Welcome to Horace Mann's Webpage on:

Drama in Medieval through 19th century Japan:

Kyogen, Noh, Kabuki, and Puppets (Bunraku)

Introduction:

Entertainment in early Japan included performances by troups of entertainers and storytellers. They performed as jugglers, acrobats, tightrope walkers, actors and singers, and even sword swallowers. Storytellers fascinated audiences with folk tales with the accompaniment of a biwa, a musical instrument. Comic actors also entertained audiences. Early dramas were called kyogen and were mostly comedies.

The villagers and townspeople also enjoyed community celebrations with folk dancing and singing and performances of masked dance-dramas that reflected their own history and religious connections. Even the Buddhist temples used drama to teach about Buddhism through "morality plays" that showed the moral life of Buddha and other respected people. Shinto shrines also had their performances at festivals that taught about their dieties (gods) and about the history of the temple.

The tastes of the wealthy were very different, however. By the 14th century, Noh drama was a very stylized type of dance-drama that was performed before the nobles and their families. A chorus sang the story that the dancer/actors performed on a stage. These actors wore colorful costumes and masks. The people of the court appreciated the musical instruments, dances, and entertainment which was influenced by Chinese culture.

In the 17th century, the middle class grew and became more wealthy. Cities established theaters for two new types of entertainment. One was the kabuki theater (or "popular" theater) where actors performed with colorful costumes, lively music, and painted faces. The second was the bunraku puppet theater where three puppeteers would bring each large and beautifully costumed puppet to life before an audience. These later two styles of drama are still popular today.

Man playing the Biwa (From Satsuma's site)

I. The Earliest Dramas in Theaters

There is a long tradition of traveling storytellers who used a biwa, an instrument something like a lute or guitar for accompaniment. (This is much like the traveling minstrel tradition in medieval Europe.) There were also traveling puppeteers. So storytelling was well developed as a folk art and later formally developed into theater art.

Religious and Comic Pantomime ["Kyogen"]

Buddhist temples used drama to teach about Buddhism, something like the "Morality Plays" of the Christian Church in medieval Europe. Mibu Kyogen is a comic pantomime which portrays the teachings of Buddha. These plays are said to have originated about 1000 years ago to spread the teachings of Buddhism to the public. They are still performed today in Kyoto. "Horaku-wari" is a play admonishing people on the evils of greed. During this performance, earthenware plates which have been dedicated to the temple by parishioners on February 3rd for protection and good health, are broken, thus protecting the faithful. For more information about these Buddhist plays, see "Origin of the Sembon Emmado Kyogen". For a photograph of a performance (with actors with masks and costumes). Read more about it and see a photograph of a comedy. See a photograph of the masked performers below:

Japanese site

Pantomimes or short comedies ["kyogen"] were also presented in the city by street performers with a make-shift theater set up on the street and in noh theaters as comic interludes which were traditionally performed between noh performances. Kyogen is considered "folk theater" and not as formally developed as Noh or Kabuki. This type of drama included satires, farces, mimicry and romances.

[Photo: iijnet]

Kyogen comic mask

Kyogen comic mask

Kyogen comic mask

Masks from Noh Mask List

The earliest known type of Japanese theatrical entertainment is gigaku, which was introduced into Japan in AD 612 from southern China. (It may have come originally from Indian or possibly even Greece.) Gigaku dances were performed with masks, and may have been comedies.

In the 8th century Japanese rulers discouraged the silliness of the gigaku dramas. In trying to imitate Chinese court life, the Japanese rulers encouraged bugaku, an entertainment introduced from China. Bugaku dances were about simple situations, not long or complicated stories. The performers wore beaufitul robes. Their movements and the music became very ritualized and each movement was to be repeated exactly for every performance.

Other types of entertainment were brought to Japan from China and Korea. A type of acrobatic entertainment known as sangaku. This was popular in the 8th century, and influenced later Japanese drama. Typical acts included tightrope walking, juggling, and sword swallowing.

Sinto shrines had their own sacred dances and songs. The stories of the gods or the history of the shrine were presented at religious festivals and celebrations. Plays were also performed at shrine festivals to support the community's prayers for harvests. These simple religious dramas gradually evolved into more complex forms of drama. (One play is still performed that dates from this period in the 11th century, the ritual dance Okina.)

You are here at Page One: Japanese Drama (Introduction and History)

Go to Page Two: Noh Theater

Go to Page Three: Kabuki Theater

Go to Page Four: Bunraku Puppet Theater

 

