"In the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period, people who had striking hairstyles, wore clothes in the peak of current fashion, and rebelled against the order of society, were called kabukimono. The history of Kabuki can be traced back to the Kabuki-odori of Izumo no Okuni, but the name came from the fact that Okuni imitated the costumes and makeup of the most advanced kabukimono so symbolic of those times; this type of entertainment began to be called Kabuki.
Kabuki developed strongly and flexibly by avidly taking in other entertainments and fashions while overcoming various difficulties in each period in its history of about 400 years, passing down the spirit that prevailed when Kabuki was born. As a result, Kabuki as we have now inherited it is a "comprehensive art" incorporating various elements of Japanese theatrical performances, dance and music.
Due to the circumstances previously mentioned, the origins and content of Kabuki works are quite diverse.
Roughly 400 Kabuki works are performed at present. Many were taken into Kabuki from other types of entertainment. The majority of these adopted works, are Gidayu-kyogen in which Ningyo-joruri (puppet plays) were converted for Kabuki. Works written especially for Kabuki also include dance plays called Matsubamemono which draw their subjects from Noh plays and Kyogen (Noh farces), and works that draw their subject matter from Rakugo (comic monologues), Kodan (storytelling) and novels popular in various periods.
Kabuki works can be roughly divided into Jidaimono and Sewamono according to their content. Jidaimono (historical works) are based on ideas from gunkimono stories describing battles, and on various legends handed down over the generations in many places in Japan. On the other hand, most of Sewamono (dramas of contemporary life), depicting the world of the chonin (commoners) of the Edo period, were created by dramatizing contemporary incidents such as murders, double suicides and robberies.
Various acting and performance styles and production techniques were designed to realistically express the content of these works.
The diversity of acting, performance and production techniques in Kabuki is connected to maguchi - that is, the breadth of opportunities for entrances by the audience into the Kabuki world. It means that there are many opportunities for audience interest. Generally speaking, many people seem to have the idea that Kabuki is performed using words that cannot be understood by modern people, but this is only one aspect of some of its various works. People who view a variety of works will discover new aspects of Kabuki.
The distinctive feature of Kabuki expression is that it does not tend toward realism like that of modern plays. Kabuki has developed in the direction of stylized performances, persistently pursuing on-stage expression that goes beyond mere realism.
Due to historical circumstances, male actors play all female roles in Kabuki. Both the female roles and the actors who play them are called Onnagata. At the same time, male roles and the actors who play male roles are called Tachiyaku. [Historically, Tachiyaku meant the male roles portraying good men, in conflict with Katakiyaku, the male roles portraying bad men, but at present, generally speaking, Tachiyaku broadly refers to all male roles.]
Onnagata do not just use costumes and makeup to achieve realistic expression of females. For instance, an Onnagata showing a woman who is walking gives a "female-like expression" by toeing in and keeping his knees together while he walks. The Onnagata on stage also expresses the sloping shoulders of females by pulling his shoulder blades downward and together. These on-stage acting techniques of the male Onnagata actors are designed to give impressions of females that appear more realistically feminine than if the actors actually copied the movements of real women.
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