P1+Theater

Japanese Theater Theater is a big part of the Japanese culture. Going to a play or performance is a special event. There are many different kinds of theater. There is the bunraku theater for adults. There is also the kabuki theater for lower class citizens. Also, there is the noh theater that is just for upper class citizens such as samurai. In the bunraku theater, the actors do different things than the actors in the kabuki theater. In the kabuki theater, the actors do different things than the actors in the noh theater. The many different kinds of actors and theaters are all unique and all have their own way of putting on an amazing performance. Bunraku Theater The Bunraku Theater is a theater for adults. The adults would watch the almost life size puppets perform. There were people that were handling the puppet’s mouth, arms, eyes, etc. The puppets would be on stage acting while the other people would be controlling them from the backstage while the puppets would have the audience in awe. The Japanese culture is unique in its own way and there is no other culture like it. And the theaters in Japan reinforce that statement.
 * The Theater**
 * By Max N. and Sullivan M.**

Bunraku Actors In the bunraku theater, they used puppets to make a show. The bunraku actors would be behind the scenes and would control the puppets. The actors would also bring the life size puppets out on stage and control them. They always wore black so they would blend in with the theater. There was minimum light in the theater so the black gave the optical illusion that the actors weren’t there. Though the actors put on unique shows, they were not very high in social status just like every other actor for every other theater.

Kabuki Theater In another kind of theater, the kabuki theater, samurai were not allowed in, but they snuck in any way. Samurai still enjoyed the theater so they hid behind masks or covered themselves up so they could watch. Double suicides were very popular in the kabuki theater. The plays were meant to be funny. They were often about how lower class citizens outsmarted upper class citizens. The kabuki theater was created in the early seventeenth century by a woman, yet women were not allowed to act. If there was a part that would be needed to play by a woman, the men would dress up as them. The kabuki theater was another theater that was enjoyed the Japanese people. Kabuki Actors In the kabuki theater, there were kabuki actors. The kabuki actors were considered the lowest class of actors and some of the lowest class of people. They were even below the merchants who were at the bottom of the social structure. The reason for this might be because they only performed for average people like artisans, merchants, and peasants and didn’t perform for samurai. Sometimes they were invited to put on a play for samurai but that did not happen very often. One reason they might be in the lowest class or disgraced is because of the shows they put on. Kabuki actors often performed plays where lower class people defeated and outsmarted upper class people. In some stories, peasants or even merchants outsmarted daimyos, the highest ranking samurai. The kabuki actors had no life outside of the theater; their whole life was acting.

Noh Theater Another kind of theater is the noh theater, sometimes just spelled ‘no’. The noh theater is a type of theater where there are just two actors and main characters who frequently change masks to show different emotions. Noh plays were put on for higher class citizens such as samurai, daimyos, and maybe even the shogun. Merchants, artisans, and peasants were not permitted into the theater and were not allowed to watch the show. The shows were very popular for the samurai and were considered a rare and amazing event for the onlookers.

Noh Actors The actors that performed in the noh theater were born or even adopted into an acting family. If you were in an acting family, you had to become an actor. Noh actors did not perform for peasants, merchants, artisans, or farmers. Noh actors were probably some of the higher ranking actors because they performed for samurai, daimyos, and sometimes the shogun even let them come into Edo, the capitol city, and perform for him. Even so, they were still not high in the social structure and it wasn’t an honor to be one of them. In all kinds of theaters, it was not an honor to be one of the actors but the actors were still appreciated because they put on amazing shows that were a large part of Japanese culture.

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Citations:

Dun, Charles James. //Everyday Life in Traditional Japan [by] CJ. Dun//. Boston: CE Tuttle Co, 2000. Print.

Kalman, Bobbie. __Japan the Culture.__ New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 1989. Print.

Mitchell, John D, and Miyoko Watanabe. __Staging Japanese Theatre: Noh and Kabuki.__ Key West, FL: Institute for Advanced Studies in the Theatre arts, 1994. Print.