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A CHIVALROUS MAN IN /I SHIBARAKU," ONE OF "THE EIGHTEEN BEST PLAYS /I

Reproduction of th r> coror print by Toyokuni Utagml.-'u the first (1769- 1"825), owned by the Theatrical Arts Museum at Waseda University

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KABUKI DRAMA BY

- - SHUTARO MIYAKE

JAPAN TRAVEL BUREAU TOKYO

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D ecember, 1948 j February, 1952;

Febru ary, 1953

Prinfed by IlOSOKAWA PIUNTING CO .. Tokyo, Japan

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~ ( 12 L/-. S- f<3 ms- f,1\ft= It ~ r

tblTORIAL NOit

The purpose of the Tourist Library Series is to give to the pass ing tourists and other foreigners interested in Japan a basic knowledge of various phases of Japanese culture. When completed, the Series is expected to in· elude a hundred volumes or so, and will give a complete picture of J ap anese culture, old and new.

The Library was started in 1934 by the Board of Tourist Industry and was transferred to the Japan Travel Bureau in 1943, when 40 volumes had been completed.

From the beginning the Library attained a high rep- ut a tion as a concise but reliable interpreter of Japanese culture, and the demand for the volumes steadily increas- ed both in Japan and abroad . Unfortunately, however, the old volumes are all out of print. The Japan Travel Bureau, therefore, has begun a new series,-revising and reprinting some of the old volumes, and issuing others on entirely new and equally interesting subjects.

Each volume in the Library is the work of a recogniz- ed authority on the subject, and it is hoped that by perusing these studies of Japanese life the reader will gain some insight into the unique culture that has developed in thi s country throughout the ages.

The present volume, " Kabuki Drama," is the work of Mr. Shlltaro Miyake, who is an acknowledged au- thority on the Bunraku Puppet Playas well as the Kabuki Drama. He is also well known as the regular

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drama crItIc of' the Mainichi Newspaper and a membel: of the specjal council of the Cultural Proper ties' P ro - tection Commission .

h ~~iS four~h ed ition , p ubli shed only half a year after t / t Ird rev.lsed edition went to press, is an evidence ;h t?e ever-mcreasing interest sh own by foreign en-

f UJsIasts, both here and abroad, in thi s grand old art

o apan.

The new edition has an added fea ture in the fine grade o~ art paper that is use d for most of the photo- graphs Il1 the text. This, toaether with th " d

. . b. " e up-to- ate reVISIOns and colored photoaraph s add I" . , d b'l ' b, S great y to ItS lea a I Ily. "

December, 1952 THE EDITOR

CONTENTS

Pa ge

1. How to Appreciate Kabuki. . . . . . . . . . . . 11 An Analysis of the Kabuki-A Land of Dreams-" Daikon"-Its Powe r of Exp ression.

II. Characteristics of the Kabuki. . . . . . . . . . . 16 Female Roles-Their No ted Playe rs-High- born Dau ghters-Courtesans.

JII. :Machinery Peculiar to the Kabuki Stage.. 33 Curtains - " Hanami chi" - The Revolving Stage - " Ki " - "Chobo " - Geza"-"Deba-

h," "1r " yas 1 - \..uro go

IV. Principal Kabuki Plays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The Eighteen Best Plays- "Ara goto " -Clas- sical P Ia ys-"Sew amono " - "Kizew amono"

V. Technique Peculiar to the Kabuki. . . . . . . 52 , The Pantomime Show-"Koroshi"-"Michi-

k '" " T h' ." " M ." I yu 1 - ac Imawan - 1 onogatan - n- spection of the Head - Revue Element- "S ." d "T ""S I" awan an surane - eppu cu

VI. Symbolism and Impressionism in the Kabuki ............... . ... ..... . 69

The Black Curtain-" Yabudatami"-"Nami- ita"-The Story of Rice.

"VII. The Story Value of the Kabuki. . . . . . . . . 72 "S ukeroku"-"Kuma gai's Camp"-"Kampei"

"VIII. Practical Guide to the P resent-day Kabuki. 78 Appendix (Notes on Some of the Famous

Kabuki Plays)............... . . . .. 85 Index ................ .... ... .... " 121

Ancie nt Sketches of Kabuki Al'fO~

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ILLUSTRATIONS

A Chivalrous Man in "Shibaraku" (Color Print)' . . . . . . . Frontispiece

Page

The Fa~ade of the Kabukiza Theater. . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Interior of the Kabukiza Theater. . . . . . . . . . . 14 Players on the Passage to the Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Utaemon Nakamura as a Woman-servant-from

"K . J' h'" agaml I S 1 ....................••..• 17 A Lion's Dance-from "Kagami Jishi"

(In Colors) ......................... 18, 19 Children Actors and Tokiz6 Nakamura as a Wet

Nurse ............................... . 20 Baik6 Onoe, as Princess Yaegaki-hime ......... . 21 A Female Impersonator Preparing for the Stage 22, 23 Wig-dressers in the Dressing Room ........... . A Scene from "Sukeroku" .................. . A S f "II h- N" - h'k-" cene rom onc 0 IJUS 1 0 ........•••• "Kumado'ri," Special Make-up Used in Kabuki .. Varieties of "Kumadori" (In Colors) ......... . The Authentic Curtain Used on Kabuki Stages ... . Actors on the H anamichi . . . ................ . A Samurai Rises onto the H anamichi by the Trap-

lift ... . , .. . .......................... .

