AGENDA - Japan Things To Get: Kabuki Reading Guided Notes Piece of notebook paper for opener Things to Do: Opener: Japanese Theater with questions Notes: Overview of Japan Lecture: Japanese Kabuki Theater Video Questions: Make-up and the Actors Technique Study Guide review – Non-Western World

Opener - Kabuki Questions 1. Kabuki (Japanese Theater) developed in 16th century Japan due to a division in what two social classes? 2. Why were females not allowed to act in Kabuki Theater? 3. Kabuki can be described as a spectacular blend of what three things (which actually make up it’s name)? 4. Acting in Kabuki Theater is seen as what type of profession? 5. What was the year of the first Kabuki tour of the United States? 6. Name the two basic acting styles of Kabuki 7. Define the above styles. 8. What is Kumadori and how does it translate into English? 9. What is an Onnagata? 10. Name the three instruments used in Kabuki to help tell the story.

Opener - Kabuki Answers (restated) 1. Kabuki (Japanese Theater) developed in 16th century Japan due to a division in the warrior and commoner classes. 2. Females were not allowed to act in Kabuki due to prostitution charges. 3. Kabuki is a spectacular blend of singing, dancing, and acting. 4. Acting in Kabuki Theater is seen as a family profession. 5. The year of the first Kabuki tour in the US was 1960. 6. The two basic styles are arragoto and wagato 7. Arragtoto – rough business/masculine; wagato – soft style/feminine 8. Make-up, kuma – lines or wrinkles; dori - draw 9. Onnagata are men portraying female characters. 10. The three instruments used in Kabuki are the drum, flute and shamisen.

Notes - Overview of Japan Organized into periods named for the Emperor Jomon Period (Pre-historic) Azuchi-Momoyama Period Muromachi Period Edo Period Meji restoration Taisho Period Showa Period 5 Characteristics of Japanese Culture -Conformist -Heavily influenced by Chinese thought/culture -Reserved -Minimalist -Process over product

Japanese Theater 歌舞伎

Map of Japan “Cultural Capital” of Modern Japan

Kabuki Theater Kabuki includes both plays and dances, performed to the traditional music of Japan using Shamisen, tsuzumi (drums), yoko-bue (flute), and voices.

Kabuki 歌舞伎 form of traditional Japanese theatre Originally performed by women in the dry riverbeds of the cities so they could escape prostitution charges. known for stylization of drama and the elaborate make-up worn by performers kanji characters mean: sing (歌), dance (舞), and skill (伎) sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing“

1603–1629: Female Kabuki began in 1603 when Okuni, a miko (geisha in training) began performing a new style of dance drama in the dry riverbeds of Kyoto played both men and women in comic plays about ordinary life instantly popular; rival troupes quickly formed appeal was due to suggestive performances and performers were sometimes available for prostitution

Okuni dressed as a samurai

1629-1652: Young Male Kabuki Wakashu - young male actors took over after women were banned from performing could take the role of women due to their less masculine appearance and higher pitched voices focused more on drama rather than dance their performances were as equally suggestive and they too became available for prostitution lead shogunate to ban young male actors in 1652

1652-1868 Fell out of favor with ruling class Associated more with lower class entertainment Became popular again in 1868 with fall of the samurai class and the opening of Japan to the west Actors were all older males by this period

Kabuki Today most popular of the traditional styles of Japanese drama its star actors often appear in television or film roles the well-known onnagata Bandō Tamasaburō V has appeared in several non-kabuki plays and movies—often in a female role major theatres in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka many smaller theatres throughout the countryside Some troupes now use female actors but most traditionalist still prefer the male onnagata

Performance Styles jidai-mono (時代物) historical sewa-mono (世話物) domestic shosagoto (所作事) dance pieces

Play Structure performed in full-day programs "escape" from the day-to-day world Idealized settings and stories devote a full day to entertainment in the theater district most plays were short and would be arranged alongside other plays in order to produce a full-day program only the highlights of each play would be performed

Stage Design and the Kabuki House The kabuki stage features a projection called a hanamichi (花道; flower path), a walkway which has a trap door and extends into the audience. Here dramatic entrances and exits are made important scenes are performed here to allow the audience to be part of the action Technological innovations of the 18th century included revolving stages and trap doors

Diagram of a Kabuki Stage – SKETCH!   Diagram of a Kabuki Stage – SKETCH!

Traditional Stage

Minamiza Theatre Kyoto Kabukiza in Ginza District Tokyo

Kumadori (Make-up)  

Face Paint Color Symbolism Dark Red- anger Red- activeness Pink- cheerfulness Light Blue- calmness Light Green- tranquility Purple- nobility Brown- selfishness Grey (on the chin) cheerlessness Black- fear, terror, fright

Video Questions 1, 2, 3 use KET Video Make up, Costumes, Actors Technique

Video 4: Kabuki Make up (Turn down volume before video starts!) Kabuki Style Make up Video Example

Create Your Own Kumadori Style Make up http://www. glopac

Exit Slip – Kabuki Theatre of Japan 1. Identify and explain on example of the actors technique. 2. Who applies the make-up on a Kabuki actor? 3. What is the relationship of the character to the make-up in Kabuki; what does the make-do? 4. Where did Kabuki first get its start? 5. What was the social perception of this art form at the beginning? 6. Define Onnagata. Does this role still exist today? 7. Who was Okuni? 8. What is the main feature in the Kabuki stage that is crucial to the performance and is NOT found in Western style theatre?

Face Painting Comparison Geisha Kabuki

Other forms of Japanese Art Pottery Shoji - Painted Screens Woodblock Prints

Storage jar Middle Jomon period (ca. 2500–1500 B. C Storage jar Middle Jomon period (ca. 2500–1500 B.C.) Japan Earthenware, unglazed H. 27 1/2 in. (69.9 cm) The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.182) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm

Deep bowl with sculptural rim, late Middle Jomon period (ca Deep bowl with sculptural rim, late Middle Jomon period (ca. 2500–1500 b.c.), ca. 1500 b.c. Japan Earthenware H. 13 in. (33 cm) Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 1992 (1992.252.1) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jomo/hd_jomo.htm

The Four Accomplishments, Muromachi period (1392–1573), mid-16th century Kano Motonobu (Japanese, 1476–1559) Pair of six-panel screens; ink and color on paper 67 x 150 in. (170.2 x 381 cm); folded: 67 x 25 3/4 x 5 in. (170.2 x 65.4 x 12.7 cm) Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry Collection, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry, 1991 (1991.480.1,.2) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kano/hd_kano.htm

The Old Plum, Edo period (1615–1868), ca The Old Plum, Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1645 Attributed to Kano Sansetsu (Japanese, ca. 1589–1651) Four sliding door panels (fusuma); ink, color, gold leaf on paper H. 68 3/4 in. (174.6 cm) The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.48a-d) http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kano/hd_kano.htm

Utamaro Woman Wiping Sweat

Hiroshige 53 Stations of the Tokaido

Hokusai - 36 Views of Mt. Fuji

colin.broderick@fayette.kyschools.us