Interesting Facts!! #56

56. Kabuki (歌舞伎)

Kabuki (歌舞伎) is a classical Japanese dance-drama. This form of theater is recognized by its style and elaborate make up worn by the performers. Each Kanji in the word Kabuki stand for something; Ka:(uta) 歌 sing, bu: (mai) 舞 dance, and Ki: (ki) 伎 skill. Kabuki can sometimes be translated as "the art of singing and dancing." Kabuki is believe to derive from the word Kabuku, meaning "to learn" or "to be out of the ordinary." So kabuki can be interpreted as "bizarre" theater. Kabukimono (歌舞伎者) was an expression that originally referred to those people that dressed bizarrely and swaggered on the streets.


Kabuki began in 1603, possibly by a miko, who began performing a new style of dance drama in Kyoto. Female performers would play both men and women roles in comic short plays about ordinary life. This form of drama was immediately popular. Much of its appeal in this era was due to the ribald, suggestive themes featured by many troupes; this appeal was further augmented by the fact that the performers were often also available for prostitution. Kabuki became a common form of entertainment. Kabuki theaters were a place to see and be seen as they featured the latest fashion trends and current events. The stage provided good entertainment with exciting new music, patterns, clothing, and famous actors. Performances went from morning until sunset performing for the masses.

At the time the shogunate was not very interested in Kabuki and the mischief it brought, particularly the variety of the social classes which mixed at kabuki performances. Onna-kabuki or Women’s kabuki, was banned in 1629 for being too erotic. Following that, young boys performed in wakashū-kabuki, but since they too were eligible for prostitution, the shogun government also banned wakashū-kabuki.  In the mid-1600s Kabuki switched to adult male actors, called yaro-kabuki. Male actors played both female and male characters. After women were banned from performing, cross-dressed male actors, known as onnagata ("female-role") or oyama, took over. Young (adolescent) men were preferred for women's roles due to their less masculine appearance and the higher pitch of their voices compared to the adult men. The theater remained popular, and remained a focus of urban lifestyle until modern times. Audiences would frequently became rowdy, and brawls occasionally broke out. Later the shogunate first banned onnagata and then wakashū roles. Both bans were revocked by 1652.


Beginning in 1868 enormous cultural changes, such as the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the elimination of the samurai class, and the opening of Japan to the West, helped to spark kabuki. As the culture struggled to adapt to the influx of foreign ideas and influence, actors strove to increase the reputation of kabuki among the upper classes and to adapt the traditional styles to modern tastes.

Today, kabuki is the most popular of the traditional styles of Japanese drama—and its star actors often appear in television or film roles. Some local kabuki troupes today use female actors in onnagata roles. There have even been kabuki troupes established in countries outside of Japan.



If you ever have the chance to see a kabuki performance take the opportunity because it will be an experience you will not regret if you have a taste for this form of drama. You can also buy various kabuki souvenirs that will last a life time such as masks, cups etc. 

-The more you know~