theater

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

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Reproduction of thp color print . by Toyokuni Utagawo the first (1769-

-1825), 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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COPYRIGHT BY THE AUTHOR & JAPAN TRAVEL BUREAU

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published 'in April, 1938; revised in

December, 1948 j February, 1952;

February, 1953

Printed b¥ fj:OSOKAWA PRINTING CO,! Tokyo, Japan

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EDITORIAL Nait

The purpose of the Tourist Library Series is to give to the passing tourists and other foreigners interested in J lipan a basic knowledge of various phases of Japanese culture. When completed, the Series is expected to in- clude a hundred volumes or so, and will give a complete picture of Japanese 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- utation 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 this country throughout the ages.

The present volume, "Kabuki Drama," is the work of Mr. Shiitaro 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 member of the specjal council of the Cultural Properties' Pro- tection Commission.

This fo "th d" . h -. Ul e It1On, publIshed only half a year after t .e thIrd revised edition went to press, is an evidence of t~e ever-increasing interest shown by foreign en- thusIasts, both here and abroad, in this grand old art of Japan.

The new edition has an added feat . -h fi ure m t e lne grade o~ art paper that is used for most of the photo- graphs m the text. This, tog~ther with the up-to-date revisions and I d h co ore p otographs, adds greatly to its readabili ty.

December, 1952 THE EDITOR

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CONTENTS

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1. How to Appreciate Kabuki. . . . . . . . . . .. 11 An Analysis of the Kabuki-A Land of Dreams- "Daikon"-Its Power of Expression.

II. Characteristics of the Kabuki. . . . . . . . . . . 16 Female Roles-Their No ted Players-High- born Daughters-Courtesans.

JII. l\1achinery Peculiar to the Kabuki Stage .. 33 Curtains - "Hanamichi" - The Revolving Stage - "Ki" - "Chobo" - Geza" - " Deba-

h," " t T " yas 1 - Aurogo

1V. Principal Kabuki Plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45 The Eighteen Best Plays-"Aragoto"-Clas- sical Plays-"Sewamono"-"Kizewamono"

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

k'" "T h' ." "l\I,r t' " I yu 1 - ac Imawan - l lonogaan - n- spection of the Head - Revue Element- "Sawari" and "Tsurane"-"Seppuku"

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

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

-VII. The Story Value of the Kabuki. . . . . . . . . 72 "Sukeroku"-"Kumagai's Camp"-"Kampei "

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

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

Ancient Sketches of Kabuki Actor&-

ILLUSTRATIONS

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

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The Fagade 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'" agamI I S 1 .. ... ......... . .........• 17 A L· 'D f "K . J' h'" IOn s ance--rom agamI IS 1

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

Nurse . . .... . .... ... ................. . 20 Baik6 Onoe, as Princess Y aegaki -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- NT" - h 'k- " cene rom onc 0 IJUS 1 0 ........... • "Kumadori," 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 Hanamichi 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 . . . . . . . . . . . 4-0 From the Eighteen Best Plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 44 "Chushingura" and "Sugawara Denju Tenarai-

I kagami" ............................ . . 47

A scene from "Koibikyaku Yamato Orai" ...... . 48 A Scene from "Shinju-Ten-no-Amijima" ....... . 51 A Scene from "Sannin Kichisa" .............. ' 51 A Pantomime ·Show ....................... . 52 A "1\1)~l).iyuki" . (Travel of Two Lovers) ...... " 55 A Sw.ord . Fight : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Inspe~t.ing a Severed Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 56 Tales of Princess Usuyuki. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 56 "Kumagai Monogatari" by Kichiemon Nakamura

(In Colors) ................... .. ... .... 59 A Scene from "Musume Dojoji" ............ " 63 A Chorus Dance. . . . . . 64 A Scene from "Kirare y~~~;,' ............. " 67 The Harakiri Scene from "Chfr~hi'n'g~~~;': : : : : : : 67 A Scene from "Sukeroku" 73 The '~Michiyuki" Scene fr~l~' ;'Chfr~hi~'g~~~;' : : : : 75 A Scene from "Ichinotani Futabagunki" . . . . . . .. 76 Poses of Well-known Kabuki Actors. . . . . . . . . 81-84. At the Kabukiza Theater. .................. 107,108 Scenes from the Popular Kabuki Plays (8 photos)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 109-112 A Scene from "Kamakura Sandaiki". . . . . . .. 109 The Sushi Shop Scene from "Yoshitsune Sem- .

