Kabuki Terminology

Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danjuro
copyright Tsuruya Kokei

Kabuki is roughly 400 years old since it was created by a woman dancer in Kyoto. Over the centuries certain iconographic patterns and terminology developed. This article is meant to explain some kabuki basics to the newbie.

Juhachiban

These are eighteen plays which had been performed by the Ichikawa family - kind of "top best". The selection was made by Ichikawa Danjuro V (1791-1859). The Ichikawa family has a kind of copyright on these plays. The juhachiban are:

Fuwa
Fudo
Gedatsu
Jayanagi
Kagekiyo
Kamahige
Kanjincho
Kanu
Kenuki
Nanatsumen
Narukami
Oshimo Doshi
Shibaraku
Sukeroku
Wuranari
Wirouri
Yanone
Zobiki.

Tate-yaku and Tachi-yaku

Tate-yaku and Tachi-yaku are heroes which can be classified in three groups.

aragoto-shi - Super-heroes with much physical strength. They perform swashbuckling deeds.
wagoto-shi, nimaime, iro-otoko - The roles which are played with restraint and psychological depth. They are romantic but somewhat weak-spirited lovers.
jitsugoto-shi - Pragmatists who are dignified, wise and capable but are placed in tragic circumstances. Yuranosuke in Chushingura is a good example.

Onnagata

Although kabuki had been founded by a woman, the harsh rule of the shogunate soon banned women from the stage under the pretext of immorality. Then young boys were chosen to play the women roles. But the problem of immorality persisted. It only shifted into a different direction. Finally the female roles were played by grown-up men.

At the end of the Edo time, when times had become more liberal, a reinstitution of women on kabuki stages was discussed. But by that time everybody had been used so much to the onnagata role that the practice continues until our days.

Hanamichi

by Shigeharu Ryusai, 1828

The literal translation of hanamichi is "flowery way". It is a long walkway from the stage to the other end of the spectators area. The actors use it for the initial walk-in at the beginning of a performance and for special highlights, the so-called mie poses.

The hanamichi resembles a catwalk known from fashion shows. But don't call it a catwalk in front of a kabuki aficionado. He might be upset.

Jidaimono

Jidaimono are kabuki plays that deal with historical events. They may not follow the actual occurrences but often dramatize the events in a popularized manner. The most frequently performed jidaimono are:

Genji-Heike Cycle

The stories are about the dramatic battles of the Heike and the Genji (the Minamoto) clans about the supremacy in feudal Japan of the 11th and 12th century.

Soga Cycle

The story of the Soga brothers is is a classical vendetta story. It is about two brothers, Soga Juro Sukenari and Soga Goro Tokimune, who avenged the death of their father. After they successfully killed the murderer of their father, they both faced death. One was killed during the fight and the other one was later executed on order of the shogun.

Taiko Cycle

This story is about the rise and the fall of the three unifier and pacifier of Japan towards the end of the 16th century after generations of feudal wars of powerful local rulers. The three are Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Mie Poses

by Hokucho Inoue, 1829

Mie poses are an important part of kabuki and an indication of the dance origins of its performance. Basically mie poses are a freezing of a climatic moment in several rigid snapshots called mie.

A mie pose is a highlight of a kabuki performance. And while the principal actor poses mie, the others on the stage usually stop their movements. The full attention of the audience and the actors is focused on the mie pose. Mie is considered as a challenge for each kabuki actor and can be played only by experienced performers.

Kumadori - Kabuki Make Up

Kumadori is the theatrical make-up to underline and enhance certain qualities of a kabuki role to the audience. Thus the audience got an easy to understand little helper to assess the character of a role.

Both the pattern of a make-up and the colors have certain meanings. The pattern is never changed for a specific role.

red - strength, passion
indigo blue, black - fear and evil, worn by villains and demons
green - ghosts, supernaturals
purple - nobility

red

red

black

Literature source

Aubrey S. Halford and Giovanna M. Halford, "The Kabuki Handbook", published by Charles E.Tuttle Company, Inc., 1998, ISBN 0-8048-0332-3

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