That's a little... Ya know what I mean?: Music and Gender in Japanese Theatre

You may remember if you read my first blog, that I've taken an interest in Kabuki Theater. I've recently discovered there is an even older form of Japanese theatre that predates Kabuki by 200 years called "Noh" Theater. Here I'll explain both forms of Japanese theatre, Noh and Kabuki, and how the importance of strictly regulated gender roles was established. Noh and Kabuki, although similar in origin are very different stage arts. Let's start from the beginning. The origins of Noh trace back to a thousand years ago. Noh is actually a combination of two different forms of performing art. One form called "Sarugaku" involved a variety of dance, magic, singing, and comedy. The other, being a ritual ceremony, is a kind of prayer for a good harvest before planting rice called "Dengaku." These two performing arts were combined in the 13th century into one stage art that began to be performed at Shinto rituals that took place in shrines. Here is a photo of a Shinto shrine to get an idea.

Noh, was loved by the Samurai. We'll get to the samurai aspect soon but I want to add more context. Noh was completed by two people; a father named Kanami and his son, Zeami. They are the ones who completed Noh; remaining the same as it is performed today. The father changed the monotonous singing into a more rhythmic kind of music. The son added charm and delicacy to the comical stories, focusing on the acts of singing and dancing. Their form of Noh was well received by the Shogun during the Muromachi era. (1336-1573) Originally, Noh was enjoyed by local people in public shrines, however, the Shogunate saw it as a noble performing culture and made these performances accessible only to people in power, such as samurai. Later, during the civil war era (1467-1615) Three of the most important warriors in the history of Japan, also fell in love with the Noh performing art. Their names were Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Iyeyasu. During the Edo period, started by Tokugawa Iyeyasu, Noh became a kind of general education for Samurai.

Noh was almost completely lost by westernization and World War II but managed to survive through the dedication of the Noh actors. In 2001 UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared Noh "A masterpiece of human oral tradition and intangible heritage". Regaining its popularity in and outside of Japan. Originally, only men were allowed to act in Noh, but after WW2 women were finally allowed to have roles in Noh theatre. Today, anyone can learn the song and dance of Noh theater, and participate as if it were a sport or musical instrument. Now let's look at Kabuki theatre. I'll give a brief historical context and then we'll compare the two. The origins of Kabuki can be traced to about 400 years ago. Shortly after the 150 year long civil war era had finally come to an end, the beginning of this peaceful era gave way to a variety of new performing arts. The "Kabuki dance" was first performed by a woman named Okuni. It was one of the most popular performing arts at the time. Kabuki comes from a verb called "Kabuku" which translates to "Doing strange things in wacky clothes" The elaborate and flamboyant Kabuki dance was very amusing to the common people. However, the dancing women were starting to "Disturb the morals" due to some of the actors also working as courtesans. So the shogunate (Samurai government) regulated women from dancing on stage and only men were allowed to perform. This only created more problems. Young boys began to act and dance in Kabuki instead. Soon, this also was disturbing the moral code of society as well. Finally, both women and young boys were forbidden to be on the Kabuki stage. To this day, women are not allowed to perform in Kabuki, and female roles are played exclusively by men. Kabuki also went through a survival crisis due to westernization during WW2. The quirky and eccentric style of Kabuki was thought of as an "uncivilized" form of art in Westernized Japan. Many Kabuki theatres were burnt down during the War. Luckily, in 1951, new theatres were built and Kabuki regained its popularity.

In 2005 UNECSO declared Kabuki as "A masterpiece of human oral tradition and intangible heritage". As it was done with Noh 4 years prior.

Key differences between Noh and Kabuki. The stories of Noh were more related to religion and the dancing mimicked the movements of martial arts used by samurai. Noh would use minimal stage props. The main stage tool was the "Noh mask". A mask that would attempt to portray Japanese deities or spirits, featuring multiple emotions in one face. Today, any gender can perform in Noh theater. The stories of Kabuki are more straightforward and focus on the emotions of the characters. Kabuki uses many stage props and the stage sets are elaborate and flashy. Instead of masks, Kabuki features a unique form of make-up instead. Only men are allowed to perform in Kabuki to this day. The female roles in Kabuki are strictly performed by men only. When women were regulated from acting in Kabuki in the past, there was a group of people who secretly protected the dance culture. This became known as "Nihon-Buyo". The Japanese traditional dance we know of today. Instead of acting in Kabuki, women are allowed to participate in this form of dance instead.

Here is a brief video about Kabuki.