Kabuki Theatre

Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theatre which began in the Endo period. The Kabuki plays are usually about moral conflicts in love or historical events. The actors in the Kabuki plays use old fashioned language that's hard for even the Japanese people to understand. The characters use lifeless voices and are accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments. In the beginning of the Endo period men and women both acted in the Kabuki plays but later in the Endo period  women weren't allowed to perform and still to this day, that law still remains.

Noh Theatre

Noh theater, also called nogaku, is a form of musical drama. Noh is almost the oldest form of traditional Japanese theatre starting in the 14th century. Noh theatre combines dance, drama, music, and poetry.  Most of the characters in these plays are concealed by masks, and men played both the male and female roles.Noh, just like Kabuki theatre, was accompanied by many types of Japanese traditional musical instruments. Noh performers are simply storytellers who use their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale rather than to enact it.

Bunraku Theatre

Bunraku is a traditional form of Japanese puppet theatre. The puppets in Bunraku are operated by one to three people and every person is responsible for controlling a different part of the puppet. There is always one person who recites the lines for the puppets during the production. The puppeteer's wear black in order to let the puppets stand out on stage.This form of Japanese theatre was developed before the sixteenth century and was popularized in Osaka, Japan.

Bunraku Theatre Example

Japanese Theatre Costumes

Japanese Theatre has many different types of costumes which are each unique. There are many different features that a Japanese costume must have to be used for the theatre. Each costume has specific rules to follow. Every costume is specially made for a certain actor, but can be used for different parts. Costumes are intricate, formal and extremely imaginative. There are four main parts of a dress, the outer clothing, inner clothing, lower garments, and headdresses. There are many different kinds of garments in each category, but they can be combined with others to make costumes for the theatre or any other production.

Kabuki Costumes

Kabuki costumes use big wigs, and many different types of mask styles to match the character they portray. The color red is excellent and means passion and super human power. Blue is considered to be a bad color and gives a negative feeling that articulates jealousy and fearfulness.

  

Noh Costumes

Noh costumes use the same concept of the outer and inner clothing. They also use mask with in the plays to protray the roles that they are acting out. Because men play both men and women in the Noh theatre, it is more important that the actor wears the mask in order to successfully protray their character. One of the Noh Theatre’s rules for costumes is that if the outfit’s major color is not white, it cannot be remade in a white fabric. Any dress can be used for more than one character; it does not have to be reserved for one character in one play. Little details of a prototype can be changed, but not a main physical feature such as the cut or length of a sleeve.

          

                 

Bunraku Costumes

The puppet's costumes consist of an under robe called a juban, an inner kimono, an outer jacket or outer robe, a collar, and a belt-like sash. In order to give the dolls' bodies the sensation of softness, the robes are lightly stuffed with cotton. Further, there is a hole in the back of the robes to allow the puppeteer to manipulate the dolls. For each performance, the costume masters choose costumes out of many of the same types of robes of different colors and patterns, deciding which robes to use with which puppet. The puppeteers then take part in what is called koshirae, or the dressing of the doll. Because they are used on the stage, the robes' lose their bright colors, they become soiled, and in places they are even worn out.

                 Female Bunraku Costume                       Male Bunraku Costume