Japanese Culture: Identity and Tradition

Kabuki　歌舞伎
A bit undiginified in its emergence. Late 16th century (during final wars of unification) Okuni was a dancing girl. Performing in Kyoto with liberal amounts of eroticism.
It was a combination of elements from the Noh dance.
It was meant to attract potential clients for prostitution.
Kabuki - frolicking/flirting/disporting, different from the modern meaning.

By 1629 the shougunate banned women appearing on the stage, because they thought it would corrupt the samurai. This remained right through to the 19th century.

So young mens Kabuki emerged, where men performed all the roles, and the emphasis was still on attracting clients.

They were like squires to the samurai - and it was accepted by society that the homosexual behaviour between the samurai and the squires was accepted, prior and after that also (only contact with the west put a stop to that). They wore a special hair lock to siginify that they were 'youths', but they were made to cut these off. The lock indicated that they were available for sex.

Then the young mens Kabuki was banned also, on the same grounds that it was corrupting. The shougunate were more austere and buddhist and close to the aristocracy.

This made the art form develop, and by the late 17th and early 18th century made the art form develop, and it became more of a dramatic art. Focus on acting, music (borrowed from puppet theatre shamisen).

BUNRAKU　文楽
Around about the same time that O-kuni started her performances in Kyoto.
The shamisen is the three stringed instrument, similar to the biwa. Shamisen has a harsher sound to it.

Late 17th century sees the establishment of the theatre in Osaka, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon writes plays for it involving real life human tragedies developing into true drama.
三味線

There is a lot of borrowing between the Kabuki and the Bunraku. The acting styles and the striking of the dramatic poses. Which is actually a borrowing from the puppet theatre. They share a number of plays (again originated with the puppet theatre).

The Plays
Two broad categories
1. "Domestic Pieces"
2. "Period Pieces"

Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Conveys a realism or romanticism that had not been conveyed previously. He was focusing on ordinary people and their experiences.
The central themes, which is important on Tokugawa society, is the tension between loyalty and obligation to ones parents and society etc, and ones natural emotions, love, etc.

IE: Good looking, smart but lowly shop assistant is about to be set into an arranged marriage. But he's in love with a prostitute and wants to live happily ever after with her. But he can't afford to pay her out. Refuses to marry the neice, and he plans to use the money of the dowry to free the prostitute. And so they commit suicide so that they can be together in the afterlife.

This is an example of how giri ninjo is portrayed in his plays.