Japanese Theatre

Origins of Japanese Theater

• Early theater was based on Shinto ritual

celebrations known as kagura dating as far back as
the third century b.c.e.
• Two forms of theater evolved after Buddhism was
introduced to Japan between 538 and 552 c.e.:
gigaku, a Buddhist dance play with masked figures
in procession, and bugaku, based on courtly
dances from various Asian cultures.
 Origins of Japanese Theater

• Sarugaku or “monkey entertainment” is a variety of

theater consisting of comic dialogue and short skits
performed at Buddhist temples.
• During the thirteenth century drama evolved into
an elevated form called sarugaku noh, or “skilled
monkey entertainment.”
 The Emergence of Noh Theater:
Kanami and Zeami

• Shoguns took over Japan in 1192 when the emperor

was deposed from power. With the shoguns
sarugaku noh theater received many patrons.
• Kanami Kiyotsugu (1333–1384), a sarugaku noh
troupe member performed before the shogun
Ashikaga in 1374; as a result, his son—actor Zeami
Motokiyo—became the shogun’s companion and
lover.
• Wrote Atsumori
 The Emergence of Noh Theater:
Kanami and Zeami

• Kanami created a dramatic form adapted to the

tastes of the shogunate and lower warrior tastes
by combining popular songs, dance, and music
with Zen Buddhist meditative ideals.
• Kanami’s works use a single protagonist.
• Zeami wrote a seven-volume text titled Kadensho
(1400–02) in which he discusses noh acting and
theater including yugen—a theory of beauty,
grace, and life’s impermanence.
 Noh Drama

• Noh plays are based on mythology, legend, and

the twelfth–century civil war among samurais.
• Noh are divided into five categories: plays about
gods, warrior plays, plays about women (called
“wig plays”), miscellanies including contemporary
issues, and demon plays.
• Protagonists (shite) are ghosts, demons, or
haunted persons.
 Noh Drama

• Noh dramas are divided into two acts with the

protagonist disguised in the first and revealed in
the second. The protagonist speaks in literary
verse and quotes Chinese and Japanese poetry.
• The climax in a noh drama takes the form of
ritualized dance.
 Noh Drama

• Other noh drama characters include a secondary

character/actor (waki), protagonist’s companion
(tsure),, a priest, and a servant (kyogen) who is a
comic actor provides the narrative summary in
simple languange.
• Kyogen (“wild words”) can also refer to farcical
sketches performed between plays.
• Nohgaku is a dramatic program including various
dramas in a seven- or eight-hour performance.
 Actors

• Costumes in noh drama are very elaborate silk

outfits including kimonos, wigs, and stylized masks
that represent character types (male and female,
old and young, human and supernatural).
• Physical settings are minimal and temporary
structures are used, as well as hand-held props
that represent emotional states and other objects
(e.g., a folding fan could represent a sword, flute,
or other object).
 The Noh Stage

• Noh stages were standardized during the

seventeenth century and remain unchanged today.
• Main stages are 18 feet square, raised 2.5 feet
above ground, made of polished cypress with four
15-foot pillars that support a temple-like roof.
 The Noh Stage

• Musicians sit in front of a visible backstage that

features a wooden wall with a painted pine tree,
the audience sits front left of the main stage, and
the chorus occupies an area to the audience’s
right.
• Hashigakiri are railed passageways or bridges
through which actors enter and exit the stage.
 The Noh Stage

• Reverberating jars are placed under the main

stage, backstage, and bridge to amplify characters’
walking movements.
– Noh is the art of footwork
• Characters are assigned standard places (e.g., the
protagonist stands before the bridge-stage known
as the shite-pillar to announce his name upon
entering).
 Later Noh Theater

• Noh theater was standardized during the

Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) when the
government moved to Edo (Tokyo).
• Noh troupes had hereditary leaders (iemoto) who
were responsible for upholding Noh traditions.
– Noh acting technique handed down through family
• Noh’s principal audience was courtly and upper
class, though amateur companies entertained the
public.
 Kabuki

• Kabuki evolved during the seventeenth century for

the urban middle classes, particularly focusing on
stage technology, elaborate scenes, and costumes,
and were influenced by the erotic dances of temple
maidens.
• Kabuki was restricted to adult males in 1653.
• Kabuki practitioners are called onnagata—actors of
female roles.
 Bunraku

• were elaborate dramas developed from an earlier form

of theater that used puppets and dolls.
• Name derives from a famous pupeteer
• Bunraku has roots with chanter
– Would play biwa, a large lute
– Intone chronicle wars and romantic tales
• 1570-1600 – samisen (like a 3 stringed banjo) replaced
biwa
• By 1600 the custom was to add something to the
chronicle, so puppets were added
Bunraku

• Joruri = chanted texts

• Chanters are highly regarded like opera
singers.
• Perform all of the voices in the play
• Narrate the play
Puppeteers
• Chief handler dressed in elaborate costume
• Other handlers in black
• Training progresses from handling two feet
and legs, then the left arm then right arm
and head.
• Puppets about 2/3 human size today,
originally smaller
 Chikamatsu
(1653-1724)
• The first and undoubtedly the best of the writers for
bunraku, Chikamatsu, contributed enormously to
the transformation of this popular theater into a true
art form.
• Chikamatsu wrote both historical plays and domestic
dramas dealing with life in his own day; his domestic
dramas have remained popular to the present time.
• His emphasis on ordinary people was new to the
Japanese stage and foreshadowed later
developments in European theater.
Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653 – 1725)

• Born into samurai family

• Major dramatist
• Started at age 30
• Wrote puppet plays and for kabuki
• Kabuki plays were often adapted for bunraku
• Highly regarded for his verse, compared to
Shakespeare
• The Courier for Hell - video
• hanamichi  “flower passage”, thrust
pathways for actors into audience area
Utagawa Toyoharu (1735–1814). View of a Kabuki
Theater, 1770