bonzakura" 109 The "Kinkakuji~;' S~~n'e' . fr~~ . ~'G'i~~ . 'S'ail:~i

Sh 'k-k'" 1 0 1 " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 110 The Amagasaki Scene from "Ehon Taikoki". .. no The Mustering Scene from "Benten Kozo". . .. 111 A Scene from "Kochiyama to Naozamurai". . .. 111

. "Fujimusume," the Dance of a Wistaria Maiden 112 The Katsuragi Mountain Scene from "Tsuchi-

gumo" .......... . ............. . ...... 112

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L HOW TO ApPRECIATE KABUKI

~hat is Kabuki? An answer for the uninitiated may be supplied by

the study of the etymology of the word itself, which shows that (gabuki" is a type of acting based on the arts of singing and dancing. It will thus be seen that Kabuki is not acting, pure and simple; it . is fundamen- tally different from Western dramiJ

rln the Kabuki play, singing and dancing occurs dur- ingThe course of the development of a story characteriz- ed by dramatic elements, and the whole performance is executed as a highly refined art. To be exact the Kabuki may be described as a play more like a revue than a drama, in the European sense-a play in which a clas- sical story is enlivened with spectacular scenes.

@.e Kabuki is a classical play for the masses and is rich in artistic qualities. It naturally follows that the Kabuki is presented in large theaters, and not, as with modern plays of the West, in a small theater intended to serve the sole purpose of art for its own sake.:J --i:\1oreover, the Kabuki is a very complicated dramatic

form. A Kabuki play contains material not in accordance with reason, and its classic style is but a feeble excuse. Foreigners seeing a Kabuki play for the first time in- v ari ably think it is "wonderful." And "wonderful" is a fitting epithet for the irrational element in KabukD So a theater built with the principles of modern stage science

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A dammari play (a type of pantomime}

V. TE(HNIQUE PECULIAR TO THE KABUKI

1. "Dammari"

Dammari corresponds to the pantomimes of Euro- pean drama, the performance being conducted without speech. It was originally conceived ·as a means of per- sonal appearance for star actors when a new troupe was organized. So a dammari play is necessarily very short, lasting only about ten minutes. The actors, colorfully costumed, give their performance in dance fashion. Sometimes a da'mmari contains as many as 50 actors organized so as to form a picturesque ensemble. Though

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nonsensical, a dammari is of great artistic merit. These dumb shows may roughly be grouped in two kinds- historical and modern. The former aim at being gro- tesque and colorful; the latter at being realistic and refined. Music accompanies both kinds of dammari. In the presentation of a historical dammari, the stage device of seriage, or raising of an actor from below the floor, is usually made use of. Another feature worthy of note is roppa. This is a posture made at the foot of the hanamichi by the leading actor of a dammari, who is usually of grotesque appearance. It is highly charac- teristic of the Kabuki and much appreciated by the con- nOIsseur.

2. "K_oroshi"

Kabuki plays of the Sewamono variety often contain a murder scene. This act, or koroshi in the language of the Kabuki stage, presents a sight less cruel than in reality, as care is taken to make it unreal and more or less artistic. Accompanied by dancing and music, a koroshi even impresses the audience as a spectacle di-ffer- ent from that of murder. The Kizewamono plays by Mokuami, already mentioned, have many scenes of koroshi, which are the outcome of jealousy oiiginating in amorous rivalry. .ti.n example of the artistic treatment of a koroshZ: is to be seen in "Kashi Koroshi" (the murder scene on the' river-bank ) in "Edo Sodachi Omatsuri Sashichi" (Sashichi, a True-Born Edoite) composed by Shinshichi Kawatake III (1747-1795), a pupil of Mokuami.

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3. "Michiyuki" "M· I· k·" " 1" " h " IC llyU 1 means trave or on t e way to.

This is a favorite feature in a puppet play. It usually introduces the billing and cooing of a pair of lovers and the charms of the form and motion of a dance are woven into such a performance-in fact, it is more in the character of a dance than a part of a play. When amichiyuki intervenes in a multiple-act play, it gives a feeling of enjoyable relief. Take the "Chushingura" for instance. The thjrd act con tains a michi)fUki by Okaru and Kampei, two sweet souls filled with passion- ate love. In the eighth act there is a rare example of a michiyuki by a mother and her young daughter. A michiyuki is usually enlivened by Gidayu music, and this makes it seem more like an oasis for the audience in their travel through many acts.

4. "TachimawarP' Humanism is a quality that characterizes the Kabuki

play and its characters advocate social justice, which they go to great length even at risk of life and limb to defend.

