Page Eighf THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, November 11, 1956
Kabuki heater
A Discussion of Japan's Classic Art Form and Its New Problems
By REIKO NVAGATSUMA of music and action. Exotic cos- The attitude or the younger
n J e tume and makeup may have been generation toward life is different
- A dnew to foreigners. Without know- from that of the older generation.
tiona 1 rama, originated in !
teixtenth centur onae la ing the story, foreigners ma9 have Having lived through the hard
the sixteenth century as a local gotten the impression of a pictur- times of the war period and the
religious dance-play, just as many esque scene in every moment on transition age, the younger gen-
dramatic forms hate had their the stage. But Kabuki, born and eration, after the war, could not
-oo if rit, brh t raised in Japan, has a history of accept the old social system which
SSoon after its birth. the dane- over 350 years and still today more caused the war and established the
play was supplemented with rea- than two thousand people visat imperialism which is unacceptable
listic sketches of the actual life of the Tokyo Kabuki theater every in this modern age. They are now
- the day. On the early Kabuki day, This indicates that the Japa- earnestly searching for the free-
stage, the principal actors were nese go to Kabuki not to appreci- doe of the human being and the
young women dressed in men' ate the art of Kabuki, but to be universal truth. How can they shed
costumes and carrying swords on entertained. tears and sympathize with the
their hips like warriors. They ttraedy caused by a feudalistic soc-
caused 'a great sensation at the . ial system as expressed in Kabuki?
time because they often appeared Forty-,even Rosn . Even if they feel some sympathy
in the Gay Quarters, the "floating NE particularly popular play, for it, they will indulge in it no
world" of ukiyo, of courtesans and Forty-Seven Ronin, gives some longer, for they are attempting to
gamblers and gay night life indication of the Japanese taste build a society in which they ca
Eventually 'the women were pro- in drama. live freely and happily.
hibited from appearing on the In the Tokugawa, or Edo. period Within the sphere of Kabuki,
stage by law. Since that time, there ander the at'ict hierarchical acs there are a few movements to re-
have been no actresses in Kabuki tem, people were born into a given form the Kabuki system to coin-
and the female roles have always class. Human existence was strictly ride with the present transitional
been played by men, bound by personal relationships., age. One is the movement to accept
Individualism was non-existent. actresses or anybody who is inter-
Lirin T heater . . . Each person had to know how to ested in Kabuki. Heretofore, it has
biave within the social circle in been extremely difficult for men
r HIcal which he was born. Maintaining to become great stars without some
IBARAKI-The devil (left), disguising himself as an old woman, theater when viewed from our his social status was his most fm- family background or connection
comes to fight for his arm, removed in a previous battle by the age, it was "living" theater during portant duty. This is giri. Some- Another movement is to let Ka-
warrior Watanabe-no-pusna. Adapted from Noh theater, another the Edo Period (16s3-1868) In times giri implies suppression and buki players perform modern plays
traditional Japanese form, the play is accompanied by musicians those days, four castes-warrior' sacrifice of human feelings, or or to perform traditional plays
ho it behid the actors, farmer, artisan and merchant ninjo. In the story of Forty-Seven with a modern interpretation
csi formed a feudalistic type of so- Ronin, chu (loyalty toward author- which can be understood by the
ciety. People were strictly placed ity), girl and ninjo are well in- contemporary generation. This has
in one of these four classes. By tegrated. If a man tried to pro- been done quite often but without
shogun control, iariows held the ceed on his own idea or to keep much success. The third movement
miltary and polial power while his own way because he thought is to allow Kabuki to be perform-
the other three classes were con- it the right way, he would be ed in a limited fashion, merely
sidesed rosm"onrs, thrown out of society because of enough to restrain it as a national
Kabuki is roauihts di tiled mito his individualism. There was al- treasure,
two geres. Out, JidaiKviogen, is ways a set role for him. This des-
con erned "uts the historic events tiny for him was required by the Neir Problems
of t 'he warriour cla while the social system AFTER the Second World War,
oter , Se - Kyorien, dc h with The character Asa-no-taku-ni- the occupation authorities pro-
at esma sHu eer, mo-k mi stood against irrational hibited the performances of plays
h ae no reaty formal dis- authority. For this he was required concerned with revenge and cruel
ttution, some Jida- sg con- to kill himself. This is the chu fighting. But after two years,
tammt elemeits of weha-Ksoen: which warriors must obey. His fol- practically any play could be per-
and Sewa-Kyogen beimn ieiwov- lowers determined to revenge their formed. This does not necessarily
en with Jidai-Kyogen lord. Though they finally succeed, mean that the people rebelled
By the end of the eighteenth only one thing remained for them against the occupation. They ar-
century, Kabuki dealt with the to do-kill themselves to show the cued that the old Kabuki stories,
golden g of commoners, and in- people that they had. gained re- ;be they revengeful or cruel from
te est in the drain, came not ! venge on the big tigsre of 'uthor- thu West 'n point of view, had
