Kabuki, the popular theatre of Japan, as opposed to the aristocratic
nō play. As its name implies—
ka = singing,
bu = dancing,
ki = acting—it combines the three main theatrical arts, allied to an astonishing virtuosity, particularly in the playing of female parts, by highly trained actors. In its present form
kabuki dates from about the middle of the 17th century, though some of its elements go back a thousand years. Since 1945 the many small
kabuki troupes which used to tour the countryside have been disbanded and performances are given only in the larger cities. The plays are performed on a wide, shallow platform which since
c.1760 has incorporated a revolving stage, later adopted by the Western theatre. Another characteristic of the
kabuki theatre, taken from the
nō play, is the
hana-michi, or ‘flower way’, running along the left-hand wall of the auditorium to the stage at the level of the spectators' heads. Along this the actors make their entrances and exits, or withdraw for an aside. They wear rich brocaded costumes for historical parts, plain dress for scenes from daily life and, unlike the
nō actors, are not masked. Music is provided by a small group of instrumentalists placed inconspicuously behind a lattice on the right of the stage. There are also two stage hands, the
kurogo and the
kōken, one hooded, the other not, who are by tradition invisible. They date from the time when each of the chief actors had a ‘shadow’ who crouched beside him holding a light on the end of a bamboo pole to illuminate the play of his features. The
kabuki plays, which have no particular literary value, being frameworks for the display of technical accomplishments, take their subjects from many sources—history, myth, daily life, even from the
nō plays, or from the puppet-theatre or
bunraku. For a performance based on a puppet-play a singer, or
jōruri, seated on the stage, recites the story which the actors are miming; for a
nō play, the
samisen players are joined by a group of
nō musicians. In the old days performances by
kabuki actors could extend over several days, and they still last from midday to midnight, the audience, in family groups, coming and going from the boxes in the auditorium, eating and talking during the less interesting parts of the performance and giving all their attention to the great set speeches and dance-dramas which, together with comic episodes and historical set-pieces, make up the programme.
