Jidaimono

are Japanese kabuki or plays that feature historical plots and characters, often famous samurai battles. These are in contrast to , contemporary plays, which generally focus on commoners and domestic issues. is usually translated as "period plays". Film and television productions in this mode are called , and share many of the same features.

Overview

As the stereotypical audience for and kabuki were the merchant classes () of Edo period Japan, stories involving court nobles and heroic samurai were somewhat far removed from daily life, and the more everyday stories that dealt with contemporary, urban themes. Even though many of the viewers may have been samurai, the Edo period in which these plays were largely composed and performed was a period of peace, and so the notion of fierce battles and heroic sacrifices represented something of a romanticised escape in fiction.

Stories were almost always derived from classic epics () or other historical sources, often with elements changed, such as the invention of characters to make the story more interesting or to otherwise serve the author's purposes.

Though most of these stories derive originally from historical fact, the sources used by the playwrights were more legend than accurate narratives, and fantastic or magical elements were further added by the playwrights. One play, , revolves around actual historical figures of the Genpei War, including and his retainer . However, the historically false conceit that certain clan generals survived and remain in hiding is central to the plot. Other fantastical elements, such as the (fox-spirit) character , are also added to the story.

Though almost always take place in the distant past, they often were intended to make reference to contemporary events. For much of the Edo period, the depiction of contemporary events, in particular, depictions of the s and criticism of the Tokugawa shogunate, were strictly banned. As a result, plays were designed to use historical or literary references as metaphors for current events. The famous play , also known as the tale of the forty-seven , is one example; though the actual forty-seven and the events surrounding their attempts at revenge for their lord took place in the early 18th century, only a few decades before the play debuted, it was depicted onstage as taking place in the 14th century, with the names of all the principal figures involved being changed.

In many other plays, the , from whom the s claimed descent, were used to represent the shogunate. The clan, who lost the War to the clan in the 1180s, commonly were represented as oppressed or wronged, and symbolized the playwrights' (and perhaps the actors') criticisms of the government. is one example of this, as is ''"Battles of'' , which tells of the Ming Dynasty loyalist who fought against the Qing Dynasty in the late 17th century.

Generally speaking, many of the most flamboyant kabuki plays are , as they tend to feature over-the-top representations of samurai heroes and villains, , and some of the most famous figures in Japanese history. Commoners, the protagonists of , by contrast, are usually portrayed fairly plainly. However, both samurai, courtesans, and geisha also appear in , often with elaborate costumes and appearances.

Terminology

*, "vertical plot" / , "horizontal plot"
*, a subgenre of living history plays meant to be accurate, not romanticised

References

Kabuki21.com
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514181450/http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/edc_dic/dictionary/dic_sa/dic_sa_09.html , date=2011-05-14

Kabuki
Bunraku