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31 33 35

35 A Part of the Revolving Stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36 Chobo Musicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39 Kiyomoto Musicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39 A Kurogo , Black Hooded Attendant. . . . . . . . . .. 40 From the Eighteen Best Plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 44 "Chiishingura" and "Sugawara Denju Tenarai-

) kagami" .............................. 47

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KABUKI

[The Kabuki was first created by an actress by the ' name of Okuni who lived in Izumo about .. four centuries · ago. In its original form the Kabuki 'was not a play,

~ but a type of primi6ve dance called Nembutsu Odori, or " d " prayer ance.

Shortly afte.·ward, the drama was monopolized by male actors, and features of the Noh, a classical play of music and dance, were incorporated into the Kabuki . The present stage of development has .. been attained through the efforts of male players alone . The earliest period of the Kabuki,@en it consisted of dancing only by female players, was of short duration. After the cast came to be made up entirely by male players, the Kabuki play was designed to tell a story and it was enriched in its contents . The fo un dation of the present-day Kabuki was thus l aid in those early days.

Because of the all -m al e cast the best-looking actors naturally come to take the roles of female characters. Such actors are called onnagata, or oyama. THis art of female impersonation by men has made remarkable progress during the past three centuries. Onnagata are trained for their work from early childhood . Before the Meiji Restoration (1868), onnagata, dressed in female costume off the stage as well as on and every effort was made by them to be like a woman in everyday life. The result was a marked advance in the <lrt of impersonation,

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Utaemon Nakamura, prominent female impersonator, as a fair woman.servant, performing a donee with a lion's mask-from the first scene of "Kagami Jish i," popular dance play (see P. 116)

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A spirited lion (center) sports with the butternies, nitting about among the peony nowers - a performance that typifies the symbolism of Kab uki ort . This manly dance of the lion played in the second scene of "Kagomi Jishi" (s ee P. 116 ) contrasts grea t ly with the graceful dancing of the pretty maiden acted by the sam e actor in the fir ' cene as shown on the pre v ious page. "" 19

Children acto~s often take important roles in the Kabuki play- a son of feudal lord (Tight) and his wet nurse (cente?') played by Tokizo Nakamura, veteran female !mpersonator of today, in a scene from /I Jitsuroku Sendaihagi, " treating cf fe ud al f omily troubles in the 17th century,

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Princess Yaega~ i-hi me, one of the three most diHicult "ohimesama" (high-born daughters) ro le s played by Bai ko Onoe,' popular f e ma Ie i mpe rsona to r, in the " Ji sh uko" (t h e i ::cense bu rn ing) sce ne fr om " Honch o Nijushiko," a noted classical r-:ay (see P. 94)

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making it possible for trained actors to represent women of all sorts and condition s on the stage. This is one of the most conspicuous features of the Kabuki play.

Even today there are no actresses in a Kabuki play and it remains untouched by, modernism. All parts are taken by male players, who are far superior to th~ ac- tresses of present-day Japan. .

But how can an onnagata, who at first see ms un- . natural , do better acting th an an a( ;--- ,~~ , ? no bebo-in

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with, the Kabuki is ar.. u m" ~ : tit: , t; it is an ar t of bold outlines. The women 01 oJ "at . as a rule, are small in stature and lacking in dominati .. . c r.~atures. They are not, therefore, fitted ,for the Kabuki, which requires strong personality in its players.

The masculine element in the onnagata fits in with the symbolism of Kabuki. Besides, having been trained from childhood in the manners of the fair sex, the onna- gata knows woman from A to Z-even better than a woman knows herself. ....... Centuries of application and tradition have resulted in such perfection in make-up, costume, and stylization that the onnagata elicits admira- tion and compels respect. Today there are fewer onna- gata of distinguished skill, most of the more illustrious ones having passed away ..."".. Among the living there are Tokizo Nakamura of Tokyo, a veteran player, and Utae- mon Nakamura, Baiko Onoe and Tomoemon Otani of Tokyo, who are outstanding female impersonators of great popularity from the yo~mger group . These latter three usually play the parts of young girls, ohimesama (high-horn daughter) or GQu,rtesans. The ability of these

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young actors compares very favorably with that of the greatest of the masters of the past.

