Kabuki+History+During+the+Golden+Age+By+J.D.+Brandon

=The Origins and History of Kabuki To the Golden Age=



ORIGINS



 * After a turbulent age of successive wars, there was a relatively peaceful period in Japan. The populace gave vent to its long suppressed desire for pleasure in an era of unrestrained joy. Thus the word Kabuki, meaning a "thing learning" or "an extraordinary thing" came into being. In a wake of this new era in public tastes, legend has it that Okuni, a priestess of the great Izumo no Oyashiro Shrine in central Izumo Province (now Shimane Prefecture), journeyed across the mountains to not-so-distant Kyoto, to obtain contributions for the maintenance of the shrine through performances of a prayer-dance. This dance, the nembutsu-odori (literally a dance of prayer to Buddha) was an outgrowth of five centuries of teaching prior to Okuni by such priests as Kuya, Ippen, and Hosai who believed that the dance was the best way to teach the principles of Buddha to a populace who might be bored by traditional preaching. Okuni belonged to a class of young maidens known as Miko, or shrine virgins. Yet these Miko, were actually far from the implied name of shrine virgins. In fact after performing in shrines for the gods, these Miko would often perform in bawdyhouses, which would crop up around these shrines. Upon reaching Kyoto, Okuni proceeded to a dry place in the bed of the Kamo River (featured below), since it was there that the low-class entertainers could perform without being taxed. In the dry riverbed she danced quite promiscuously, and it was there that she sang many of the popular tunes of the day. It is at this time that legend grows in the name of Nagoya Sanzaburo, who was the seventh son of a samurai, who first studied for the priesthood, than went on to be a page to a Christian daimyo. Upon his master's death and the inheritance of a great fortune, Sanzaburo is supposed to have fallen in love with the young miko, and it is here, where Kabuki began to form. After borrowing heavily from the No and Kyogen, and adding music and lyrics, Okuni became extremely popular. With her original purpose forgotten, Okuni started a troupe of women whose after hour jobs were to serve as prostitutes. It was here that in 1603 that Okuni's form of dance reached it's height of popularity and it became known as Okuni-Kabuki.



Kabuki to the Golden Age

 * ===Female Kabuki (Onna Kabuki): 1603-1629===




 * During the beginning days of Okuni's Kabuki, several troupes of actresses were formed to capitalize on the popularity of her art. These troupes became so famous that they gradually developed the name of Onna Kabuki (Women's Kabuki). The popularity of the art spread so quickly, that it began to incorporate audiences from many different social classes of Japan. Gradually it was taken up by female courtesans as another way to charm their customers. These courtesan troupes became so numerous and so notorious that in 1629 all women in any capacity were banished from the stage by the shoguns order, on the grounds that their appearance corrupted the public morals. It is suspected that the real reason that female Kabuki was banished was due to the enormous amounts of money wasted on courtesans, and the social issues resulting in the mixing of classes, that Kabuki theater enabled.


 * ===Wakashu Kabuki (Young Male Kabuki): 1629-1652===




 * The term Wakashu Kabuki was developed out of the ritual known as gempuku, in which a youth who was becoming a samurai cut off their maegami (forelock), and were recognized as men. The youths who had not yet done this were known as Wakashu. Although this form involved teenage boys instead of women, the appeal remained the same, as their sensual dancing and handsome figures were admired. It is during this time that the onnagata (the female impersonator) was developed by Murayama Sakon to allow for greater diversity in Kabuki plays, and to offset the boredom of all male casts. The era of Wakashu Kabuki was short lived due to the same reasons that its predecessor saw its own demise. During the Civil Wars, Wakashu were allowed to accompany samurai into battle as entertainers, and secondly as homosexual prostitutes. As it's popularity grew, openly homosexual affairs were said to have occurred. In fact this rampant homosexual relationships grew so much that it is said that two samurai openly fought each other over the favors of one young entertainer. It was because of this that the shogun banned Wakashu Kabuki, by ordering all young boys to shave their maegami in the adult fashion.


