names of their favorite actors at the stirring moments in their favorite plays.

The Kabuki repertoire does not really grow or change, but stars like Ennosuke Ichikawa and Tamasaburo Bando have put exciting, personal stamps on their performances that continue to draw audiences young and old. If you don't know Japanese, you can still enjoy a performance: Tokyo's Kabuki-za (Kabuki Theater) has simultaneous English translation of its plays available on headphones.

No

No is a dramatic tradition far older than Kabuki: it reached a point of formal perfection in the 14th century and survives virtually unchanged from that period. No developed for the most part under the patronage of the warrior class; it's dignified, ritualized, and symbolic. Many of the plays in the repertoire are drawn from classical literature or tales of the supernatural, and the texts are richly poetic. Some understanding of the plot of each play is necessary to enjoy a performance, which moves at a nearly glacial pace -- the pace of ritual time -- as it's solemnly chanted. The major No theaters often provide synopses of the plays in English.

The principal character in a No play wears a carved wooden mask. Such is the skill of the actor -- and the mysterious effect of the play -- that the mask itself may appear expressionless until the actor "brings it to life," at which point the mask seems to convey a considerable range of emotions. As in Kabuki, the various roles of the No repertoire all have specific costumes -- robes of silk brocade with intricate patterns that are works of art in themselves.

No is not very accessible: its language is archaic, its conventions are obscure, and its pace can put even Japanese audiences to sleep. That said, the best way to see No is in the open air, at torchlight performances called Takigi No, held in the courtyards of temples. The setting and the aesthetics of the drama combine to produce an eerie theatrical experience. In Tokyo, as a contrast to the rest of the city, No will provide an experience of Japan as an ancient, sophisticated culture.

Kyogen are shorter, lighter plays that are often interspersed in between No performances and are much more accessible than No. If No doesn't appeal to you, consider taking advantage of opportunities to see kyogen instead.

Bunraku

The third major form of traditional Japanese drama is Bunraku puppet theater. Though its origins date to the 10th century, the golden age of Bunraku didn't occur until the 18th century, when most of the form's great plays were written and the puppets themselves evolved to their present form. These puppets are so large, they cover the puppeteers underneath them, and are so expressive and intricate in their movements, that they require three people at one time to manipulate them. Puppeteers and narrators, who deliver their lines in a kind of high-pitched croak from deep in the throat, train for many years to master this difficult and unusual genre of popular entertainment. Elaborately dressed in period costume, each puppet is made up of interchangeable parts: a head, shoulder piece, trunk, legs, and arms. Various puppet heads are used for roles of different sex, age, and character, and a certain hairstyle will indicate a puppet's position in life.

To operate one puppet, three puppeteers must act in unison. The omozukai controls the expression on the puppet's face and its right arm and hand. The hidarizukai controls the puppet's left arm and hand along with any props that it's carrying. The ashizukai moves the puppet's legs. This last task is the easiest. The most difficult task belongs to the omozukai. It takes about 30 years to become an expert. A puppeteer must spend 10 years as ashizukai, an additional 10 as hidarizukai, and then 10 more years as omozukai. These master puppeteers not only skillfully manipulate the puppets' arms and legs but also roll the eyes and move the lips so that the puppets express fear, joy, and sadness.

-Jared Lubarsky and David Miles