Almost every Kabuki play has its injustice, its swords and its fights sometimes between the samurai themselves and sometimes between the samurai and members of other classes. These sword fights are called tachimawari in the Kabuki. Being more conventional and picturesque than realistic, they are in good keeping with the spirit of the drama. When a Samurai cuts ari opponent of a low rank, the victim turns a somersault. The perform-

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A .. michiyuki" (travel of two lovers)

.. Tachimawari" (a sword-fight)

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': Kubijikken," inspe~\ ing ~ severed head

A picture-scroll of ac tors on parade from the Tales 'of Princess Usuyuki

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mg of thi s acrobatic fea t is called " tombo wo kiru." The grim seriousness of a fight for life is softened and made humorous by a man leaping down from the roof with the lightness of a leaf driven by a wind. Moreover, a fighti ng scene is interrupted with much festivity as music is furnished by the geza, or unseen orchestra? al- ready described elsewhere. All these endeavors make the severity of a struggle as unreal and artistic as pos- sible. Examples of Tachimawari are found in "Maru- bashi Chuya" (Marubash i Chuya the Conspirator) by Mokuami (1816-1893), and in "Sakaro no Higuchi" (Higuchi the Faithful), the third act from "Hiragana Seisuiki" by Izumo Takeda (1691-1756), a hi storical play illustj"ative of the feud between Y oshinaka, a 12th- century Minamoto genera], and some other members of hi s clan.

5. "Monogatari"

Th ' d "" b" . " B IS oes not mean story, . ut narratIOn. . y means of the monogatari an important matter is narrated to another. Many of the Kabuki plays adapted from puppet plays make use of this device, which marks the climax of a particular art. Gestures like that of a stage dancer and music by chobo combine to make such a narration congenial to the Kabuki. ll!Jonogatari is con- sidered to be a very difficult piece of Kabuki acting, and there are many conventions to which the actor must

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conform. Here an actor has an opportunity to exhibit his talent and skill. Consequently monogatari is wen 'Worth the careful attention of the student of the Kabuki.

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At the risk of repetition, the reader should be warned that here as el sewhere in a Kabuki play the performance should not be judged by the standard of realism. The eye must see the heauty of harmony produced by form , attitude, manner of utterance, and motion combined, and thi s in the midst of the appearance of the unnatural and the grotesque. There is a symbolistic beauty in the actions of a human being imitating a puppet. Examples of monogatari are to be found in the third act of "Ichi- notani Futabagunki" (Tales of the Ichinotani Battle) and in the "Sanemori Monogatari" (Sanemori's Monologue) scene from "Gempei Nunobiki no Taki," a play based on the famous story of "The Rise and Fall of the Genji and Heike Clans."

6. "Kubijikken"

Migawari is a feature of the Kabuki play of puppet- show origin. It means an act of sacrifice in time of danger made for the master by a loyal retainer who bears a resemblance to him in person and age. Kub i- jikken, or inspection of the detached head, is the way in which such a fraud is discovered. The head is brought on to the stage in a wooden vessel, and the inspection is conducted by one who can tell whether the head be- longed to the right man.

In feudal Japan, war was the order of the day .and sacrifice in the form above specified was often called for. The institution of kubijikken was born as a counter- measure. The identification of a bloody head placed on a stand and a group of men in breathless attention is

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"Monogatari" (a narrative) by Kichiemon Nakamura, foremost Kobuki actor of today, in the scene entitled "Kumagai Mono- gatari" from the "lchinotani Futabagunki" (see P. 93)

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not a scene calculated to give artIstIc pleasure to the audience, but the hand of Kabuki art has succeeded in giving a light touch to it so as to soften and beautify a sight otherwise grotesque. As in the case of monogatari already mentioned, kubijikken invariably accentuates the climax of a play. It is valuable for the student of J apa- nese culture as it gives a glimpse into the inner life of the Japanese Samurai of yore. Examples of kubi/ikken are found in the "Terakoya" (Private School) scene from "Sugawara Denju Tenaraikagami" (The Sugawara School of Penmanship) and in the "Moritsuna's Camp" scene from "Omi Genji Senjinyakata," a play dealing with two 12th-century generals, Sasaki-Takatsuna and Moritsuna, brothers who fought in battle on opposmg sides.

7 . Revue Element

Reference was made at the beginning of this brochure to the analogy between Kabuki and the revue. Ever since the days of Okuni who created it, the Kabuki has been a popular theatrical performance calculated to catc:h the fancy of the masses. Unlike a certain kind of highbrow drama of the new school which, presented at a small theater and often expressed in a style not understood by the people, the Kabuki has never been intended for persons pretending to superior intellect or culture, The Kabuki was and still is synonymous with a form of stage art easy for the multitude to understand, an art designed primarily to appeal to the taste of the general public. The Kabuki play is a spectacle, colorful and intoxica t-

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ing, which purports to be a feast for the eye, as well for the ear.

