Kabuki

of traditional Japanese drama, such as Puppet Theater; which is also known as Bunraku, and the Kabuki play. Both of these Japanese art forms were developed and established in the 1600s. During Bunraku, a narrator would recite the story, which was then acted out with large, lifelike puppets which were being controlled by puppet handlers who quietly worked onstage; in direct view of the audience. Kabuki plays; on the other hand, are of actual lifelike events; except for the fact that they are…

Crystal Au MUSI-103-005 Professor Sarmientos 3 December 2014 Shamisen in Traditional Japanese Music The shamisen plays a prominent role in kabuki and Bunraku dance and dialogue. The shamisen is part of the chobo that consists of the singer, gidayu, and the shamisen player. The shamisen is a three stringed lute with a lengthy neck. It originated from the sanxian, a Chinese instrument that was introduced to Japan through the Ryukyu Kingdom during the 16th century. It turned into the sanshin…

The Takarazuka Revue is an all female theatre troupe based out of Japan that is coming close to its 100th year of existence. The company is characterized by its odd mixture of Eastern and Western Productions, it’s extravagantly decadent costumes, and it’s leading ladies — otokoyaku or slim, androgynously handsome, unusually tall, young women who play the male roles. While the Takarazuka Revue supposedly works to subvert gender roles in its performances, unlike its historical Shakespearian…

One of Japan’s largest cultural influences was its neighbor across the ocean, China. Chinese lifestyles were observed and appealed to Japanese, so with the extra push of rulers promoting them, were incorporated into Japanese society. A major impact of China on Japan is Buddhism. Siddharta Gautama was born in India, and was the center of Buddhism. The religion is based off of his teachings. It was spreading across Asia and eventually came to China. Japanese citizens liked Buddhism, but it caused…

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most elegant of the Japanese visual arts, embracing many varieties of genres and styles. The long history of Japanese painting expresses synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and the adaptation of imported ideas. From a decorative view, Japanese paintings are full of mesmerizing Asian charm. Although, this can also be a confusing subject for novices that want to learn more about it. Different painting styles and schools, a…

One occurence of Yamauba's motherhood appears in legends of yamauba being the mother of Kintaro. The legend goes that a mountain yamauba gave conception to and raised a son possessing Herculean force, by the name of Kintaro. Kintaro was then found via an excellent warrior, named Minamoto no Raiko (or Yorimitsu, 948-1021), changed his identify to Sakata no Kintoki, and grew to become considered one of Raiko's shitenno (four guardians/ lieutenants). Eventually Raiko and the shitenno eradicated…

The bunraku and kabuki play Double Suicide in Amijima was adapted into a film titled Double Suicide in 1969. The film is a very interesting and artistic mix of modern film technique and illusions to the bunraku genre of traditional Japanese theater. Throughout the film, darkly-clothed stagehands and puppeteers, or kuroko, can be seen with their faces covered. In bunraku, kuroko cover their faces to not distract the audience while maneuvering the puppets; however, the lead puppeteer with decades…

the story. Callaghan is then considered to have been a mourning innocent old man that didn’t deserve to die in that fire. Now with all these preconceived notions of the characters, we are thrown for a loop upon finding out the true identity of the Kabuki mask villain. Ig Hero 6 is a film that is constantly blurring and changing the boundaries of its genre, style and bringing in genre deconstruction. The binaries that we have known to be what makes a character good or evil are now…

He claims to admire the author’s fluent writing while simultaneously stating the book had an inconsistent tone that changed as quickly as a kabuki scenery” (Caos). I for one cannot make sense of his comments, it seems as though he read the book with a closed mind. One minute he is degrading Chen’s memoir piece by piece, then the next he is praising it. He cannot seem to make up his mind on how…

It broke from the confucian tradition of wifely fidelity to her husband and portrayed women who were willing to die for love and all but eventually did. In Japanese theater the traditional No play was replaced by a new type of theater called Kabuki, Kabuki emphasised violence music and dramatic gestures. Significantly the new drama emerge not from the rarefied world of the court but from the new world…