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Shibaraku - Wait a Moment!      Famous Kabuki Play.

Shibaraku - Wait a Moment!
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Among fans of the Japanes kabuki theater the play "Shibaraku" is maybe the best known and the most popular one. The simple plot and the spectacular costume of the hero are among the reasons for its popularity. Shibaraku is one of the "kabuki juhachiban", the 18 kabuki plays of Ichikawa Danjuro.
Shibaraku - Wait a Moment

Japanese Masks      Japanese Masks on Woodblock Prints.

Japanese Masks
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Masks are an essential part of the Japanese noh theater whilst the actors of the Japanese kabuki theater perform without masks. But there is one exception. The kabuki play "Nanatsumen" (The Seven Masks) is a fast role change play with masks. This play and the noh theater are the background for images of Japanese masks shown on Japanese prints.
Japanese Masks in Noh Theater and Kabuki

Japanese Kabuki      The Traditional Japanese Theater.

Japanese Kabuki
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Kabuki literally means, song and dance. It is one of the old traditional forms of theatrical entertainment developed by a temple dancer, Izumo no Okuni, in the early 17th Century.
Japanese Kabuki

Kabuki Juhachiban      The Eighteen Kabuki Pieces of Ichikawa Danjuro.

Kabuki Juhachiban
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In the third month of Tempo 3 (1832), Ichikawa Danjuro VII commissioned and distributed a privately made woodblock print to commemorate a major change in the kabuki world. For Danjuro had decided to pass his coveted name to his ten-year-old son, Ebizo, and to take the lesser Ebizo name for himself.
Kabuki Juhachiban - 18 Famous Plays

Ichi no Tani Futaba Gunki      Famous Kabuki Play

Ichi no Tani Futaba Gunki
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Ichi no Tani Futaba Gunki is the title of a famous Kabuki play and means 'The Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi no Tani'. The Kabuki play is about a tragic event during the historic battle of Ichi no Tani. At Ichi no Tani, the Minamato (also called Genji) achieved a spectacular victory against the Taira (also called Heike) under the leadership of their military leader Yoshitsune.
Chronicle of the Battle of Ichi no Tani

Bunraku - Japanese Puppet Theater      Japanese Puppet Theater.

Bunraku - Japanese Puppet Theater
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Bunraku is the Japanese form of puppet theater. Japanese consider it as a serious art form and not as entertainment for children. Bunraku is more than making puppets appear lively on a stage. It is also narrative chanting and shamisen music, by which the Japanese puppet theater is accompanied.
Bunraku - Japanese Puppet Theater

Noh Theater      Traditional Japanese Theater.

Noh Theater
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Noh theater, compared to kabuki, is the more refined, aristocratic form of Japanese theater. Paul Binnie, the author of this article lived in Tokyo for more than five years and became an expert and afficionado for Japanese theater.
Noh Theater - Introduction

Kabuki Theater      Popular Japanese Theater.

Kabuki Theater
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Did you know that Kabuki was first created by a woman and that later all women were banned from stage? Read this article, written by Paul Binnie, an afficionado for the noh and kabuki theater.
Kabuki Theater

Kabuki Terminology      Kabuki Glossary.

Kabuki Terminology
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An explanation of some of the terminology used in the world of Kabuki.
Kabuki Terminology