join aristocratic uritors, but fty, nothing to do with Japanese mili-
finom commoners. And it was in The moral here is that people tarism hich the occupation was
uhs p inod that Kabuki esta htlst should be content with the life so eager to abolish Immediately
its speieal theaurial vworld: plays given them. Otherwise they will -fter the war the Japanese had
werie written in a torm manner, not be accepted by their society. an opportunity to establish a free
ud ''veral outtandin actors People in those days had no power coutry. IThey had Ihe opportunity
'pst ed Te o.' praea to reform the social system or crit- to rid themselves of the old, tra-
I trite ben ireserved to tiu pres- icize the authority wuch so ir- ditiunal feudalistic syst, aBut the
^et lt'tt e o s utiotually orlevi'e use iutisipeople weere confused amid the
it''s re''itrus, partivulr i in duals life. In Kabuki people find rapid changes of politics, being
she ej t18681912) ad Tusho some modiication of their dily accustomed to the traditional way
1919 tenious. lives on the stage and identify and being forced to know a new
As for Jidai-Kyogen, tihe plays themselves with those people who life. What did they get from the
SHIK1110 1K1 - Xcroe fism a Jlanes'- Kbki drama in describe mostly riiht, Sexual de- suffer from social strictness and government? They expected a good
whi h various taract s fight over posssion of a srecious mirror sire, fate, God, moral religion, or are forced to give up individuahsty, policy and 'omethi to bring the
which amai brisiht to winon Tenmp1 in the hotses of deal with the atuthiuity of society. Thus, the audience can never cit- good life. But they found that the
curing herself of ilmws- A great deal of action is a prominent part On the other hand, Sewa-Kyogen, icize the play but must simply shed government was unstable and
of such theater. based on the commonurs life, pri- tears, sympathize with the hero ( corruptible. People who were used
marily pictures desperxte. hope- or heroine and console themselves to the old patterns and who know
less love how to live in the old ways nat-
( lauifl Times . urIty felt nostgic for tie days
Plyers & Writers jHE EFFECT of the play in one is may exslain sone at the
jN Kabuki theater, there were sense, to produce a diversion current attitudes toward Kabuki.
the days of Actor Tojuro and for the Japanese people. But what Eighty percent of Kabuki theater-
P 1 a y w r i g h t Chikamatsu. who about Kabuki today: do audiences goers are old fans while only
brought true life onto the stage, still react in the same manner? twenty percent are newcomers who
and the days of Actors Matsumoto After the Meiji Restoration, began to see the plays after the
Koshiro IV, Onoce Kikugoro III and study Western culture. to wear war.
Iseai Hanshiro V and Playwrights troduced. The Japanese way of Theater should aim to profess
Sakurada Jisuke, Namiki Gohei life had been changed. But still the universality of human life as
and Tsuruya, Nanboku. Somehow, Kabuki retained its unique value well as the expression of art. Time
- t Ja good writer and a good actor and effectiveness for the people. will solve the problems of Kabuki.
a ' a have almost always been connected Though the Japanese began to I personally hope Kabuki will find
- in Kabuki, just as they have been study western culture. to wear its way out of the difficulties and
connected in much of Elizabethan Western clothes, to smoke Western keep its particular flavor of Japa-
drama. Writers wrote because of cigarettes, and to talk of sndivid- nese classic art and also be ae-
players whom they knew well and ualism in a free country, their eepted by coming generations.
not for the sake of literature alone. basic life was based upon the tra- Greek tragedy is based upon the
The players interpreted their roles ditional patterns, With growing stories of the gods and human
with the help of their riters, and imperialism, Japanese social life weaknesses, describing the destiny
5h e established interpretations was still strictly bound: even if i that no human being can with-
were handed down, father-to-son times changed, the feudalistie so- stand. Shakespearean tragedy is
as a secret family technique, Thus, cial element was carried over to based upon the tragedy in human
a family of players became a very the new age from the Tokugawa character. To both of them, the
usual occurrence in the world of period. problem of human beings is the
Kabuki. universay tragedy. In Kabuki,
Despite the unique world in Mrs. Wagatsuma has studied tragedy is based upon the social
which it has existed. Kabuki has English at Japan's Women's system of the feudalistic period.
built up a world renow ne repu- University in Tokyo where she This is no longer a universal prob-
tation. Part of the reason may be wa ciei rmtc.Selem of human beings, but the pr'ob-
ItoPrathresnsabe was active in dramatics, She 1cofhmnbigbutepa-
because of the interpretations of has also studied drama at the lem of people in another age. How
1tANMON-G'OSAN-NO'-KIRI--Bandit Goemon Ishikawa (top) is foreigners. Action is colored with University of California for a can the younger generation, who
ho~iwn throwing a dart at his enemy, Hisakichi (below), who has a throbbing dance rhythm. Style short time. Mrs. Wagatsuma are desperately looking for truth,
come to the temple gate disguised as a pilgrim. The pot at the and form are far from realistic in now resides in Ann Arbor with accept Kabuki? This question, and
bottom is used symbolically, since Ishikawa meets his end by being movement; emphasis 1s on the her husband and daughter. its answers, embodies the serious