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,! Tok yo, 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 the se 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 Mainich i Newspaper and a member of the spec jal co un cil of the Cultur al Properties' Pro- tection Commiss ion .

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

The new editi on h as an added fea t . -h fi ure m t e lne grade o~ art paper th at is used for most of the photo- graphs m th e text. Thi s, tog~ther with the up-to-date revisions and I d h co ore p otographs, adds greatly to its readabili ty.

Dece mber, 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 - Auro go

1V. Principal Kabuki Plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45 The Eighteen Bes t Plays-"Arago to"-Clas- sical P lays-"Sewamono"-"Kizewamono"

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

k'" " T h' ." "l\I,r t' " I yu 1 - a c Imawa n - l lono gaa n - n- spection of the Head - Revue Element- "Sawari" and " T surane"-"Seppuku"

VI. Symbolism and Impressioni sm m the Kabuki ... ...... . ..... .. ........ 69

The Black Curtain-"Yabudatami"-"Nami- ita"-The Story of Ri ce .

-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 Thea ter. . . . . . . . . . . 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 Ki yo m oto 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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9. "5eppllku" (HarakIri) In feudal days the ethical ideal of the SamuraI was

to give up his life for his lord. When it became neces- sary for him to die, he resorted, by preference, to a painful method of disembowelling himself by cutting in- to his abdomen with a sword--called by foreigners hara- kiri, but more commonly known as seppuku among the Japanese. From a profound sense of shame and respon- sibility the samurai would as often as not resort to this act of daring by way of self-inflicted punishment.

Thus up to the dawn of New Japan a multitude of Samurai of great promise took their own lives by com- mi tting harakiri.

The Kabuki play makes it a point of actually por- traying seppuku when a Samurai is to commit suicide . It may indeed be said that seppuku is a feature peculiar to the Kabuki.

One notable example of harakiri is found in Act IV of the "Chushingura," already mentioned. The name of the charac ter is En-ya Hangan . The scene, which is an important part of the play, shows a harakiri scene true to life. En-ya Hangan is ceremonally dressed in white. And other details of e tique tte a r e closely followed , such at the condi tion of th e mat on which the actor sits. When harakiri is performed, the mat must be reversed.

Vi. SYMBOLISM AND IMPRESSIONISM IN THE KABUKI

As has repeatedly been stated, realism and rational- ism must not be sought in a Kabuki play, which is not a play to be heard, but rather a sort of revue to please the eye . In revues, however, reality and truth are not lost sight of by their writers in their work of presenting the beautiful. Though there are some exceptions, the contrary method is used by the Kabuki dramatist. He aims at the beautiful presentation of the unreal and the unnatural. This point is dwelt on at some length in the following paragraphs.

There is a well-known play named "Suzugamori," (At Suzugamori), which belongs to the Kizewamono class. In this play one sees at the opening, when the cur- tain is drawn off, a black curtain in the background. This kuromaku, as the black curtain is called in the language of the Kabuki stage, symbolizes the darkne ss of night. The suggestion of a black night is what it is intended to convey, and it is needless for the spectator to inquire whether it is a rice-field or a hill that is hidden. In the same scene there is at the right and left a sort of two fold screen called yabudatami made of bamboo and bamboo twigs. This repre sents a bamboo grove. Some- times a sea is symbolized by a board on which are paint- ed waves-technically called namiita.

It will be seen that, in stage scenery as in other

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teatures, th e Kabuki piay IS essentiail y symboiic In tech- nique. It is important that the audience should be pre- pared to adjust their minds to sy mbolic representation .

Some twenty year s ago "The Forest," a new Russian play, was staged in Japan by a theatrical company then recently organi.zed. In the production of the play, it is said, the method of Meierchold was adopted. Symbolism Was u sed in the stage scenery to a considerable extent. A tree, for instance, was meant for a large grove . Simi- larly, a single window served for a group of windows. The Kabuki play works on the same principles of sym- bolism and impressionism. For the past two centuries or more these principles have characterized the Kabuki play 'not only in setting, but in the spirit of the actor. To do the Kabuki full justice, therefore, this quintes- sence of Kabukiism should not be lost sight of.

It is related of the fifth Danjuro Ichikawa, one of Japan's stage stars who lived in Edo more than one hundred years ago, that when taking a meal on the stage he never used real boiled rice, but instead had some white cotton in the bowl, which he manipulated so skil- fully that the audience was deceived. This shows what hi s idea of art was bk e. The art of Kabuki consists not in making the real look real, but in making the unreal l ook real. From this it may be argued that symbolistic representation is the so ul of Kabuki.

Let us take up the case of the mie already explained. The straining of the eyes and a steady gaze which make up the pose of mie may seem unnatural, but this is the Kabuki way of emphasizing the senses of excitement,

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sorrow, and emotion. Tho se who laugh at the Kabuki playas unnatural

are themselv es at fault, as it is an art which puts un- naturalne ss out of the question . What it aspires to js so mething higher-to transport the audience to the world of illusion by presenting a piquant slice of life or a strong expression of human sentiment through the medi.um of suggestion, impressionism, and symbolism .

In the appreciation of the Kabuki, therefore, one must be richly endowed with imagination; otherwise one will fail to understand the symbolic and impress ioni sti c expression of the Kabuki. One mu st also be a person of great sensibility, who is capable of perceiving beauty in the apparent grotesqueness and cruelty of a kubijikken or who discovers a dramatic element in harakiri. Only with such imagination and such sensibility can one penetrate into a feeling intricate but common to all humanity rou ghly repre sented by a mie, a pose re- inforced by the sound of wooden clappers.

" K i" or wooden clappers lIsed t o indicate the beginning, th e end, and th e intermissi ons of a pl ay,

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