Kabuki Opera

Group 2

Kabuki
Kabuki ( ) is a traditional
Japanese form of theater with roots
tracing back to the Edo Period. It is
recognized as one of Japan's three
major classical theaters along with
noh and bunraku, and has been
named as a UNESCO Intangible
Cultural Heritage.

Kabuki
Kabuki is an art form rich in
showmanship.
It involves elaborately designed
costumes, eye-catching make-up,
outlandish wigs, and arguably most
importantly, the exaggerated actions
performed by the actors. The highlystylized movements serve to convey
meaning to the audience.

Kabuki
Dynamic stage sets such as revolving
platforms and trapdoors allow for the
appearance/disappearance of actors.
Another specialty of
the kabuki stage is a
footbridge
(hanamichi) that
leads through
the audience,
allowing for a
dramatic entrance \
or exit.

Kabuki
Ambiance is aided with live music
performed using traditional
instruments. These elements
combine to produce a visually
stunning and captivating
performance.

Vocal and Instrumental Features

The music in kabuki is performed live, by
shamisen players and an ensemble known
as the hayashi. There are typically an
equal number of shamisen players and
singers. The onstage portion of the
hayashi, known as the debayashi, has the
same composition as the Noh hayashi; it
consists of four or more performers of
flute, kotzumi, otzumi, and shimedaiko.
The flutist, however, plays not only the
nokan (Noh flute), but also the shinobue
and possibly other wind instruments as

Kabuki
The shamisen players, along with the
debayashi performers, are typically
located in a compartment at stage
right, behind a screen, called a geza
or kuromisu, while the remainder of
the hayashi, including those
performing sound effects such as
bird and insect sounds, perform offstage.

Roles and Characters

Onnagata is the term used to describe a male actor
who plays a female role: in traditional kabuki, all of the
roles are played by men. Onnagata, of course, often
couldn't rely on their physical beauty, although many of
them had androgynous features. But by emphasizing
and stylizing feminine movements and gestures, they
are able to create a larger-than-life femininity.
They take tiny steps with
their knees pressed together
and their toes pointed
inward. Often the onnagata
were so good at their roles
that male audience members
fell in love with them, and
this could lead to some major
quarrels.

 Wagoto is a term used to describe male

characters played with a feminine acting
style such as romantic leads. The acting
style is close to that of the onnagata
roles.
The
wagoto characters
have a more narrow
stance than the aragoto
characters and their
movement is more fluid
in comparison. This
acting style was popular
in Osaka and Kyoto.

 Aragoto translates as "rough stuff or business"

and refers to the super heroes and villains in
kabuki plays, such as the character Narukami.
Actors playing the aragoto role wear heavily
padded costumes and brightly colored face
makeup.
Aragoto characters
are performed with a
broad and bombastic
style which was
popularized in Tokyo.

Make-up
Kesho, kabuki make-up, provides an
element of style easily recognizable
even by those unfamiliar with the art
form. Rice powder is used to create
the white oshiroi base for the
characteristic stage makeup, and
kumadori enhances or exaggerates
facial lines to produce dramatic
animal or supernatural masks.

 The color of the kumadori is an

expression of the character's nature:
red lines are used to indicate passion,
heroism, righteousness, other positive
traits
blue or black: villainy, jealousy, and
other negative traits
green: the supernatural
purple: nobility

Costume
In Japanese Kabuki theatre, almost every
element of a production is dictated by
tradition. The type of character being
portrayed is revealed through the application
of conventions in the design and construction
of a costume. The details of the designthe
silhouette chosen, the colour combinations,
the richness and texture of the fabric, and the
type and amount of detailall combine to
give indications of character as well as to
make a strong visual impact.

 Kabuki costumes are made with bold colors

and patterns, it is said, to heighten the drama
of the performance. Some costumes are quite
heavy, weighting over 20 kilograms, and
have the folds and layers that have to be
carefully positioned when the actors sits
down. Kabuki costumes are usually discarded
after one 25-day theater run because the
brilliant colors fade in the bright lights and
they smell bad from all the sweat.

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