What is Japanese theater? Types of Japanese theater. Theater no. The kyogen theatre. kabuki theater

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Japan is a mysterious and distinctive country, the essence and traditions of which are very difficult for a European to understand. This is largely due to the fact that until the middle of the 17th century the country was closed to the world. And now, in order to feel the spirit of Japan, to know its essence, you need to turn to art. It expresses the culture and worldview of the people like nowhere else. One of the most ancient and almost unchanged types of art that has come down to us is the Japanese theater.

History of Japanese theater

The roots of Japanese theater go back to the distant past. About one and a half thousand years ago, dances and music penetrated Japan from China, Korea and India, and Buddhism came from the mainland - this is the moment that is considered the beginning of the birth of theatrical art. Since then, the theater has existed on the continuity and preservation of traditions. Scientists suggest that the Japanese theater contains even parts of the ancient drama. This couldpromote the country's connection with the Hellenistic states of Asia Minor, as well as India and China.

Each theatrical genre that came from the depths of centuries has retained its original laws and individuality. Thus, the plays of playwrights of the distant past are staged today according to the same principles as many centuries ago. The credit for this belongs to the actors themselves, who preserve and pass on ancient traditions to their students (usually their children), forming acting dynasties.

Birth of theater

The birth of theater in Japan is associated with the appearance in the 7th century of the Gigaku pantomime, which means “acting art”, and the Bugaku dance – “the art of dance”. A different fate befell these genres. Gigaku occupied the theater stage until the 10th century, but could not stand the competition with more complex pantomime genres and was forced out by them. But Bugaku are performed today. At first, these performances merged into temple festivities and courtyard ceremonies, then they began to be performed separately, and after the restoration of power, this genre of Japanese theater flourished and gained even greater popularity.

Traditionally, the following types of Japanese theater are distinguished: no, or nogaku, intended for the aristocracy; kabuki, a theater for the common people, and bunraku, a puppet show.

Traditional Japanese theater today

In modern times, European art came to Japan, and consequently, modern theater. Western-style mass performances, opera and ballet, began to appear. But the traditional Japanese theater managed to defend its place and not lose popularity. Not worth itthink he's a timeless rarity. Actors and spectators are living people. Gradually, their interests, tastes, perceptions change. Inevitably, the penetration of modern trends into the established and evolving theatrical form for centuries. Thus, the time of the performance was reduced, the pace of action itself accelerated, because today the viewer does not have as much time for contemplation as it was, for example, in the Middle Ages. Life dictates its own laws, and the theater gradually adapts to them.

The theater of the aristocracy but

The theater was born but in the XIV century and gained great popularity among the aristocracy and samurai. It was originally intended exclusively for the upper class of Japan.

Developing over many centuries, the theater has become a national tradition, containing a deep philosophical and spiritual meaning. Its scenery is simple, the main emphasis is on masks, the meaning of which is emphasized by the kimono. Kimonos and masks are passed down from generation to generation in every school.

The play looks like this. Shite (the main character) to the sounds of flutes, drums and a choir tells stories about peaceful life and battles, victories and defeats, murderers and monks, whose heroes will be spirits and mortals, demons and gods. The narration is certainly conducted in an archaic language. But - the most mysterious genre of Japanese traditional theater. This is explained by the deep philosophical significance not only of the masks themselves, but also of all the details of the performance, which carry a secret meaning, accessible only to a sophisticated viewer.

Theatric althe performance lasts from three and a half to five hours and contains several pieces that alternate with dances and miniatures from the life of ordinary people.

Masks but

But - Japanese mask theater. Masks are not tied to any particular role, they serve to convey emotions. In combination with the symbolic actions of the actors and the music, the masks create a unique atmosphere of the Tokugawa theater. Although, at first glance, it is hard to believe that masks do not really serve to convey emotions. Feelings of sadness and joy, anger and humility are created by the play of light, the smallest tilts of the actor's head, compositions of the speech choir and musical accompaniment.

It is interesting that different schools use different kimonos and masks for the same performances. There are masks that are used for some roles. Today, there are about two hundred masks that have survived to this day and are made from Japanese cypress.

Performances but

The theater is alien to realism and built, rather, on the imagination of the audience. On the stage, sometimes without scenery at all, the actors perform a minimum of actions. The character takes only a couple of steps, but from his speeches, gestures and choral accompaniment, it turns out that he has come a long way. Two heroes, standing side by side, may not notice each other until they are face to face.

