Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025 - 27

ordinary people by singing and dancing
with cross-gendered casting. Other
female performers started imitating
Okuni's Kabuki-odori by incorporating
the Shamisen, a new stringed musical
instrument at the time, and people
started calling it 'Onna-Kabuki' (Female
Kabuki). It became incredibly popular,
spreading from Kyoto to Osaka and Edo
(Tokyo, east side of Japan) (Japan Arts
Council " Beginning " 2019).
Despite this widespread popularity,
concerns about content and audience
behavior meant performing the
Female Kabuki was eventually banned.
Information about Kabuki performances
of Okuni's time can be found in the
words used to describe the art form.
Iezzi observes, " The term 'Kabuki' was
originally written in the phonetic syllabary
(hiragana), referencing the 'deviant'
or 'leaning' kabukimono. The term was
later written with three kanji characters,
ka (歌 song), bu (舞 dance), and ki (伎)
[skill] " (Iezzi 2017, 111). The audience
included both ordinary people and those
of higher status who came to see the performance
and enjoyed it. However, conflicts
between the fans became difficult
for the authorities to control (Japan Arts
Council " Beginning " 2019).
Thus, unruly crowds and sexualized
content led to the ban on Female Kabuki,
and later Kabuki groups faced similar
government restrictions. For example,
another performing group, " WakashuKabuki "
(Young Boys Kabuki), became
popular after the ban on the Female
Kabuki. The group included acrobatic
programs and comical characters, but
this form also focused on physical appearance
and romantic stories with
cross-gender casting, so it, too, was restricted
and banned (Japan Arts Council
" Beginning " 2019).
Performers were desperate to find
a way to perform, however, and YarouKabuki
(Adult Male Kabuki) was formed.
The word " Yarou " came from a male
hairstyle of shaved forelocks, which indicated
their symbol of adulthood. The
performances had multiple scenes with
well-structured plots, and their performance
techniques were high quality.
While the Onna-gata (Female character),
a cross-gender character, was developed
in the Young Boys Kabuki, it continued
to be used in the Adult Male Kabuki. The
form also extensively developed a variety
of female characters, good and evil male
characters, and comical characters. The
development of these characteristics
of theatre arts helped the expansion of
Kabuki as a performing art instead of the
form being viewed as entertainment only
(Japan Arts Council " Beginning " 2019).
Kabukiza Theatre
The architectural history of the Kabukiza
Theatre deepens our understanding of
Kabuki history and offers a perspective
on its economic and cultural impact.
Ortolani discusses the role of the large
theatres as a valued cultural space after
the end of the Tokugawa (Edo) period
(1603-1868). " The large theatres supplied
the townspeople with the only places
for regular gatherings where 'their'
world could be collectively celebrated-a
showplace for their economic success,
their
licentious fantasies, and daring
fashions, as well as for the venting of
their veiled criticism of forbidden topics
and of their masked aspirations for
social recognition. When the Tokugawa
world collapsed, Kabuki and Joruri kept
memory and nostalgia for the era alive.
They become a frozen monument to the
tastes and moods of the Tokugawa merchant
middle-class " (Ortolani 1995, 162163).
The Kabukiza Theatre was built
in this era, and while Iezzi observes that
" today, the Theatre Division of entertainment
conglomerate Shōchiku Company
controls all permanent kabuki venues,
except the National Theatre, and manages
all kabuki actor contracts " (Iezzi
2017, 102), the Kabukiza Theatre, one of
the Shochiku's venues, has a long history
of supporting the Kabuki industry, both
before and after it was under Shochiku's
management.
The first Kabukiza Theatre was
built in 1889. Its exterior embraced the
Western style, while the interior was
traditional Japanese
style, using the
Japanese cypress for luxury architecture
and temples. It had three stories, the
capacity was 1,824 people, and the proscenium
arch opening was about 77'-6 "
(23.63 meters). Within two years after it
was built, the Kabukiza required renovating
because the building was too frail.
The Toho Company (Shochiku's competitor)
also built the Imperial Theatre
around the same time, indicating the
performing arts were a popular art form
Okuni's statue. | Courtesy of Naoko Skala.
ISSUE 4, 2024 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | 27
Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2025

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