 * ===Yaro Kabuki: 1652-1688===




 * Yaro Kabuki originated in 1653, just a year after Wakashu Kabuki was abolished. It is in this year that the shogunate reversed his order of banning Kabuki. The reasoning behind this is probably due to the demand for it, and the earnest appeals by the theater managers. Still, because of Kabuki's mixed past the shogunate agreed to allow Kabuki again, if three conditions were met. These conditions included "1) That only those whose hair was shaved in front and dressed in adult yaro-atama styles could appear on the stage 2) That their performances should not degenerate into a state of immorality 3) That wakashu should not perform Kabuki, which meant that they were not permitted to dance, but could appear in monomane-kyogen-zukushi (realistic drama)." Yaro, unfortunately was a term used to describe men of low class, and so Kabuki continued to live under a name for low class individuals, a stigma it would find hard to combat. It was at this time that plays began to develop in Kabuki, and the first simple plots began to develop. They were developed out of necessity, as the actors and managers felt that in order to draw an audience they had to advance their art, to make it more appealing. Two types of plays developed during the early part of Yaro Kabuki. These plays were called keisei-kai, which had to deal with courtesans, and their affairs, and the tanzen-roppo which had to deal with the bawdy side of life, and the origin of which stem from the name of the outfits worn by the dandies, who were constant frequenters to bathhouses. In tanzen-roppo, there was introduced a new style of walking, sword carrying, and acting, supposedly invented by the actor Tamon Shozaemon. These techniques continue in such plays as Sukeroku, Saya-ate, and Modori Kago, and in Nagoya Sanza. Finally two act plays began to develop after twelve years, and Kabuki became more and more intricate. Staging items such as curtains began to be used and Kabuki began to be recognized as a true artistic form.


 * ===Genroku Kabuki: 1688-1735===




 * The Genroku era is identified as the period from 1688-1703, yet it remained influential throughout the subsequent periods of the Hoei (1704-10), the Shotoku (1711-15), and the Kyoho (1716-35). The founder of the dynasty of Kabuki actors during this period was Ichikawa Danjuro I. Danjuro created the special style of acting which was involved very masculine acting, called aragoto, which became a symbol of the Danjuro family. Aragoto displays characters with superhuman strength, and are heros, or may be divine or evil spirits. Puppet plays also began to be developed around this time as well these were known as (kimpira joruri). Plays written by Danjuro that still exist today are Narukami (Thunder God or The Fall of the Recluse Saint Narukami), Shibaraku (Wait a Moment), and Fuwa (the rude challenge). At the beginning of this era there were seven theaters in the city of Edo. Only four of these were licensed by the government, while the other three were unlicensed. Yet this period was not left without strife, because a scandalous love affair between an owner of a theater, Ichimura Uzaemon and a ranking lady in waiting Ejima resulted in their exile and in the closing of all theaters in Edo on February 6th, 1712. Later the theaters were allowed to open, except for the offending theater. There were three licensed theaters, and many unlicensed ones. Friction existed between these licensed and unlicensed theaters. Theater codes were established and acting began to take place during six months of the year: November, January, March, May, July and September. The other months were used for intensive studying and rehearsal. It was during this time that the famous Kabuki curtain was established first used by the Ichimura-za theater in 1664. The greatest actor of this age, Danjuro, died in 1704 during a dispute in which he supposedly ignored a pupil, whose father became angry with this and thrust a stage sword through Danjuro, ending the great man's life.


 * ===Horeki Kabuki: 1736-1764===




 * The first year of Horeki Kabuki coincides with the first year of the Gembun era, 1736, and ends at the end of the Horeki era, in 1764. It was during this period that Kabuki was overshadowed by ningyo-joruri-shibai (the puppet theater). It was during this time that several plays originally written for puppet theater were adapted for Kabuki theater. These plays included such ones as Jidai-mono, and sewa-mono. It was during this time that Kabuki became more practiced in copying not only the costumes, but also the style of acting from puppet theater. Several of the actors of the time also established famous families that still act in Kabuki today. Otani Hiroji one of these actors, created the quick change style of changing costume on stage, also known as hikinuki. A large influence on modern Kabuki comes from a famous onnagata of Edo, Segawa Kikunojo I (1691-1749) who wrote many details, on several features of Kabuki during the period. It was during this time that shosagato (dance-drama) became increasingly extravagant and complex. Famous shosagato plays produced during this time were Kyo-Ganoko Musume Dojoji (The Gay Scene of the Maiden in Kanoko Kimono at Dojo Temple) and Sagi Musume (The White Heron Maiden). Other famous plays produced during this time included the Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (The Teaching of the Secrets of Sugawara's Calligraphy) and Yoshitsune Sembon-Zakura (Yoshitsune under the Blossoming Cherry Trees at Yoshino), both which had heavy influences from the puppet theater. A famous sewa-mono was Natsu Matsuri Naniwa no Kagami (The Summer Festival of Osaka). It was during this time that the shogonate became increasingly paranoid and many laws were passed banning elaborate costume and festivities. It was because of these laws that Horeki officially ended, sedate and subdued.


