The+Influence+of+Noh+and+Bunraku+in+the+developement+of+Kabuki+by+Arnab+Banerji

**//Noh and Bunraku elements in Kabuki//**
Arnab Banerji

The Japanese dance-drama form Kabuki borrows heavily from existing Japanese art forms like the Noh and Bunraku. The influence of the older art forms on the comparatively new Kabuki can be seen on almost all aspects of performance. However, the Kabuki does not merely adopt elements from these other art forms. It altered the elements that it borrowed to suit its own typical needs.

//Okuni//

//**Origins**// The word Kabuki in its original Japanese meaning meant someone who was outlandish, a non-conformist. The dance-drama form is said to have begun at the hands of a dancer Okuni. In one of the parts of her dance, the //Nagoya Sanza//, Okuni would depict a Samurai warrior who had been killed in a recent quarrel. In doing so, it can be said that she was merely adhering to the Noh tradition of bringing a prominent figure on stage and making him narrate episodes from his life. However, the difference lay in the fact, that while the Noh plays would feature some well known elegant or heroic figure, this popular entertainment featured a popular figure of foppishness who had only died recently. As Masakatsu Gunji observes, "Dramatically speaking, the early kabuki was simply borrowing the construction of the earlier No plays." (Gunji 1969)

It was not before long that the Shogunate banned the appearance of women on stage completely. The place of the female kabuki was soon taken over by the youth. This came to be known as //Wakashu Kabuki//. The youth performers came from various traditions and this further shaped kabuki. Several innovations were provided by the troupes of performers who specialised in //kowaka-mai//, a medieval dance performed exclusively by young men, who brought to Kabuki both elements from their dances and the dramatic stories that they illustrated. Similarly, the troupes of youth specialising in Noh brought in elements from from the Noh drama and the accompanying Kyogen farces that always accompany Noh performances. In this way, kabuki acquired the Noh derived type of dance known as //Komai//.

These forms of popular entertainment were also met by administrative hostilities and severe impositions were made on the way the actors could dress and carry themselves both on and off stage. Under so much pressure, it was decided to change the name of kabuki totally. Since the word meant non-conformist. The art form came to be described as //Monomane-Kyogen-Zukushi//. The word //monomane// here means something close to "imitation" or "mime." This hinted at a developement different from the original //kabuki-odori// dance form while the word kyogen signified a spoken drama like the Noh and Kyogen. The change of name in other words signified that henceforth the art form was going to be an "up-to-date version of the No and Kyogen." The word kyogen was probably chosen in preference to Noh since it would have probably appeared sacrilegious to use the name of the more solemn, religious Noh. At the same time, it could be that Kyogen was used to denote the fact that the Kabuki pieces were a popularization or parody of the more aristocratic and serious Noh. (Gunji 1969)

Thus one can see, how during the early part of the developement of Kabuki, the older performance traditions continuously exerted their influence. In fact, some of the most popular items of kabuki in these early days were adaptations from Noh and Kyogen. For example, the dance piece called //Kaido-kudari//, was a kabuki version of the kyogen piece of the same name. Noh and Kyogen performers were instrumental in developing the techniques and the basic structure of the plays of this fledgling art form. One of their major contributions was "modernizing" and adapting for the kabuki stage what were originally Noh and Kyogen pieces.

Another major influence effecting the early developement of Kabuki was the puppet theatre, known in general today as Bunraku. During the early years of the Edo period, the puppet was in great vogue. So large was its popularity that the very existence of kabuki was brought under question. One of the last great puppet plays written by the great Japanese playwright Chikamatsu //Kokusenya Kassen// enjoyed such huge popularity that it completely overshadowed during its run which lasted seventeen months. To counter this effect, Kabuki versions of this text were adapted and mounted in both Edo and Osaka. Although some Kabuki actors and authors felt that such blind imitation would only hasten the decline of Kabuki, a period of several adaptations from the puppet theatre followed. So much so, that several of the puppet plays would be adapted and presented on the kabuki stage within a month of their premier in the puppet theatres. (Gunji 1969)



What inevitably followed was drastic changes in kabuki itself. For the performance of //Yoshitsune Sembonzakura//, the theatre hired puppeteers and musicians from the puppet theatre to assist in rehearsals. The large importations made from the puppet theatre as a result affected production, acting and even things such as stage machinery.

media type="youtube" key="qHcI9qOIdzo" height="344" width="425" //Gidayu-bushi//

The single greatest effect however, was the complete overhauling of kabuki music by the //gidayu-bushi// style of music of the puppet theatre. And this effected the movement of the actors, which were controlled largely by the music, which in turn was effected by the movement of the dolls. This influence has persisted in kabuki ever since.

