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Kabuki origin
A woman named Izumo no Okuni began performing a special new style of dance she had created, which later became Kabuki. It became popular in a short period of time. Women started to learn and dance for audiences. -
Period: to
Edo/Modern Era [1604-1868]
The first era -
Transition of Performers
Women were banned. Young male actors act as women due to similar masculinity Adult men started to replace, later known as yaro-kabuki -
Golden Age Kabuki
Ichikawa Danjuro, a religious kabuki actor creates a new style of Kabuki influenced by Buddhism. The first use of red and black striped makeup, now called kumadori started with Danjuro's first appearance. He set the standard and style of Kabuki for years to come -
Love/Suicidal Themes Banned
Performers in Kabuki and Puppet Theatres were not allowed to portray themes containing love,suicide, which deals with family matters or current events. -
Appealing to Masses
Actors started to adapt in order to attract more audiences in 1860’s. This is mainly due to adapt to foreign influences and ideas.
The actors wished to broaden and boost the reputation of Kabuki. -
Period: to
Meiji Restoration Era [1862-1912]
fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, the end of the samurai class and Meiji Restoration -
Period: to
Modern Era [1912+]
After Meiji Era -
World War II
Occupying forces ban classic Japanese tradition plays which have imperialistic tones. -
American Tour & Expansion
First Kabuki Tour in the USA -
Expansion & Popularity
First Kabuki tour in USA started in 1960. In order to help foreign people understand, some popular plays were modified heavily to be new-comer friendly. -
National Theatre Opens
A principal aim of the institution was to present kabuki plays restored to their original and whole form to revive works or parts of works no longer in the active repertory. -
Conclusion
The challenge for kabuki in the 21st century is how it can sweep away many of its conservative practices while maintaining what makes it one of the great art forms of the world. Even when deemed serious and imperialistic, Kabuki once blended with comedy (Kyogen) and there were instances of Comedic Kabuki