The main thing for the theater is gestures. Gestures combine both those that have a certain meaning, and those that are used because of beauty and do not carry any meaning. A special intensity of passions in this theater is conveyed by complete silence andlack of movement. It is very difficult for an inexperienced viewer to understand what is happening on stage at such moments.

Kyogen Theater

Japanese kyogen theater appeared almost simultaneously with the but theater, but it differs greatly from it in its theme and style. But - the theater of drama, experiences and passions. Kyogen is a farce, a comedy filled with simple jokes, obscene and empty fuss. Kyogen is accessible to everyone, the meaning of the play and the actions of the actors do not need to be deciphered. Traditionally, kyogen plays serve as an interlude in noh theatrical performances.

The repertoire of the kyogen theater includes plays from the 15th-16th centuries. These are about two hundred and sixty works, the authors of which are mostly unknown. Until the very end of the 16th century, plays were passed from mouth to mouth from teacher to student and were not written down on paper. It was only towards the end of the 17th century that written media began to appear.

There is a clear classification of plays in kyogen:

• about the gods;
• about feudal lords;
• about women;
• about evil spirits, etc.

There are productions that highlight minor family troubles. They play on the inconstancy of men and the cunning of women. Most of the plays are devoted to a servant named Taro.

Kyogen characters are ordinary people in whose lives nothing particularly significant happens. At the beginning of the play, all the characters are introduced to the audience. Actors of the theater are divided into groups: main - sit, secondary - ado, third - koado, fourth in importance - chure and fifth in importance.meaning - tomo. The largest kyogen acting schools are Izumi and Okura. Despite the fact that noh and kyogen are related, the actors for these theaters are trained separately.

Japanese kyogen theater genre has three types of costumes:

• Mr;
• servants;
• women.

All costumes are made according to the fashion of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Sometimes masks may be used in theatrical performances. But these are not masks, but expressing emotions, they are masks that determine the role of the character: an old woman, an old man, a woman, a demon, a god, animals and insects.

After the end of the Second World War, the kyogen theater was updated, and the plays began to be performed independently, and not only as part of the noh theater performances.

Kabuki - temple dancer theater

Kabuki performances were originally designed for everyone. Kabuki theater appeared at the beginning of the Tokugawa era and is associated with the name of the temple dancer and the daughter of the blacksmith Izumo no Okuni.

The girl moved to Kyoto in the 17th century, where she began to perform ritual dances on the banks of the river and in the center of the capital. Gradually, romantic and erotic dances began to enter the repertoire, and musicians joined the performance. Over time, her performance increased in popularity. Okuni quickly managed to combine dances, ballads, poems into a single whole in performances, creating the Japanese kabuki theater. Literally, the name of the theater is translated as "the art of singing and dancing." At this point, only girls participated in the performances.

The popularity of the theater grew,often high-ranking residents of the capital began to fall in love with the beautiful dancers of the troupe. The government did not like this state of affairs, especially since fights began to be arranged for the love of actresses. This, as well as overly explicit dances and scenes, led to the fact that a decree was soon issued banning women from participating in performances. So, onna kabuki, the women's theater, ceased to exist. And on the stage there was a male Japanese theater - wakashu kabuki. This ban applied to all theatrical performances.

In the middle of the 19th century, the decree was officially canceled. However, the tradition of the performance of all roles in performances by men has been preserved to this day. Thus, the canonical Japanese theater is the male Japanese theater.

Kabuki today

Today, Japanese kabuki theater is the most popular of the traditional dramatic arts. Theater actors are well-known in the country and are often invited to TV and film shootings. Women's roles in many troupes again began to be performed by women. Moreover, all-female theater groups have appeared.

The essence of kabuki theatrical performances

Kabuki theater embodies the values of the Tokugawa era, they form the basis of the plots. This, for example, is the law of justice, which embodies the Buddhist idea of rewarding a suffering person and indispensable punishment of a villain. Also the Buddhist idea of the transience of the earthly when high-born families or powerful leaders fail. Conflict can often be based on a clash ofConfucian principles like duty, duty, respect for parents, and personal aspirations.

