This post is long overdue. I believe it was about three weeks ago now that I saw Kabuki. I tried to write a post about it immediately after but it ended up being as long and boring as the Kabuki was. For those who do not know what Kabuki is, you’re not alone. I have no idea what it is and I just watch three hours of it. Are two jokes in a row too much? Possibly, but, boy, this is a tough subject for me. Kabuki is definitely an acquired taste – even for the Japanese. When I told my host family I was going they laughed at me; then when we got there I’m pretty sure all of us college students were younger than the other audience members by at least 20 years.
I was able to have this experience because Nanza’s CJS program is awesome and organizes a lot of field trips throughout the semester. They really want their students not only to learn the Japanese language but to experience the culture as well.
Okay, so what I do know is that Kabuki is that it’s a type of theater where men play all the roles – which do include female characters. It’s distinguishing features are very heavy and dramatic makeup, live music performed on traditional instruments, and beautiful costumery. Oh, and a very distinct style of talking.
Which, it would be so easy to make fun of the way Kabuki is spoken. In fact, I did actively have to restrain myself from laughing during the (very serious) performance. However, objectively, it’s pretty impressive and also very interesting from a sociological perspective. In Kabuki, the actors speak in an oscillating way. They may start their sentence in a deep, gruff manner and end speaking in falsetto. I have to give credit to the actors because if I tried to speak with such a range my voice would crack like a boy going through puberty. Their voices sounded controlled even with these drastic pitch changes. Furthermore, the characters speaking like this include very strong males. From my western perspective, a strong male character should have a deep, commanding voice. So to hear someone who’s supposed to be intimidating speak in falsetto, was…unexpected.
I saw three shows, about an hour each, with an intermission between them of about a half hour each. The long intermissions aren’t just meant to give a break, but so that the patrons can eat dinner. In the lobby, bento boxes can be purchased and then brought back to your seat to be eaten. Which, as an avid theatergoer it was a little strange for me to see people eating full meals in their seats. It was also performed with the house lights on, which added a strange air of informality to a very formal performance style.
The reason I said I have no idea what Kabuki is, is because all three shows were distinctly different. The first was almost entirely motionless. The characters came on stage, took their seats, and then talked. There was some action, but I would estimate it made up, at most, a quarter of the runtime. The second show was mostly a dance, with a short comedic interlude that was an acted scene with different characters than the dancers, and then the two dancers returned to finish the show. The last was just like a play that one might expect to see in the west. They had sets and props that they interacted with. I should say that all three shows had beautiful sets, but for the first two, they were just the backdrops and not really interacted with.
And, for the abridged version, I think that’s about all I have to say. I made a lot of observations and could write quite a lot, but, it’s not the kind of compelling content that I would read, so I’m assuming you all feel the same. If I’m incorrect and there is a demand, I can provide the supply, but, I really hope to move on to recount more fun adventures I’ve had.
Winter All Year 'Round 