Abstract

Kabuki is a Japanese theater which was originated in the 17th century. It is a form of entertainment for the Japanese audience in which plays are conducted on different Japanese stories which provide awareness and entertainment at the same time. All the characters are played my males in this theatre including the female roles. It is known for its colorful costumes, wigs and make-ups worn by the different actors. The female roles played by male actors are called Onna-Gata which has become the essence of this theater. Chushingura is considered to be one of the most famous stories of Japan. It is based on a true event that occurred in the history of Japan. The story was written some 50 years after the event. The popularity of the event is till high as total of 10 different television shows have been made on it from 1997 to 2007. The story was first made a play at Bunraku then later on it was adopted by kabuki.

Table of Contents

Abstracti

Introduction1

Discussion2

Preceding to World War II2

Chushingura3

Act 14

Act 24

Act 35

Act 45

Act 56

Act 66

Act 77

Act 88

Act 98

Act 108

Act 119

Conclusion9

Works Cited10

Kabuki Theatre

Introduction

Kabuki is a Japanese theater which was originated in the 17th century. It is a form of entertainment for the Japanese audience in which plays are conducted on different Japanese stories which provide awareness and entertainment at the same time. All the characters are played my males in this theatre including the female roles. It is known for its colorful costumes, wigs and make-ups worn by the different actors. The female roles played by male actors are called Onna-Gata which has become the essence of this theater. The concept of female impersonation was introduced by Okuni, a female shrine attendant herself which is considered to be a strange thought. Onna-Gata is considered to be the distinguishing factor of Kabuki theatre compared to the other theatres that are in business. Kabuki is also known for one of its characteristics in which the stage revolves during the shifting of character which is called Mawari-Butai.

There is always some traditional Japanese music that plays in the background during the performance which is also liked by the audience because it gives a Japanese touch to the show. The play is in Japanese language and the audience is pretty much involved in the play. They keep on shouting names of different characters and seem to be excited during the play.

The concept of not involving females in the acts was due to the fact that when the play started, females who were part of the act were mostly prostitutes thus the audience used to get out of control. To avoid this from happening, young male actors were introduced but they also turned out to be prostitutes. Finally it was decided to involve male senior actors to avoid the audience from getting out of control.

Chikamatsu Monzaemon was considered to be one of the best kabuki stage acts writers who worked there for a long time but then left to work for Bunraku, ...