Dramatic content

Unlike the development of dramatic forms in the West, kabuki was conceived as a performance without any pretence to realistic portrayal. No attempt was made to convince the audience that the events on stage were anything other than exaggerated simulation. In many ways it was much like Western pantomime. Generally speaking the responsibility for maintaining the dramatic impetus is taken in turns with only one character at a time delivering the lines directly to the audience. In kabuki even intimate dialogues are spoken with the actors facing out into the theatre. This "full-front" acting was known as shoumen engi.

Generally the subject matter would be based around a conflict in which the characters of a play become entangled. This would always move to a logical conclusion that lay within the recognised code of ethics, which governed the Edo period society. If a hero transgressed, he would pay with his life. Honour always had to be served.

Generally the literary style of the plays was undistinguished but littered with puns and allusion. Little was written in poetic metre, however there were occasional exceptions, in particular the style known as keiyouzerifu when lines could be delivered in the classic 7-5 rhythmic distribution of syllables - (it is interesting to note that the syllabic arrangement of 7-5-7 is the classic structure used in haiku). This structured style eventually developed into yakuharai, a form that combined the 7-5 delivery with music from the geza.

Kata is an important word in kabuki that is used to describe performing style. This includes vocal and movement techniques and can be extended also to embrace makeup, costuming, music and scenic effects. With reference to specific dramatic content, the kata can be divided into two main types. Kata relating to performance style, and kata relating to specific performance technique. Whether the play is a jidaimono or sewamono, it may comprise a blend of these styles and techniques.

Performance Style

Danmari

Probably the oldest form of kabuki and seldom performed today, this simple form lasts no longer than ten minutes and was more of a wordless pantomime. First, the different members of the troupe would appear and display their costumes and special idiosyncrasies. The subject of the following tableau would then generally consist of the exposition of a topic that would create extreme differences of opinion between the characters. The scene is always set at night and out of doors. It created the impression of seeing a play "through the glass windows of an aquarium".

Aragoto

This is an extremely exaggerated style that projects power and masculine vigour. Its literal meaning is "rough business" and it reflects the brashness, vitality and bombastic martial spirit of 17th century Edo (Tokyo). Its original creation is credited to the then thirteen year old actor Ichikawa Danjuro I (1660-1704) and its dynamic style emphasised the superhuman qualities of the principal characters with dramatically heightened speech and gesture, elaborate costume, extravagant stage props, and vivid kumadori make up.

Wagoto

In complete contrast to aragoto, for the male character, wagoto ("soft style") reflects a more delicate and refined style almost to the point of effeminacy. It revealed the more relaxed nature of life which was prevalent in the other centres of kabuki, Kyoto and Osaka. Sakata Tojuro (1647-1709) created this relatively realistic style of acting and it became increasingly used in the portrayal of love scenes.

Maruhon

Whereas the preceding three styles were created within a kabuki context, maruhon style was derived from the puppet theatre, and during the 17th century it became extremely popular. Sometimes the onnagata in particular would emphasize this connection and recreate the movement of the puppets. The joururi narrative style of the puppet theatre was used to accompany the actor's performance and as with the manipulations of the puppets, this had to be well co-ordinated with the music of the chobo. Unlike other kabuki styles, because the narration produces a slower pace of action, the actors would not appear upon stage until the chanter had set the scene.

Shosagoto

Shosagoto or "pose business", is concerned almost exclusively with dance. A kabuki play can include sections of shosagoto which relate the story accompanied by one of the joururi ensembles (tokiwazu, kiyomoto, gidayuu etc.), or it can be an independent dance piece which is more concerned with showing the beauty of the dancer's movements to the music of a nagauta ensemble.

A subsidiary style of shosagoto was the hengemono. This "transformation" piece consists of a group of dances during which the leading actor makes several changes of costume and role types. The dramatic content is generally quite abstract dealing with themes such as the seasons, or the three concepts of snow, moon and flowers. Often, the theme of the performance determines the number of changes. The first hengemono was Musume Dojoji, which was performed in 1697. It contains seven changes of costume and is performed to the nagauta of a debayashi ensemble.

Shosagoto derived from Noh plays are classified as matsubame (literally, pine and board) after the back wall of the Noh stage that was decorated with a picture of a pine tree. Two shosagoto plays exemplifying this style are worthy of mention.

The Stone Bridge (Shakkyou - 1704) is derived from ancient Buddhist scripts and has both Noh and kabuki versions. Performances of this require a virtuoso display from the actor who must play both the role of an onnagata and then, for the final stages of the play, become transformed into a long-maned lion which performs a highly charged dance.

A scene from a hengemono

The play Sanbaso was originally a Noh play entitled Okina and is based upon the theme of a celebration of long life. In its kabuki version it is performed when a new theatre is being dedicated and during the first three days of a New Year's programme. It features the three most accomplished actors of a company.

Performance techniques

There are hundreds of specific performance kata, however three in particular are used frequently enough to be worthy of mention - mie, roppo and tachimawari.

Mie

Possibly the most striking kata in kabuki the mie is the culmination of intensely passionate emotion. Much like a baseball pitcher's preliminary to his pitch there is a "wind-up" which reaches its climax not in release, but in a frozen dynamic pose which can last for several seconds. The actor crossing his eyes (nirami) and the battering of the wooden tsuke from stage left can give even greater intensity.

There are several types of mie. The ishinage mie freezes the simulated action of throwing a stone, and the fudou mie reproduces the pose of the fierce god Fudo with a rosary in the upturned left hand and a sword clasped upright at chest level in the right.

The mie is not restricted to a solo actor and may be performed by as many as three actors at the same time. This style is called tenchijin and refers to the three different levels (heaven-earth-man) at which it is executed with the principal actor at the highest level.

Onnagata or wagoto role mies are far less dramatic.

A nirami mie

Roppo

The roppo was used originally as a form of entrance but became more used for exits along the hanamichi. It is derived possibly from the swaggering walk (tanzen roppo) of the Edo period dandies as they strutted between the teahouses of the pleasure quarters. Its literal meaning is "six directions" and the term may have been derived from the purification ceremony of low ranking priests where they referred to heaven, earth, east, west, north and south. There are several forms of this exaggerated style of exit. The tobi roppo (flying roppo) involves the actor gesticulating with his hand whilst bounding along the hanamichi in a skipping motion. The kitsune roppo involves the actor leaving the stage with curled "paws" in the manner of a fox.

Tachimawari