Download or read book Kabuki s Forgotten War written by James R. Brandon and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2008-10-31 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to a myth constructed after Japan’s surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945, kabuki was a pure, classical art form with no real place in modern Japanese society. In Kabuki’s Forgotten War, senior theater scholar James R. Brandon calls this view into question and makes a compelling case that, up to the very end of the Pacific War, kabuki was a living theater and, as an institution, an active participant in contemporary events, rising and falling in consonance with Japan’s imperial adventures. Drawing extensively from Japanese sources—books, newspapers, magazines, war reports, speeches, scripts, and diaries—Brandon shows that kabuki played an important role in Japan’s Fifteen-Year Sacred War. He reveals, for example, that kabuki stars raised funds to buy fighter and bomber aircraft for the imperial forces and that pro-ducers arranged large-scale tours for kabuki troupes to entertain soldiers stationed in Manchuria, China, and Korea. Kabuki playwrights contributed no less than 160 new plays that dramatized frontline battles or rewrote history to propagate imperial ideology. Abridged by censors, molded by the Bureau of Information, and partially incorporated into the League of Touring Theaters, kabuki reached new audiences as it expanded along with the new Japanese empire. By the end of the war, however, it had fallen from government favor and in 1944–1946 it nearly expired when Japanese government decrees banished leading kabuki companies to minor urban theaters and the countryside. Kabuki’s Forgotten War includes more than a hundred illustrations, many of which have never been published in an English-language work. It is nothing less than a com-plete revision of kabuki’s recent history and as such goes beyond correcting a significant misconception. This new study remedies a historical absence that has distorted our understanding of Japan’s imperial enterprise and its aftermath.

Download or read book Kabuki Dancer written by 有吉佐和子 and published by Kodansha. This book was released on 1994 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fictionalized biography of Okuni, the 17th Century Japanese temple dancer who invented the Kabuki theatre. The novel chronicles her love life and the public's reaction to her innovations, such as cross-dressing, reaction which tended to vary with the political climate of the day.

Download or read book Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage 1780 1830 written by C. Andrew Gerstle and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The creation of celebrity and fame is a topic easily understandable in today's world of pop idol competitions and reality TV shows. This exhibition and catalogue will focus on a similar phenomenon of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when urban Osaka and Tokyo created superstar actors, and will show how this was a stimulus for the creation of theatre, visual arts and poetry. Visitors to the exhibition will be struck by a colourful and varied visual display through which actors were portrayed as legendary urban heroes. The dates of items included will range from about 1780 until the 1830s; but the core of the exhibition will cover the period 1800-1821, and focus on the fierce rivalry between the two Osaka Kabuki superstars, Arashi Kichisaburo II (Rikan I, 1769-1821) and Nakamura Utaemon III (Shikan I, 1778-1838). Books, surimono, single sheet actor prints and albums will highlight the different ways in which actors and performances were represented, and show how this was part of a complex strategy to create celebrity for the actors, poets and artists involved.

Download or read book K Is for Kabuki written by Gloria Whelan and published by Weigl. This book was released on 2016-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces the letters of the alphabet with colorful illustrations and text that describes the culture and history of Japan.

Download or read book Kabuki a Pocket Guide written by Ronald Cavaye and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2012-07-09 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kabuki A Pocket Guide introduces readers to the foundations of Kabuki--its history and its actors, its acting styles and its performance, its color and music--to the sheer beauty and joy of Kabuki. Kabuki, the popular theatre of Japan, began in about 1603 and is still flourishing today. It was the entertainment of the common people as opposed to Noh, the refined theatre of the aristocracy, and is a close relative of the Bunraku puppet theater. All the actors in Kabuki, even those who play female roles, are men and plays and dances deal with the love of the heroes and villains form Japans real or legendary past. Concise enough to take to performance, this pocket guide to Kabuki provides a wealth of fascinating information about plays, the actors, and their history. As only an insider can do, the author takes us behind the scene to meet the actors, attend rehearsal, and get a first-hand look at the makeup, costumes, sets and props that go into a Kabuki performance.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre written by Samuel L. Leiter and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-10-30 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre is the only dictionary that offers detailed comprehensive coverage of the most important terms, people, and plays in the four principal traditional Japanese theatrical forms—nō, kyōgen, bunraku, and kabuki—supplemented with individual historical essays on each form. This updated edition adds well over 200 plot summaries representing each theatrical form in addition to: a chronology; introductory essay; appendixes; an extensive bibliography; over 1500 cross-referenced entries on important terms; brief biographies of the leading artists and writers; and plot summaries of significant plays. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Japanese theatre.

