Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [36]
Traditional Theatre & Dance
NŌ
Nō is a hypnotic dance-drama that reflects the minimalist aesthetics of Zen. The movement is glorious, the chorus and music sonorous, the expression subtle. A sparsely furnished cedar stage directs full attention to the performers, who include a chorus, drummers and a flautist. There are two principal characters: the shite, who is sometimes a living person but more often a demon, or a ghost whose soul cannot rest; and the waki, who leads the main character towards the play’s climactic moment. Each nō school has its own repertoire, and the art form continues to evolve and develop.
KABUKI
The first performances of kabuki were staged early in the 17th century by an all-female troupe. The performances were highly erotic and attracted enthusiastic support from the merchant class. In true bureaucratic fashion, Tokugawa officials feared for the people’s morality and banned women from the stage in 1629. Since that time, kabuki has been performed exclusively by men, giving rise to the institution of onnagata, or ōyama, male actors who specialise in female roles.
Over the course of several centuries, kabuki has developed a repertoire that draws on popular themes, such as famous historical accounts and stories of love-suicide, while also borrowing copiously from nō, kyōgen (comic vignettes) and bunraku (classical puppet theatre). Most kabuki plays border on melodrama, although they vary in mood.
Formalised beauty and stylisation are the central aesthetic principles of kabuki; the acting is a combination of dancing and speaking in conventionalised intonation patterns, and each actor prepares for a role by studying and emulating the style perfected by his predecessors. Kabuki actors are born into the art form, and training begins in childhood. Today, they enjoy great social prestige and their activities on and off the stage attract as much interest as those of popular film and TV stars.
BUNRAKU
Japan’s traditional puppet theatre developed at the same time as kabuki, when the shamisen (a three-stringed instrument resembling a lute or a banjo), imported from Okinawa, was combined with traditional puppetry techniques and joruri (narrative chanting). Bunraku, as it came to be known in the 19th century, addresses many of the same themes as kabuki, and in fact many of the most famous plays in the kabuki repertoire were originally written for puppet theatre. Bunraku involves large puppets – nearly two-thirds life-sized – manipulated by up to three black-robed puppeteers. The puppeteers do not speak; a seated narrator tells the story and provides the voices of the characters, expressing their feelings with smiles, weeping and fits of surprise and fear. One of the best places to see bunraku is at Osaka’s National Bunraku Theatre.
RAKUGO
A traditional Japanese style of comic monologue, rakugo (literally ‘dropped word’) dates back to the Edo period. The performer, usually in kimono, sits on a square cushion on a stage. Props are limited to a fan and hand towel. The monologue begins with a makura (prologue), which is followed by the story itself and, finally, the ochi (punch line or ‘drop’, which is another pronunciation of the Chinese character for raku in rakugo). Many of the monologues in the traditional rakugo repertoire date back to the Edo and Meiji periods, and while well known, reflect a social milieu unknown to modern listeners. Accordingly, many practitioners today also write new monologues addressing issues relevant to contemporary life.
MANZAI
Manzai is a comic dialogue, with its origins in the song-and-dance and comedy routines traditionally performed by itinerant entertainers. It is a highly fluid art that continues to draw large audiences to hear snappy duos exchange clever witticisms on up-to-the-minute themes from everyday life. Much of the humour derives from wordplay and double entendre. Needless to say, much of this will be lost on anyone but a truly fluent Japanese