Tag - kabuki

 
 

KABUKI

Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 3, 2014
Japan inked: Should the country reclaim its tattoo culture?
Tattooing is the most misunderstood form of art in contemporary Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 30, 2014
Fast lane awaits kabuki actor's bold lead debut
Some roles demand quick changes of clothes or character, but in the whole wide world of theater, "Haji Momiji Ase no Kaomise" ("A Blushing Maple Perspires in Public") — aka "Date no Juyaku" ("The 10 Roles of the Date House") — is probably the only play in which a single actor plays 10 roles, both...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 12, 2014
Super Kabuki 'spells fun'
Just like the many native English-speakers who have difficulty understanding the language and classical references in the works of William Shakespeare, so Japanese people generally feel a sense of distance from kabuki, as though it were a foreign language.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 24, 2014
Kabuki reviews shed light on Edo theater culture
Seven compilations of acting reviews for kabuki shows performed in Nagoya during the Edo Period have been found in the storeroom of Misono-za, an old theater in the city that is under renovation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 18, 2013
Show marks award of kabuki star's new name
Names matter, and in the realm of Japanese culture almost nowhere more than in kabuki, one of whose top names, Ennosuke IV, has just become artistic director of the Shunju-za theater in Kyoto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 27, 2013
Kichiemon Nakamura II : For the love of 'Chushingura'
As December draws near, the streets are decorated with Christmas ornaments and in Japan, concerts of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony are held all over the nation. In addition to these Western-inspired traditions, there is a made-in-Japan December tradition that has been held since the 18th century and is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2013
Ebizo rethinks kabuki's strategy
In the glitzy and gossipy world of Japanese celebrity, hardly a week goes by without revelations being made about — or made by — Ichikawa Ebizo XI.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 22, 2013
Police stonewalling over death of U.S. teen in Shinjuku prolongs family's ordeal
The family of Scott Kang had hoped that the release the autopsy report would shed some light on the U.S. teenager's death in Shinjuku in 2010 and bring them nearer to obtaining closure. Instead, it has reopened old wounds and raised fresh questions about the original police investigation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 10, 2013
The human kindness of a foxy woman
"Ashiya Doman Ouchi Kagami" ("Mirror of the Imperial Court during the time of Ashiya Doman") depicts the rivalry between two Heian Period characters Abe no Yasuna and Ashiya Doman. It was created as a bunraku by Takeda Izumo in Osaka in October 1734, but it was staged as a kabuki play in Kyoto in February...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 29, 2013
Revamped Kabukiza theater aims to charm a new audience
The Kabukiza is back — with big ambitions and aspirations to make the nation's classical theatrical entertainment more attractive to a 21st-century audience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2013
A lovesick nun, magic sandals and a vengeful ghost
"Sumidagawa Hana no Goshozome" ("The Sumida River Adorned with Cherry Blossoms") by Tsuruya Namboku IV (1755-1829), now showing at the National Theater of Japan, was written to be a blockbuster.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2013
Where cherry blossoms fall: Love, betrayal and tragedy at the Sumida River
The play begins with Matsuwaka (Nakamura Hayato, 19) of the Kyoto-based Yoshida family. He is disguised as Yorikuni of the Otomo family, who is the fiance to princess Sakurahime (Nakamura Kotaro, 19) of the Iruma family. Sakurahime is also the younger sister of Matsukawa's own betrothed, Hanako. (Fusuke...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 19, 2013
Ginza stage set for Kabukiza's fifth coming
The venerable Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo's Ginza district reopens April 2 after three years of renovations and the addition of a 29-floor attached office tower.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’