Classical and Modern Styles | History of Kabuki (2024)

Popularity of a shin-kabuki

There weren’t really any notable playwrights that followed after Kawatake Mokuami, who continued writing many works form the Edo period (17th to 19th centuries). However, there was also the influence of the Engeki Kairyo Undo (theatrical performance reform movement), which made it easier for writers such as Tsubouchi Shoyo to have some connection with Kabuki. Subsequently, works written by playwrights from outside of the Kabuki scene were performed from the late Meiji period to the early Showa period (end of the 19th to first half of the 20th centuries).

Ichikawa Sadanji II thrived in his successful performances of this series of shin-kabuki (new Kabuki) plays. The acting techniques he acquired while studying in Europe also proved to be very popular with students and others who were not the usual Kabuki audience. Sadanji II was the first to perform several of these new plays including “Shuzenji Monogatari” (The Tale of Shuzenji) and “Bancho Sarayashiki” (The Broken Dish) by Okamoto Kido, and “Genroku Chushingura” (Lord Tsunatoyo at Ohama Palace) by Mayama Seika; they are still frequently performed today.

Sadanji II also revived plays that hadn’t been performed for a long time, such as “Narukami”

(The Holy Man Narukami and Lady Taema) which is part of the “Kabuki-Juhachiban” (Eighteen Kabuki Pieces), and “Ehon Gappo ga Tsuji” (A Picture Book of the Vendetta at Gappo ga Tsuji) by Tsuruya Namboku IV.

In addition to the frequently performed “Irezumi Chohan” (The Tattoed Gambler Hantaro) by Hasegawa Shin, writers such as Oka Onitaro and Nagai Kafu also wrote several of these shin-kabuki plays.

Carrying on classical Kabuki

While shin-kabuki was thriving, traditional Kabuki was also still being performed and producing many excellent actors including Nakamura Utaemon V, Onoe Baiko VI, Matsumoto Koshiro VII, Ichimura Uzaemon XV, Onoe Kikugoro VI, and Nakamura Kichiemon I. This period is referred to as the golden age of Tokyo Kabuki.

Among this group of outstanding actors, two in particular gained popularity for their contrastive performance styles; Onoe Kikugoro VI for his skills in sewa-mono plays and dancing, and Nakamura Kichiemon I for his tachiyaku roles in jidai-mono. The acting and production skills of this duo dubbed “Kikukichi” have become a model for generations to come, and their techniques are still being carried on today.

Onoe Kikuguro VI polished up the performances of roles that Onoe Kikuguro V excelled at, by adding his own ideas and techniques to them. These included the roles of Kamiyui Shinza in “Tsuyu Kosode Mukashi Hachijo” (Shinza, the Barber), and Sakanaya Sogoro in “Shin Sara Yashiki Tsuki no Amagasa” (“The Killing of Otsuta” and “Sogoro,the Fishmonger”). He also added new elements to the production of the dances “Yasuna” and “Fuji Musume” (The Wisteria Maiden), and revived “Kagami Jishi” (The Kagami Lion Dance), which had stopped being performed until Kikuguro VI made it one of his popular performances.

As for Nakamura Kichiemon I, he was successful in skilfully mastering the dialogue in roles such as Kumagai Naozane in “Ichinotani Futaba Gunki” (Chronicle of the Battle of Ichinotani), and Sasaki Moritsuna in “Oumi Genji Senjin Yakata” (The Genji Vanguard at the Omi Mission).

In the Kyoto and Osaka area during this time, Nakamura Ganjiro I gained a huge following for perfecting the modern wagoto technique with his gorgeous appearance and subtle acting style; he came to be known as the face of Osaka Kabuki.

From revival to prosperitys

During World War II, most of the Kabuki theatres were destroyed by fire and many talented actors lost their lives. Although Kabuki finally restarted when Japan was under the occupation of the General Headquarters, performances of “Kanadehon Chushingura” (The Treasury of 47 Loyal Retainers) and many other similar themed plays were temporarily banned due to their perceived advocacy of militarism and the class system. Kabuki experienced difficulties during this time.

Nevertheless, the Kabuki-za Theatre was rebuilt in 1951, and the performance of “Genji Monogatari” (The Tale of Genji) was also a huge hit; the revival of Kabuki had begun. In 1962, the name of Ichikawa Danjuro was revived after many years of not being used, and the shumei (taking over a stage name) performance to announce the succession of the stage name Danjuro XI was immensely popular; this signalled the Kabuki boom that was to follow.

Modern-day Kabuki

While carrying on classical performing arts is once again being emphasized, new initiatives are also being successively incorporated into Kabuki. The National Theatre opened in 1966 with the aim of preserving and promoting traditional arts; traditional Kabuki performances are held there on a stage built especially with apparatuses for performing Kabuki. Then in 2005, Kabuki was proclaimed to be a “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO, and in 2008 it was included on the “Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.
Nowadays, Kabuki is also produced in collaboration with authors and directors of contemporary plays, and there are performances of new plays based on manga and anime films. Many Kabuki plays are also being performed on a variety of stages and not just exclusively in Kabuki theatres. These diverse initiatives in Kabuki are making this performing art more accessible to an even wider audience than before.