 * ===Kansei Kabuki: 1764-1801===




 * Kansei Kabuki includes the three eras prior to Kansei (1789-1800), which were the Meiwa (1764-71), An'ei (1772-80) and Temmei (1781-88) periods. Kamigata rapidly was losing its position as the center for cultural arts in Japan. The city of Edo, where the shogunate had moved, was rapidly replacing Kamigata and the flourishing of arts in Edo led for the people of Edo to be known as Edokko (offspring of Edo), who would take a place in Japanese History as a unique and powerful artistic culture. Jidai-mono and sewa-mono plays were in strong demand during this period, and many of the plays produced during this time are still loved and often performed even today. Many plays produced during this time were about Yoshiwara, after the former “field of reeds” which was were Edo was located. Still Kabuki was heavily regulated during this time, and every show was inspected by government officials who approved or disproved certain materials and costumes. Still Kabuki flourished during this time period despite heavy restrictions and the lack of social status of its actors. This heavy restriction was unlike what was found in No theatre, a theatre rarely restricted, being the chosen theatre of the aristocratic classes.


 * ===Bunka-Bunsei Kabuki (1801-1830)===




 * Bunka and Bunsei are two seperate eras but are so closely associated with one another that they are combined into one word. Called the Bunka-Bunsei or Kasei period (1804-30). This also usually includes the Kyowa era of 1801-4. This one probably one of the most decadent and peaceful periods of Kabuki history. Under the leadership of Tokugawa Ienari, a father of some fifty plus children, extravagance knew new bounds in both the shogunate and the populace. It was during this time that Kabuki reached the height of its popularity. It was the Golden Age of Kabuki. Admission to Kabuki increased to fantastic heights, as the power of the chonin grew and where there was more demand for less seats, as there were only three licensed theaters in Edo. Those attending Kabuki frequented the tea houses attached to the theaters and spent large amounts of money Ichi-ryo ni-bu (one ryo and two bu) for an average day at the Kabuki theater. This amount roughly equaled the amount of three bales of rice. This greatly increased the lives of Kabuki actors who became known as thousand-ryo actors, a complimentary term given by audiences to their favorite actors, and where the shouting of appreciation from the audiences began. It was here that costumes became more and more elaborate and it was often seen that costumes could cost hundreds of ryo, whereas a ryo and two bu were once again equivalent to three bales of rice. Despite the richness of several famous Kabuki actors during this time, there was a great economic disparity between the lowest paid actors and the well known and famous actors during this period.


 * ===The End of the Golden Age of Kabuki: Bakumatsu Kabuki (1830-1868)===




 * This era includes the eras of Tempo (1830-43), Koka (1844-47) Kaei (1848-53), Ansei (1854-59), Man'en (1860), Bunkyu (1861-63), Genji (1864), and Keio (1865-68). The period of Tempo was a period of unrest. It was here that the shogunate began to show visible signs of weakening. Loyalists began to long for the period of the splendor of the court and became deeply intrigued in political disorder. Foreign powers such as the United States were increasingly trying to open Japan to trade. And differences in ideologies began to add to the restlessness. To top it all off there was a famine that swept the nation. In 1841 a fire swept the capital and destroyed several Kabuki and puppet theaters. A meeting was called by government officials to decide if the theaters should be rebuilt or if Kabuki should even be allowed to continue in existence. This meeting was just a clever disguise because Mizuno had already decided to close all Kabuki theaters. Kabuki however, was saved by Toyama Saemon no Jo Kagemoto, who like many sons of samurai (although not first-born sons) was a musician for Kabuki theater. He made a strong argument to allow Kabuki to continue because it occupied the masses. All of the destroyed Kabuki theaters were rebuilt in a locality called Saruwaka-cho. Yet, the government continued to strangle Kabuki, imposing severe limitations on the theaters. Teahouses were not allowed to serve rare or expensive foods, sake was limited and commoners wearing expensive dress were arrested. The Kabuki actor had it worse by not being allowed to fraternize with the common man. The Kabuki actor was forced to wear a reed hat to cover his features so that he would not be recognized on the street. Severe arrests and more humiliations plagued both the Kabuki actors, and the people of Japan during this rough time. Finally Mizuno, was relieved from his position for his administration was defined as too strict, and too severe, and overall bad. He was replaced, and the golden age returned again for a brief period. And as the shogun continued to lose his grip on power, Kabuki costumes and life flourished, as even samurai began to frequent Kabuki theater, and even began to mimic the elaborate costumes of the period. Still, this was not to last as the shogun period ended with the beginning of the Meiji era, in the violent overthrow and civil war that resulted in the fifteenth Tokugawa shogun Yoshinobu being overthrown in January of 1868.