Kabuki

How did Kabuki begin?

• A famous actress started performing publicly outdoors on a dry river bed

• The Emperor allowed peasants to have entertainment and passed a law

• The Shogunate made it illegal for anyone but native Japanese to perform

• A famous actress from China arrived in Japan and . started performing her style of Theater

What was were Onna Kabuki plays usually about?

• About prostitutes singing and dancing

• Women's only theater, no men allowed in or to see

• Only the poor were allowed to see it because it was for them

• The Samurai or other higher social classes should not have seen it because it was too crude, but they still watched it

Who were the main actresses in a Kabuki play?

• A law passed in the past made it illegal for women to be actresses, so young boys played women

• Only the rich upper class were allowed to be actors and actresses

• The educated and rich were the only ones who could read, this meant only they could be actors and actresses

• Actors and actresses from outside Japan were allowed to perform in Kabuki

Why was a law passed that prohibited young men from performing in Kabuki?

• Too many of the boy Kabuki actors prostituted themselves to Samurai that watched their shows

• The Shogun and Emperor were homophobic

• Women were allowed more freedom and allowed to be actresses again

• Kabuki was thought to be too dirty and naughty and wrong

How was Kabuki changed to prevent issues with the actors and Samurai?

• Only grown men were allowed to act, they had to shave their heads and they had to wear ugly make up

• The actors were not allowed to interact with anybody outside of the theater

• Samurai were not allowed anywhere near theaters

• Kabuki Theaters watched and allowed only in certain parts of the city

How long did a typical Kabuki program last?

• It lasted 12 hours!

• A program lasted all day

• A show lasted 3 hours

• A program was about as long as a movie today

What were Kabuki actors like?hey dedicated their whole lives to it and

• Their parents were usually Kabuki as well, they started practicing since 6 years old and not considered good until 40

• They dedicated their whole lives to it and were not legally allowed to do anything else

• They were very serious in real life but very wild and fun loving on stage

• It was a career they went to school for when they were young adults

How serious were actors about their roles specially the onnagata?

• They were the rockstars of their day, and they acted like it

• They had many many fans and admirers that even gave them gifts

• The male actors that played women kept acting as women even after the play

• The actors lived near were they worked and were only allowed to marry other actor families

How popular were Kabuki actors in Japanese Society?

• If they threw a used towel into the crowd there were riots as people tried to get the towel

• They were social outcasts without many friends outside of their acting group

• They were so popular even the Emperor was a fan

• Many people from outside of Japan came to see their performance

What was Bunraku?

• Puppet Theater

• It was a special type of Kabuki with fake actors

• It was a play about ghosts and demons

• It was special play about death and the after life