1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. Japanese
Theater
歌舞伎

6. Map of Japan
“Cultural Capital” of Modern Japan

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

8. 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“

9. 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

10. Okuni dressed as a samurai

11. : 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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

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

18. Traditional Stage

19. Minamiza Theatre Kyoto
Kabukiza in Ginza District Tokyo

20. Kumadori (Make-up)

21. 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

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

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

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

25. 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?

26. Face Painting Comparison
Geisha Kabuki

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

28. 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 ( )

29. 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 b.c. Japan Earthenware H. 13 in. (33 cm) Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 1992 ( )

30. 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 ( ,.2)

31. The Old Plum, Edo period (1615–1868), ca
The Old Plum, Edo period (1615–1868), ca 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 ( a-d)

32. Utamaro Woman Wiping Sweat

33. Hiroshige 53 Stations of the Tokaido

34. Hokusai - 36 Views of Mt. Fuji