We have a case in point in the "Flower-Viewing Scene" of the "Shin Usuyuki Monogatari" (Tales of Princess U suyuki), one of the best, if not the very best~ historical pieces of the Maruhommono type now included in the repertoire of plays whose performance is approv- ed. (This play was performed for the first time in 1746 at the Nakamura-za in Edo, the original script being jointly by Koizumo Takeda (d. 1753 '?) and a few others.) In this particular scene an element of the revue is clearly in evidence where a lady of birth, her maids, colorfully attired menservants, young samurai, important-looking samurai, and bizarre chanin, or townspeople, all appear on the stage, one after another, so spectacularly as to give you the impression that there is a picture-scroll of actors on parade unrolled right before you.

Another example may be furnished by the well- known dancing scene in the "Yoshitsune Sembonzakura" (Y oshitsune in the Yoshino Mountains), a historical drama written by Izumo Takeda in 1748. This scene of michiyuki (traveling) is backgrounded by the Yoshino mountains resplendent with cherry blossoms and is a sort of revue. The michiyuki scenes in Maruhommono pieces are, on the whole, rich in revue elements.

Then there is the celebrated seizoroi (mustering) scene of "Benten-Kozo" (The Robin Hood of Japan), a representative play by Mokuami Kawatake (1816- 1893). The way Benten-Koza and his associates assem- ble on the bank of the Ina.se river to the accompaniment " Musume Diijiiji, .. a typical Kabuki dance play (sec P. 115)

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A chorus dance by foot men

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of a complicated piece of music is definitely sugge"stive of a revue scene.

8. "Sawari" and "Tsurane"

In historical drama, transplanted from the puppet play, a marvellous stage effect is achieved by means of a unique, if irrational, technique.

First and foremos t among such devices is the sawari. Sawari is somewhat analogous to an aside or a soliloquy in a western play. But it is unique, for it differs from its western counterpart in being exclusively put into the mouth of a female character. This technique is employ- ed only ""in a puppet play and a Kabuki play of puppet- show origin, employed in time to Joruri music which is an important adjunct to such a play.

In all probability sawar£ was originally devised to give expression, by means of impassioned passages as chanted by a "Gidayu singer, to the emotions which cannot actually be put into the mouth of a doll representing R woman character in a puppet show. In the Kabuki , too, this technique is adopted with great effect. The Japanese Kabuki dramatist did a good thing in creating this device which really does duty for a psychological description of the heroine of a playas impersonated by an onnagata actor. The word 'sawari' means literally 'touch' and certainly it does touch the chord of pathos like many of the oft-quoted soliloquies in Shakespearean plays.

Another effective technique resorted to in the Kabuki is what is called tsurane. This consists in making the principal character of a play, as in "Shibaraku" (Stop

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a lVIinute!), suddenly burst, in the midst of a dialogue spoken in plain language, into a lofty passage couched in phrases felicitous, well-turned and metrical. On the face of it, nothing seems more irrational, and yet aclu- ally it does not fail to produce a telling stage effect.

When used in a Kizewamono piece of Edo origin, the tsurane is often called yakuharai. Looking through the history of the Kabuki, we find the first examples of "yakuharai" in one of the scenes of that gruesome ghost play "Yotsuya Kaidan" by Namboku Tsuruya (1755- 1829) and in the "Genjidana" (At Genjidana) scene from "Kirare Yosa" (The Love Affair of Yosaburo and Otomi) by Joko Sagawa (J 806-1881). Mokuami got this technique from N amboku, and brought it to perfec- tion in such plays as "Sannin Kichisa" (Three Robbers ) and "Murai Choan," (Murai Choan, a Fiendish Quack- Doctor). Sawari and tsurane have proved as valuable an asset in popularizing traditional Kabuki plays as the star actors and .noted dramatists.

Yet another technique which may be included in this category is kakeai. This is used in an old play like "Sayaate" in which two principal characters enter at the same time, one over the hon-hanamichi (main pas- sage) and the other over the kari-hanamichi (auxiliary passage ) which runs parallel on the opposite side, and start an exchange of words. The dramatist Mokuami was fond of this technique of making dramati c capital out of the double passage and the two characters, and used it in such a playas "Izayoi Seishin," (The Love affairs of Monk Seishin and Izayoi, a Courtesan),

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A scene from" Kirare Yosa," the Love Affair of Yosab uro and Olomi

The harakiri scene from" Chfishingura "

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