Download or read book A Kabuki Reader written by Samuel L. Leiter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-02-12 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unique in any Western language, this is an invaluable resource for the study of one of the world's great theatrical forms. It includes essays by established experts on Kabuki as well as younger scholars now entering the field, and provides a comprehensive survey of the history of Kabuki; how it is written, produced, staged, and performed; and its place in world theater. Compiled by the editor of the influential Asian Theater Journal, the book covers four essential areas - history, performance, theaters, and plays - and includes a translation of one Kabuki play as an illustration of Kabuki techniques.

Download or read book The Making of Theatre History written by Paul Kuritz and published by PAUL KURITZ. This book was released on 1988 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kabuki Omnibus Volume 1 written by David Mack and published by Dark Horse Comics. This book was released on 2019-12-24 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrate 25 years of Kabuki and immerse yourself in the inspiration for Sony's upcoming Kabuki television series! The origin, the foundation of the story . . . The very beginning of the acclaimed series created by David Mack. This edition collects the first two original Kabuki volumes: Circle of Blood and Dreams in an easy to read digital format . . . the perfect book for fans of Mack and Kabuki, and brand-new Kabuki readers! A young woman code name, "Kabuki" struggles with her identity in near-future Japan. Working as an assassin for a clandestine government body known as "The Noh," Kabuki executes dangerous individuals before they become national-level threats, but when her biological father begins to compromise the agency she works for Kabuki sets out to eliminate him and starts down a difficult path to her own self-discovery.

Download or read book Heroes of the Kabuki Stage written by Arendie Herwig and published by Brill Hotei. This book was released on 2004 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Heroes of the kabuki stage" is written for kabuki lovers and collectors of kabuki woodblock prints, eager to know more about the interesting images on their prints. This lavishly illustrated book has no precedent in a Western language outside Japan. The introduction to this form of theatrical art is placed in the historical and social context of Tokugawa and Meiji Japan between 1603 and 1912. Many of the conventions in the theatre are explained and practically all aspects of kabuki are investigated. The evolution of the playhouse itself, the fascinating interaction between actors and audiences, as well as the development of plays are discussed. There is no other theatre tradition with such elaborate costumes, make-up and variety of acting styles, and these aspects are explained in detail. A brief historical outline of actor prints and their designers, from both Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Osaka, is also included. A large section of the book is dedicated to retelling the 36 popular kabuki plays that are still performed today. Many theatre pieces have their origin in the Nô and puppet theatre traditions: all sources are mentioned in the short introduction to each retelling, which also include{s} detailed notes and references as well as gossip and anecdotes from the world of the theatre. The main scenes of each play and the actors in their leading roles are illustrated by woodblock prints, produced over a period of more than a century. The bibliography provides an up-to-date list of books and articles in Western languages about kabuki. Heroes of the kabuki stage is unique for its extensive index on roles, actors, playwrights, subjects and attributes, which will enable the reader and print collector to find his way in the spectacular world of kabuki.