Make-up and costumes match the roles played by the actors as much as possible. Most often, the costumes correspond to the fashion of the Tokugawa era, are elegant and stylized as much as possible. Masks are not used in performances, they are replaced by the most complex make-up, reflecting the content of the role. Wigs are also used in performances, which are classified according to the social status, age and occupation of the characters.

Bunraku Theater

Bunraku is a Japanese puppet theater. Sometimes it is also mistakenly called joruri. Joruri is the name of a bunraku theatrical performance and at the same time the name of one of the dolls, the unfortunate princess. It was with ballads about this heroine that the theater began. Initially, it was not a puppet, and wandering monks sang songs. Gradually, musicians joined the performance, the audience began to be shown pictures depicting the characters. And later these pictures turned into dolls.

The most important thing in the theater is gidayu - a reader, on whose skill the success of the whole performance depends. The reader not only performs monologues and dialogues, his task is also to make the necessary sounds, noises, squeaks.

By the middle of the 17th century, the main canons of musical performance and recitation in bunraku had developed, but the dolls themselves continued to change for a long time. Over time, the technique of controlling one doll by three people arose. Japan's bunraku theater has an ancient tradition of making puppets. They do not have a body, it is replaced by a wooden rectangular frame intertwined with threads to control the head,hands and feet. Moreover, only male dolls can have legs, and even then not always. Many layers of clothing are put on the frame, which gives volume and similarity to the human figure. The head, arms and, if necessary, the legs are removable and are put on the frame if necessary. The arms and legs are extremely movable and made so that the doll can move even a finger.

The puppet control technique has remained the same, although improved - three actors are needed to manipulate one puppet, whose height is two-thirds of a person's height. The actors are not hiding from the public, but are right there on the stage, they are dressed in black masks and robes. The backstage, the stage backdrop, the curtain and the musicians' platform also have black color. Against this backdrop, scenery and dolls in colorful outfits and with white-painted hands and faces stand out brightly.

The main theme of the bunraku theater is the image of clashes of feelings and duty, "weights" and "ninja". In the center of the story is a person endowed with feelings, aspirations, a desire to enjoy life. However, he is hindered by public opinion, duty, social and moral norms. He has to do what he doesn't want to do. As a result, the conflict between duty and personal aspiration leads to tragedy.

Theatrical shadows

The shadow theater has its roots in ancient times. Asia is considered to be the place of its origin, and it reached its greatest prosperity in China. This is where Japanese shadow theater came from.

Initially, figures were used in performances,cut out of paper or leather. The stage was a wooden frame covered with white cloth, behind which the actors were hiding, controlling the figures and singing. The directional light reflected the action figures on the screen.

Shadow theater in different areas had its own types of figures and repertoire of songs performed.

Yose Theater

Yose is a traditional Japanese comic theater. It originated in the 17th century, and the first performances were held in the open air. But with the popularity of the theater, special houses began to appear for such performances - yoseba.

The theater plays belong to the rakugo genre - satirical or comic stories, invariably with an unexpected ending, filled with puns and witticisms. These stories developed from anecdotes created by rakugoka - professional storytellers.

A performer dressed in a kimono sits down on a pillow in the middle of the stage, usually holding a towel and a fan in his hands. The heroes of the story were people of different classes, the subject of the stories was not limited to anything. The only constant was that the stories were funny, related to political, domestic, topical and historical situations.

Most of the stories were created during the Edo and Meiji period, so the described traditions, life and problems are little known and alien to the modern viewer. In this regard, many rakugo actors write satirical stories on topical issues themselves.

Manzai is another genre of yose. This is a comic dialogue, its roots go back to traditional New Year's performances, which were accompanied by songs, dances and acting out.comedy scenes. Gradually, elements of farce, musicals and other genres entered the manzai, which made it even more popular and allowed it to get on television.

Yose theater is also represented by the genres of nanivabushi (a kind of ballad) and kodan (artistic reading). Kodan is a story based on the performance of itinerant artists. The original theme of the stories (battles of the past) expanded, and it included family conflicts, court cases of legendary judges, political events, unusual cases in the lives of ordinary citizens. However, not all topics were encouraged by the authorities. Often performances were even banned.

Synopsis

Traditional Japanese theater is a multi-colored and complex world, the elements of which are actors, musicians, masks, scenery, costumes, makeup, puppets, dances. All this forms a unique and inimitable mysterious world of Japanese theatrical art.