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What is “Kabuki”?
Posted in: Blog, Japanese Culture by admin on November 17, 2009
Kabuki (æŒèˆžä¼Ž) is a traditional theatrical performing art in Japan. It is said to have originated from Kyoto in the early 1600s. Only male actors are allowed on the stage, and they give highly stylized performances while wearing special makeup.
Kabuki performances run the full gamut of human emotions by making extensive use of various sound effects, distinctive costumes and hairpieces, stage settings and props, and other stage mechanisms.
Kabuki can be described as a performing art that symbolizes the male urban culture of the Edo period (江戸時代 1603 – 1868).
Kabuki still remains relatively popular today (it is the most popular of the traditional styles of Japanese drama), and there are major theatres in the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Interest in kabuki has spread to the West, and kabuki troupes regularly tour Europe and America.
