What Is The Role Of Kabuki

Femininity is a concept whose attributes are contingent on the culture it is in—what one culture may consider typically feminine traits could largely vary from what another culture views as being feminine. While theater can sometimes subvert theses ideals and present women who function in ways that are not typically feminine, theater can often present idealistic representations of women who exemplify that culture’s ideals of femininity. Take, for example, the female characters in both Guan Hanqing’s Snow in Midsummer and Hroswit’s Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins. While both texts come from largely different cultural contexts—Snow in Midsummer was written in thirteenth century China for a general population whereas Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins was written in tenth century Germany as a closet drama—both texts have female protagonists whose rebellions exemplify feminine ideals of the respective cultures.

During the Jacobean Period women were not allowed to preform in theatres; all of the players were men and boys (Spear 13). It was unsafe for a woman to attend a theatre as ‘Groundlings’;

play was outrageous and not accepted. The image of women in plays and stories at the time were

Ukiyo-e is the name given to one of the most important art forms in all of Japan. Arriving as a new form of art in the 1700's these prints served as a record of daily life and pleasures in a newly wealthy Japanese society. The Japanese themselves had long regarded pleasure as transient because of their Buddhist heratige, because of this the word Ukiyo-e actually means "pictures of the floating world". These prints were truly art which reflected the whims of the masses. They record popular styles of dress, new hairstyles etc. They also record the popular Kabuki theater actors, the most beautiful geisha's (or prostitutes), and later even landscapes. Within the realm of Ukiyo-e there are many masters, but there is one master,

The actors were expected to perform their own stunts. They had to have a good memory to learn and memorize their lines in a short time period. William Shakespeare acted in some of the productions of the plays. Males had to act out the female parts of the plays because females were not allowed to perform in theaters at this time. Although, all of the actors worked hard, the males who dressed up as females got paid the least; this proves they had a lot of dedication to their work. The actors help make the plays at the theater a huge success and very profitable to The Theater.

The representation of gender roles is among the most prominent recurring subjects in theatre, literature and expressive art as we know it. Gender, and what it means to human beings, is a subject that is as difficult to precisely define as death, race, and the concept of existence. Anne Beall, Ph.D. graduate in Social Psychology at Yale University, details in her book The Psychology of Gender that “Gender is socially defined masculinity and femininity. Social psychology studies how gender is defined, created, and maintained through social influence, especially in the course of social interaction” (Beall; 10). The nature of gender roles is ultimately dictated by temporal, societal, biological and even geographical dimensions that are out of our control and though it is a given that gender as a concept has kept as relevant as it is ancient, there has only been under a hundred years of significant progress or general awareness on the matter. The subject matter of important art in any given time period is a reflection of that society’s most urgent struggles and the topic of gender has remained a constant across human history. The physical and emotional features of characters in art and literature are manifestations of the creator’s perception on subjects such race and gender. The message that a creator seeks to deliver on a topic, determines how they will convey the thoughts,

Ancient Greek theatre is famed for hosting many playwrights that have stood the test of time, nevertheless concepts and ideologies present in traditional Greek theatre have become outdated. Strict gender roles were ever-present in society and a person was judged in relation to his or her compliance with these standards. Ancient Greek theatre hosts many misogynistic examples of the conformity to the gender roles of the time as well as the consequences of rebelling against the gender protocol. Women were to remain invisible, obedient and subordinate and to rebel against these restrictions would condemn women to be seen as psychotics, liars, and traitors. Even so many female playwrights recreate these plays today in a modern light to

Even though the lack of an elaborate set design focused the audience’s attention solely on the performers, it also detracted from the performance as it created no connection of the audience with the setting or, at least, with the important themes. The set designers could have created some sort of background that resembled the emotions expressed throughout the various individual acts or could have even contributed with better props that enhanced the audience’s connection to the performances. Despite the dynamic colorful projections, there was little relationship between the lighting design with the entire performance. It attempted to evoke complementing emotions to the dancer’s movements and the music by using a variety of colors and shapes and it was also used to mark the beginning and ending of each act. Nonetheless, the message remained very abstract and hard to grasp, which did not help to enhance the vicarious experience. Given that this was more of a dance performance rather than a theatrical one, there was not a lot of room for character transitions on and off the stage, yet the lighting would have contributed effectively to the performance if it had been more integrated with the characters’ movements and not just projected on a screen as a separate act. Finally, the costume design attempted to create the same effect as the lighting and stage design by using colors and patterns that reflected the emotions of the performance on-stage. The costumes of some performances showed more elaboration, such as in the ones in “Belinha,” while others were less sophisticated and around plain clothes. Nonetheless, as was the case in “9:35, 11:10, 12:45, 2:20, 4:10,” using plain clothes did not necessarily detract from the performance as it created a connection with the setting and important

In 1603, the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate allowed Japan to stay at peace until 1868 (Theatre histories 203). The return of peace allowed for a new culture to emerge that was the opposite of samurai elegance and control; there was a new form of entertainment called Kabuki. These types of performers reversed gender roles and mocked samurai rulers, which caused the samurai, traders and workers in wealthy towns to disapprove of these performers. Even though they were annoyed at these performances, it “confirmed what they took to be their innate superiority to the rowdy culture of the cities” (203). The success of these performances can be explained by the cultural hierarchy theory. The cultural hierarchy is the idea that cultures create a divide to depict the ethical differences. There is a high-status

If a woman chose to remain single or was undesirable to suitors, any responsibility for her finances and well-being would fall on the eldest male relative (Father or Brother). Marriage was the only way for a woman to acquire any title or land. Even when married, the woman was still entitled to nothing, and had very little options to make money even if they were allowed to. The only available professions to them were that of housework or service to nobles. They were not allowed to Act, and it was because of this that most of the plays performed during that time used boys or young men to play the women, so that their voices would still be high

The role of women has changed drastically over the last few decades. Not only has it changed in society, but also in playwrights and theater. In the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, women were looked down upon, and did not have the ability to make decisions in the household. Men were in charge of everything that occurred in the house, as well as, what his family did or did not do. Over the years, as the role of women changed in society, there was a similar change in the role of women in theater also. When theater first began, females did not play a role in performing plays. Young boys, and even men at times, were used to play the part of the women. Plays in the past are used today to show gender differences and the ways in which men viewed women. Although there were gender differences, when played important roles in playwrights and were faced with difficult situations.

During the time in which the play took place society frowned upon women asserting themselves.  Women were supposed to play a role in which they supported their husbands, took care of their children,

While most subcultures around the world are characterized by their fashion, catchphrases, or favorite hangout spots, there is one subculture whose way of life is above and beyond appealing to the media as seems to be the goal with most other subcultures. The Sukeban (suke meaning “female” and ban meaning “boss”) in Japan is a subculture consisting of women who pride themselves on constant commitments of shoplifting, thievery, violence, and torture. However, the irony lies in how these women demonstrate their acts of violence that makes this group stand out among traditional ways of lasing out. The members of the Sukeban are characterized by ankle-length, navy blue and red, sailor-style dresses; and neon colored socks or hair for more modern members. These

They are the ritualization in Japanese culture, women’s implicit expression of love, women’s hierarchy in 18th Japan, and how the landscape of Japan influences the prosperity of Geisha culture.

In Kabuki theatre, everything that is seen on the stage is the result of a meaningful inner dynamic which completes the performance by the coordination of the actors with all the various components of the mise-en-scène and then by the traditions of all the various elements being assembled into an organic whole (Kawatake 1990, 247).