Download or read book Japanese Plays written by A.L. Sadler and published by Tuttle Classics. This book was released on 2010-03-10 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Classic Noh, Kyogen and Kabuki Works Nothing reflects the beauty of life as much as Japanese theater. It is here that reality is held suspended and emptiness can fill the mind with words, music, dance, and mysticism. A.L. Sadler translates the mysteries of Noh, Kyogen, and Kabuki in his groundbreaking book, Japanese Plays. A seminal classic in its time, it provides a cross-section of Japanese theater that gives the reader a sampler of its beauty and power. The power of Noh is in its ability to create an iconic world that represents the attributes that the Japanese hold in highest esteem: family, patriotism, and honor. Kyogen plays provide comic relief often times performed between the serious and stoic Noh plays. Similarly, Sadler's translated Kyogen pieces are layered between the Noh and the Kabuki plays. The Kabuki plays were the theater of the common people of Japan. The course of time has given them the patina of folk art making them precious cultural relics of Japan. Sadler selected these pieces for translation because of their lighter subject matter and relatively upbeat endings—ideal for a western readership. More linear in their telling and pedestrian in the lessons learned these plays show the difficulties of being in love when a society is bent on conformity and paternal rule. The end result found in Japanese Plays is a wonderful selection of classic Japanese dramatic literature sure to enlighten and delight.

Download or read book Stars of the Tokyo Stage written by Lucie Folan and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stars of the Tokyo Stage celebrates the glamor of kabuki theater amid the dynamic atmosphere of Japan in the 1920s and 30s. Natori Shunsen's superb woodblock portraits of the superstar actors of the time are exquisitely reproduced and discussed in detail, alongside a selection of spectacular costumes from the kabuki stage. Stars of the Tokyo Stage brings together essays by experts in the fields of kabuki, printmaking, and modern Japan. It is a lavishly illustrated, entertaining, and valuable resource for anyone with an interest in Japanese art, culture, and theater.

Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture written by Sandra Buckley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2009 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This encyclopedia covers culture from the end of the Imperialist period in 1945 right up to date to reflect the vibrant nature of contemporary Japanese society and culture.

Download or read book Kabuki Library Volume 1 written by David Mack and published by Dark Horse Comics. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first volume of the four-volume Kabuki Library collects the first two original Kabuki volumes: Circle of Blood and Dreams. The origin, the foundation of the story . . . The very beginning of the acclaimed series created by David Mack. Featuring a total of 11 separate issues and collected with loads of extras, this is the book that fans of Mack and Kabuki have been waiting for and the perfect book for brand new Kabuki readers to begin with.

Download or read book Masterpieces of Kabuki written by James R. Brandon and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2004-05-31 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masterpieces of Kabuki contains eighteen outstanding dramas taken from the landmark four-volume series Kabuki Plays On Stage. Together they cover the entire spectrum of kabuki drama from 1697 to 1905, the period during which kabuki’s dramaturgy flourished prior to the onset of Western dramatic influence. Major playwrights, chronological periods of playwriting, and a variety of play types (history, domestic, and dance dramas) and performance styles are represented. All but one are in the current repertory and regularly staged. The volume includes introductions to each play and a new general introduction highlighting kabuki’s historical development and relating the plays to their performance context. As the subtitle implies, the plays are translated as if "on stage." Stage directions indicate major scenic effects, stage action, costuming, makeup, music, and sound effects. In some cases, complex stage actions such as stage fights are given in detail. The plays collected here are all marvelous examples of dramatic writing, intended to be acted on the stage before audiences. They reveal kabuki’s eras of brilliance and bravado, villainy and vengeance, darkness and desire, and restoration and reform. All continue to stir audiences to admiration and excitement.

Download or read book Kabuki Plays written by and published by . This book was released on 1966 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A History of Japanese Theatre written by Jonah Salz and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-14 with total page 1066 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan boasts one of the world's oldest, most vibrant and most influential performance traditions. This accessible and complete history provides a comprehensive overview of Japanese theatre and its continuing global influence. Written by eminent international scholars, it spans the full range of dance-theatre genres over the past fifteen hundred years, including noh theatre, bunraku puppet theatre, kabuki theatre, shingeki modern theatre, rakugo storytelling, vanguard butoh dance and media experimentation. The first part addresses traditional genres, their historical trajectories and performance conventions. Part II covers the spectrum of new genres since Meiji (1868–), and Parts III to VI provide discussions of playwriting, architecture, Shakespeare, and interculturalism, situating Japanese elements within their global theatrical context. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and prints, this history features interviews with key modern directors, an overview of historical scholarship in English and Japanese, and a timeline. A further reading list covers a range of multimedia resources to encourage further explorations.