It may be mentioned in passing that in the Kabuki, an ohimesa ma, wh ich means a daughter of a family of high social position, is an acti ve participant in the play. The role is often quite wonderful. A Kabuki play which features an ohimesama is generally one which comes under the head of Maruhommono.

A Maruhommono means a form of mu sical drama which is performed not by human beings but by doll s. The art was created in Osaka more than two hundred years ago throu gh the collaboration of Monzaemon Chikamatsu (1653-1724 ), a playwright of rare genius, and Gidayu Takemoto (1651-171 4 ) , a reciter of J oruri accompaniment. Joruri means the tellin g of the story of the puppet play by a chanter. The proper name for thi s sort of play is Ningyo -joruri.

The Ningyo -joruri is of as much artIstIc merit as the Kabuki play. Though puerile at fir st sight, because it is after all but a play involving toy-like puppets, Nin- gyo -joru ri was developed into a musical drama of high excellence because it was fortunate in having as the com- poser of its play-books, one of the greatest geniuses the dramatic world of Japan has ever had-the celebrated Chikamatsu, the Shakespeare of Jap an .

Almost immediately after the birth of the Ningyo - joruri, some of its plays were reproduced in flesh and blood on the Kabuki stage with considerable success. Today we find that the better Kabuki plays are those wh ich h ave been borrowed from Ningyo -joruri rather

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. ce n e Agemaki (center) , the courtesa n , In a s ~~-nr'''''''--'';--''''''''''~7fl

. , .:.! t " one of the m:st difficult ohimesama roles in Kabuki. Yaega lohlm e ( cen erJ IS

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"K d ' ·, uma On, ' the specia l make-up used in K . characters _ r e d Ii neg for braver I I' abu~l to represent definite

28 ""-' y, ) ue hnes for evLl pe r sons or spiri·., etc.

than tho se of pure Kabuki origin. In the Kabuki plays of Ningyo-joruri onglO, the

ohimesama fi gures conspicuously. She usually is the hero ine of a love story and enlivens the stage with color and romance . Kabuki's three most noted ohimesama are : Yaegakihime, who appears in the " Jishuko". (incense burning) scene in "Honcho Nijushiko," a play based on the strife between the Uesugi and Takeda houses in the 16th century; Yukihime of the "K inkaku- ji" (Golden Pavilion) scene in "Gion Sairei Shink6ki," a drama treating of a 16th-century family trouble, and Tokihime in "Kamakura Sandaiki," a trage dy concern- ing the siege of Osaka . Another typical example of the ohimcsama is Hinadori in "Yamanodan," a Japanese rendition of the Romeo and Juliet theme from "Imose- yama Onna Teikin ," a story concerning the sins and puni shment of a tyrannical mini ster of state who lived

in the seventh century. The oiran (courtesan) is another of the chi ef parts

taken by onnagata players. In feudal Japan, an oiran was an inhabitant of the pleasure quarters . P eople paid respect to her as an object of beauty. In the Kabuki plays of Kabuki origin she is made much of, and as in the case of the ohimesama, she help s a good deal in creating an atmo sphere of roman ce on the stage .

From among the plays of Kabuki Ol'igin, the eigh teen which were most successful on th e Edo stage h ave been selected and are known as "Kabuki Juh achiban " (Ei ghteen Best Plays ). "S ukeroku" is one of the masterpieces of the group . Agemaki, the QLran, plays

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opposite Suk eroku in the title role . The courtesan is the symbol of the esthetic taste and culture of the Edo period (1600-1867). She is spectacularly attired in shikake, a gown, under which she wears kimonos of gor- geous splen dor. The characteristic features of the onna- gata are fully displayed when an onnagata player is enacting the role of Agemaki . In such a character are embodied feminine charms, brought out in strong relief and as unreal as the h~auties of Ut amaro, the celebrated color-print an The wig the actor wears for acting this female part may v\Teigh as much a8 2S pounds on account of its grand display of decorations. Such a heavy burden would almost break the neck of a J ap'anese actress. With a man-woman, however, the unwieldy wig becomes but an element that goes to'war ds the building up of beauty and character harmony. In fact, the onnagata has made it possible for the Kabuki play to present a type of feminine beauty impossible in ordinary con· ditions.

The geisha is another favorite role of the onnagata. The geisha represents a gay-quarter beauty more delicate than the oiran. The onnagata has succeeded in repre- se ntin g on the stage a geisha even excelling that of real life in beauty of form and refinement of manners.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the Kabuki play is a highly refined product of Edo culture and hence a comparat ively modern form of Japanese drama.

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VARIETIES OF "KUMADORI"

a kite impersonator

I a loyal warrior

an evil nobleman

a revengeful ghost a chivalrous man