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Theatre In Japan
Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment ; kabuki, a dance and music theatrical tradition; , puppetry; and , a spoken drama. Modern Japanese theatre includes (experimental Western-style theatre), '' shinpa'' (new school theatre) and (little theatre). In addition, there are many classical western plays and musical adaptations of popular television shows and movies that are produced in Japan. Traditional forms of theatre Noh and Noh and theatre traditions are among the oldest continuous theatre traditions in the world. The earliest existing scripts date from the 15th century. Noh was a spiritual drama, combining symbolism from Buddhism and Shinto and focusing on tales with mythic significance. , its comic partner, served as a link between the theological themes of the Noh play with the pedestrian world by use of theatrical farce and slapstick. Noh theat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Onnagata
, also , are male actors who play female roles in kabuki theatre. It originated in 1629 after women were banned from performing in kabuki performances. There are many specific techniques that actors must learn to master the role of ''onnagata''. History Edo Period In the early 17th century, shortly after the emergence of the genre, many kabuki theaters had an all-female cast (, or ''kabukimono''), with women playing men's roles as necessary. ('adolescent-boy kabuki'), with a cast composed entirely of young men playing both male and female roles, and frequently dealing in erotic themes, originated circa 1612. The role of the ''onnagata'' was shaped during the Edo period as an expression of femininity that was meant to align with the femininity of real women in Edo society. Both and (or ), actors specializing in adolescent female roles (and usually adolescents themselves), were the subject of much appreciation by both male and female patrons, and were often prostitutes. Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ninjō
in Japanese, is human feeling that complements and opposes the value of '' giri'', or social obligation, within the Japanese worldview. Broadly speaking, ''ninjō'' is said to be the human feeling that inescapably springs up with social obligation. As ''ninjō'' is a culture-specific term, the validity or importance of this concept is subject to a wide range of viewpoints, inextricably tied into one's perspective on nihonjinron, which compares Japan with other cultures to establish what is unique about the country. Concept ''Ninjō'' is roughly translated as "human feeling" or "emotion" and could also be interpreted as a specific aspect of these terms such as generosity or sympathy towards the weak. The classic example of ''ninjō'' is that of a samurai who falls in love with an unacceptable partner (perhaps a person of lower social class or a member of an enemy clan). As a loyal member of his clan, he then becomes torn between the obligation to his feudal lord and his per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōdan
is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and eventually by commoners, and eventually, by the end of the Edo period, declining in favor of new types of entertainment and storytelling such as '' naniwa-bushi''. It was at this time that the term ''kōshaku'' was abandoned and ''kōdan'' adopted. Today, after a failed attempt to revive the art in 1974, there are four schools of ''kōdan'' and only a very few performers between them. The three traditional classifications of kōdan are ''Gundan'', ''Gokirokumono'', and ''Sewamono''; meaning ''war stories'', ''true stories'', and ''contemporary stories'' respectively. Kōdan is usually performed sitting behind a desk or lectern, and using wooden clappers or a fan to mark the rhythm of the recitation. The original kōdan performances were re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chō
is a Japanese actor and narrator. His former stage name was . He is a graduate of the Nishogakusha University Department of Literature and received training at Bungakuza's research establishment and the Seinenza Theater Company before attaching himself to Production Baobab in 1986. He transferred to the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society in 2007. On August 23, 2006, he changed his stage name to Chō after his character in ''Tanken Boku no Machi''. His hobbies include badminton and jogging, and he is a licensed teacher in calligraphy. Filmography Television animation ;1989 *'' Time Travel Tondekeman'' (Pilot, Bronze Statue) ;1990 *''Kyatto Ninden Teyandee'' (Himawari #2, Yongō Sasanishiki, Piddo #9, Missile Yachōbee, Buffalo #10, Ishikari #2) *'' Chibi Maruko-chan'' (Fujiki's Father) ;1992 *''Floral Magician Mary Bell'' (Noppo) *''Mikan Enikki'' (Momojirō) *'' Uchū no Kishi Tekkaman Blade'' (Sakuaari Staff Officer, Guerilla Soldier) ;1993 *'' The Brave Express ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edo Period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by prolonged peace and stability, urbanization and economic growth, strict social order, Isolationism, isolationist foreign policies, and popular enjoyment of Japanese art, arts and Culture of Japan, culture. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu prevailed at the Battle of Sekigahara and established hegemony over most of Japan, and in 1603 was given the title ''shogun'' by Emperor Go-Yōzei. Ieyasu resigned two years later in favor of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, Hidetada, but maintained power, and defeated the primary rival to his authority, Toyotomi Hideyori, at the Siege of Osaka in 1615 before his death the next year. Peace generally prevailed from this point on, making samurai largely redundant. Tokugawa sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yose
''Yose'' (Japanese: 寄席) is a form of spoken vaudeville theatre of Japan cultivated since the 18th century. The term also refers to the exclusive theater where ''yose'' is held. History The ''yose'' was a popular form of spoken theatre in the Edo period. The term is the shortened form of ''Hito yose seki'' (人寄せ席), roughly "Where people sit together". Towards the end of the Edo period, there were several hundred theatres, about one per district (町, '' chō''). The entrance fee, the "wooden door penny" (木戸銭, ''Kido-zeni''), was small. A number of variants existed: * "Narrative stories" (講談, '' Kōdan'') * "Emotional stories" (人情噺, '' Ninjō-banashi'') * "Comic stories" (落語, ''Rakugo'') * "Magic Arts" (手品, ''Tejina'') * "Shadow theatre" (写し絵, '' Utsushi-e'') * "Imitation of several people" (八人芸, ''Hachinin-gei'') * "Ghost Stories" (怪談, '' Kaidan'') * "Artful Tales" (芸屋噺) and others. The main direction was the ''kōdan' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamisen
The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually but sometimes when used as a suffix, according to regular rendaku, sound change (e.g. ). In Western Japanese dialects and several Edo period sources, it is both written and pronounced as . The construction of the varies in shape, depending on the genre in which it is used. The instrument used to accompany kabuki has a thin neck, facilitating the agile and virtuosic requirements of that genre. The one used to accompany Bunraku, puppet plays and Min'yo, folk songs has a longer and thicker neck instead, to match the more robust music of those genres. Construction The is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, with a neck and strings stretched across a resonating body. The nec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Japanese Paleolithic, Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventions were introduced from Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese ''Book of Han'' in the first century AD. Around the 3rd century BC, the Yayoi people from the continent immigrated to the Japanese archipelago and introduced iron technology and agricultural civilization. Because they had an agricultural civilization, the population of the Yayoi began to grow rapidly and ultimately overwhelmed the Jōmon period, Jōmon people, natives of the Japanese archipelago who were hunter-gatherers. Between the fourth and ninth centuries, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Empe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bunraku
is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters), and musicians. Occasionally other instruments such as drums will be used. The combination of chanting and playing is called and the Japanese word for puppet (or dolls, generally) is . It is used in many plays. History 's history goes as far back as the 16th century, but the origins of its modern form can be traced to around the 1680s. It rose to popularity after the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1724) began a collaboration with the chanter Takemoto Gidayu (1651–1714), who established the Takemoto puppet theater in Osaka in 1684. Originally, the term referred only to the particular theater established in 1805 in Osaka, which was named the after the puppeteering ensemble of , an early 18th-century puppeteer from Awaji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