//Chikamatsu Monzaemon//

//**Writing**// We also see strong influence of Noh and the puppet theatre in the style in which the Kabuki librettis are written. The structure followed closely resembles that of the Noh. Structural similarities also exist between the forms. For example, the last part of a Kabuki performance is referred to as //senshuraku//. This incidentally is also the name of the congratulatory chorus performed at the end of a Noh program. In fact, the authors even started collaborating to come up with one piece, following the example of the puppet theatre. (Gunji 1969)

// The Noh Stage and The Kabuki Stage

The effect of Noh and Bunraku can be seen in the stage design of Kabuki. The Noh stage developed during the medieval times was an immediate precursor to the kabuki stage with its covered roof. During a theatrical performance in a temple or shrine a wooden boxlike structure would be erected from where the big drum was beaten to let people know about a forthcoming performance. This was known as a //yagura//. In the early days of Kabuki also, a //yagura// would be erected with similar kind of decorations as a symbol of the theatre. In fact, a tower like this can still be seen over the Kabuki-za in Tokyo even today. (Gunji 1969)
 * Stage Design**//

//Kabuki za//

Kanjincho //- a play inspired directly by Noh//

A peculiarity of the Kabuki stage is the presence of the //hanamichi//. This too is believed to have been inspired by the //hashigakari// of the Noh stage. As Gunji points out, it seems likely that the //hanamichi// was an extension of the three steps, known as //sandan// or //shirasu-bashigo//, that stood at the front of bugaku and Noh stages, and not, as has been suggested, an extension of the //hashigakari// that ran from the side of the stage. The steps in a Noh stage were used when the Shogun wanted to make a formal present to the performer, the performer descending the steps to accept the offering. The original purpose of the hanamichi seems to have been similar, the difference being that in this case, the patron or his envoy would climb up and proceed down the walkway instead of the actor. It was only in the beginning of the Kyoho era that the walkway came to be used for entrances and exits by the actors to add more dramatic effects to the performance. The plays inspired by Noh use the backdrop which is similar to that of the Noh stage, featuring a pine tree.

//media type="youtube" key="zUhtCLKFMx0" height="344" width="425" media type="youtube" key="U7yy34injP0" height="344" width="425" Noh Music and Kabuki Music inspired by Noh

media type="youtube" key="A1yr4uiIAkQ" height="344" width="425" Bunraku Music

The music of the kabuki is completely inspired by those of Noh and Bunraku. The Kabuki music employs an ensemble which is similar to the //hayashi// ensemble of the Noh theatre. It comprises the stick drum, the hip drum, the shoulder drum and the flute. The //shamisen//, which is a three-stringed Chinese instrument had been in use for some time before it made its way into kabuki. Although initially used as a dance accompaniment, gradually its use also extended to being a narrative accompaniment. This narrative form of //shamisen// music is known as //joruri// and is used very commonly in kabuki.
 * Music**//

Chikamatsu Monzaemon, the great Japanese playwright also wrote for the puppet theatre and he brought with the style of //joruri// music known as //gidayu//, named after the great master Takemoto Gidayu. Though we cannot be sure when exactly these musical styles started being definitely used on the kabuki stage, we know that by the beginning of the eighteenth century they were definitely employed.

The puppet theatre inspired //gidayu// music is generally performed by the //chobo//, that is, a one singer and one //shamisen// player combination who sit in their original traditional position at the downstage left apron area. However, the //gidayu// is extensively employed only in the case of the puppet-theatre inspired pieces. In performances that contain dance, this seldom forms the only musical accompaniment. (Toita 1970, Brandon 1978)

//Geza//

The offstage //geza// musicians although largely a kabuki innovation, have predecessors in the puppet theatre. Although it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact roots and similarities.

The openings of plays directly inspired by Noh would have specific styles. More often than not, these use the traditional opening styles employed by traditional Noh plays. This can be seen in a play like //Kanjincho//, which is inspired by the Noh play //Ataka//. The beginning of this play uses a typical Noh opening called the //shidai//. (Brandon 1978)

//**Bibliography**//
Masakatsu, Gunji. 1969. //Kabuki.// Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. Toita, Yasuji. 1970. //Kabuki: The Popular Theater//. Tokyo: Walker/Weatherhill. Brandon, James, R., William P. Malm and Donald H. Shively. 1978. //Studies in Kabuki: Its Acting, Music, and Historical Context.// Manoa: The University Press of Hawaii Tsubouchi, Shoyo and Jiro Yamamoto. 1960. //History and Characteristics of Kabuki: The Japanese Classical Drama//. Yokohoma: Yamagoto Printing Co., Ltd. Scott, A.C. 1955. //The Kabuki Theatre of Japan//. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. Ernst, Earle. 1956. //The Kabuki Theatre//. New York: Oxford University Press.

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