Books and Magazines about Japanese Drama

1. "The Japan of Today" discusses the "Performing Arts" on pages 146-151. A free copy of this book is available to teachers from Japan Information Center (part of the Japanese Consulate) at 50 Fremont Street, Suite 2200, San Francisco, California 94105. Phone: [415] 777-3533. (This same information is on-line at "The Japan of Today - Performing Arts".) Also at the Japan Information Center, ask for "Facts About Japan: Kabuki" and "Facts About Japan: Noh and Kyogen", two interesting 6-page pamphlets from the International Society for Educational Information, Inc., Tokyo.)
2. "Noh" by Maruoka and Yoshikoshi; "Kabuki" by Tota and Yoshida; and "Bunraku" by Oga and Mimura; Hoikusha's Color Books Series, Osaka, Japan, 1992. These are small booklets written for tourists and others interested in Japanese culture, available through Kinokuniya Book Store in Japantown, San Francisco. Phone: [415] 567-7625. Also check the public library.
3. Everyday Life in Traditional Japan, by Charles Dunn, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont, 1997, 190 pages. This book has an interesting chapter on "Actors and Outcasts", pages 137 - 143. It tells of the social status and way of life of performers of all kinds during the Edo period (1603 - 1867).
4. "Cut and Make Japanese Masks" by Smith and Hazen, Dover, New York, 1994. A booklet containing twelve noh masks to make. There is a short overview of noh drama and the masks in the back of the booklet. [$6.95]
5. "Kabuki Gift Theater Kit" by D. Love, Harper Festival, New York, 1993. This kit contains play script booklets and a director's guide so a class can produce a "kabuki-like" play. [$15.]
6. Collection of Noh Costumes is available at the public library.
7. Major Plays of Chikamatsu translated by Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, New York, 1990. This book has several plays by the "Shakespeare" of Japan; many of the works are fascinating glimpses into the culture of 17 - 18th century Japan, and the characters are motivated by very different reasons than those familiar to American audiences. If you are interested in digging deeply into the medieval culture of Japan through early kabuki and bunraku drama, this book is for you. The translations are very accessible to strong readers in middle school, but the ethical and cultural contexts are at first difficult to understand and appreciate. However, the reader will gain insights into the thinking of another people in another time and place. Search the public library database for more of Chikamatsu's works in translation.
8. Literature link: Katherine Paterson, The Master Puppeteer, Harper Trophy, New York, 1975. A thirteen-year-old boy describes the poverty and discontent of eighteenth century Osaka and the world of puppeteers in which he lives. For a review of this book by a student press [here].

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Videos and Performance Resources

1. "Bunraku" video, 30 minutes. This excellent video is available from the Japan Information Center (part of the Consulate), 50 Fremont Street, San Francisco, CA [415] 974-1170. (Videos and information are also available in Los Angeles, California. Phone: [213] 617-6700.)
2. Videos: "Noh" and "Kabuki" are also available from Japan Information Center (part of Consulate), 50 Fremont Street, San Francisco, CA [415] 974-1170.
3. The third of the "Living National Treasures of Japan" (National Geographic) is a puppet master (master of bunraku). See how a puppet show is conducted with three puppeteers, and how a puppet is made and manipulated. This segment is about 6 minutes long.
4. The next to last of the "Living Treasures of Japan" (National Geographic, 1980) is of a kabuki actor who is especially talented at portraying a woman whose love is assassinated by her own father. This segment is about 6 minutes long.
5. Some of Chikamatsu's works have been made into modern movies and are available on video: Ugetsu (based on two 16th-century ghost stories), The Crucified Lovers (one of his many plays ending in the death of lovers, often by suicide), and Sansho the Bailiff (the story of a family torn apart by political upheavals in 11th-century Japan--the children sold into slavery, the mother made a courtesan, the father lost). These videos are available with English subtitles from video stores such as Japan Video & Media in Japantown, San Francisco.

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Community Resources

1. Several stores in Japantown, S.F. have noh masks to sell as art objects to hang on the wall. You can also see artwork (woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e) of famous kabuki actors for sale.
2. Occasionally there will be a kabuki performance (at Cal Performances at U.C.Berkeley, for example.) For a calendar of upcoming events, see the Japan Information Center's cultural calendar.

Activities

1. Create a puppet show! Use a Japanese folk tale to turn into a puppet show. Present it to the class.
2. Create a kabuki play and perform it before the class! Be sure you understand the use of a narrator, musical instruments, and actors/dance performers.
3. Write a movie review. Watch one of the videos recommended above (most will be in Japanese with English subtitles) and write a movie review. Introduction: Prepare a brief summary which includes the setting (time and place), main events and characters. Evaluation: Be sure to tell what educational value the video has (such as: does it show about history, the classes in society, the clothing and housing, warfare and weapons? Does it show a type of character or personality which you admire or dislike? Would this be a good movie to show in class? (Was it interesting and would it hold the interest of middle school aged students?) Also tell about the "Academy Award categories: good acting, music, stage setting or scenes, special effects, etc. Conclusion: Restate your opinion of the video and tell your recommendation for viewing in a social studies class. (Your movie review may be posted on this webpage.) Be aware that most samurai movies will be very violent, so check with your parents.
4. Demonstrate the make up, costume and acting of a character from a Kabuki play.
5. All groups may be required to make an oral report on their topic. See the oral report criteria before you begin your report. As part of your presentation, you may show part of the video on kabuki and noh drama, show pictures of musical instruments, noh masks or actors, or other demonstrations.
6. Create a webpage: Show what you learned and did through activities. Remember, a good webpage has an introduction, body, and conclusion (with a reflection) just like a good composition. (Add pictures from other sites or scan in photographs you have taken of your activities.) A good webpage has good information that is well researched and written in your own words. A good webpage may also have links to lead the reader to more information if they want to learn more.
7. E-mail a student in Japan about what you are learning. Ask if traditional dances are still important in their lives, or if they have school dances and if so, what kinds of dancing they do. [Get an e-mail pal from your teacher.]
8. Evaluate the websites listed above according to a five-star system. Which ones, if any, deserve all five stars? Set up your criteria for evaluation. Your evaluations may become part of this webpage.
9. WEBQUEST! Show how much you know by completing this WebQuest on Japanese Drama!