Kabuki Theatre

Kabuki overview

Kabuki is stylised theatre where the actors (always exclusively male) wear costumes and make-up (not masks), and dates back centuries. Performances involve dance and choreographed movement, music and sound effects, clappers (which let the audience know significant moments are about to happen) and other dramatic devices used to enhance the performance.

Kabuki theatres are purpose built to ensure the dramatic scenes of the play are highlighted, and to accommodate the various and unique components of Kabuki (musicians, clappers, narrator, stage hands etc)

Where to see Kabuki

There are two main Kabuki theatres in Japan, in Tokyo and Kyoto. The Kyoto theatre has a limited season whereas in Tokyo the theatre operates all year with different performances each month. We decided to go to the recently renovated Kabuki-za Theatre in Ginza. Tickets are available for the entire programme, individual performances, or for each act (where your ticket provides access to standing room at the back) and are priced accordingly.

Tokyo Kabuki Guide

During our research into Kabuki we stumbled across a site promising an unforgettable Kabuki experience, which would ‘provide all the information you will need about Kabuki’…including advanced ticket sales, handouts, English summaries, gallery tours, etc. This sounded too good to be true… We have always been sceptical of ‘tour guide’ type operators promising unique experiences etc. However, engaging this site and using their services was one of the best decisions we made about our entire trip to Japan!!

The site is tokyokabukiguide.com operated by the enchanting Kazui Yabe. She has an infinite knowledge of Kabuki (history, the plays, actors past and present, music, props etc) as well as very practical advice (which tickets to buy, when to arrive, where to find lunch, theatre etiquette etc). Kazui was able to purchase premium seats (with lunch included) for a matinee session on our behalf. That Kazui was able to do this was quite remarkable, as the Kabuki fan clubs usually obtain the best seats.

We met Kazui at 9:00 am, two hours before the curtain went up, and over coffee she explained what Kabuki was all about, how the stage was set up, what various characters did, what to look for, when and how to applaud, and so on. Usually I can take in about five pieces of information before my eyes glaze over… but Kazui made it all seem so alive I still remember most of it even now!

Kabuki-za Gallery

Then we were off for a gallery tour. Kazui showed us props, instruments, costumes and how to make some of the sound effects. She also explained some of the history behind Kabuki Theatre performances. Following her advice, we hired a theatre translator and entered the theatre. The translator provided captions of both dialogue and lyrics which enhanced our understanding of the performances.

The sorrow of saying goodbye to Kazui was tempered by our excitement of what lay ahead… she lives in our hearts.

Our seats were called private box #1 and #2, which meant we sat at the junction of the main stage and the hanamichi, a walkway actors use to dramatically enter set. On the bench in front of us we found green tea and cups for us to enjoy during the play.

Kabuki-za June 2018

There were two plays, broken by a dance performance. With two intervals, the entire session went for almost five hours (which seemed to go in a flash!) Although we’d only been in Tokyo for two days we knew that we were experiencing a truly unique and quintessential Japanese event.

As we later saw in numerous gardens, each individual part was exquisitely beautiful, and in combination created something extraordinary. The intricate make-up combined with exaggerated facial expressions conveyed such emotion (greed, elation, heartbreak, despair, rapture, scorn.) This in turn was reflected in movement or inertia, and the flamboyance, opulence, colour, drabness, or simplicity of the costumes.

The apparent simplicity of the sets, with the sparse austerity of staccato music created differing moods throughout the plays: the drama, conflict and tension created during one scene would give way to sorrow and remorse in the next. Then ,with lively movement, slapstick antics, and lighter music, we were laughing. Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!

 It was surprising to recognise various theatrical moments that have been adopted from Kabuki…the repetitious one note tension builder Morricone uses; the frozen dramatic postures of Leone’s spaghetti westerns; Neil Young’s stage hands in Live Rust.

Bento box lunch

Another highlight of our day was lunch. We had pre-ordered bento boxes. They were soundlessly delivered to our box some time during the first performance. When the people around us started taking out food during the first interval we discovered our lunch  arrived behind us in a cold insulated bag. To the interest -and perhaps amusement- of nearby patrons we opened, then prodded and poked, pointed and wondered, and finally ate a (mostly) delicious Japanese meal, the first genuine one of our trip.