Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful material: I just wish there were more
I've found it quite difficult to find kabuki plays in translation, as opposed to secondary literature about kabuki, or translations of noh plays, for instance. This series is wonderful because it provides exactly what I was looking for, with a lucid, informative introduction to each play, and copious notes on the staging, as well as photos. I can't comment on the quality of the translation of the script, but I am really overjoyed to come across the actual "stuff" of kabuki theater in a language that I can understand.

My only two quibbles with the "Kabuki Plays on Stage" series have to do with what the series leaves out. First, kabuki performances usually comprise only an act or two, or a critical scene from a play that was originally much longer. This series only translates the sections that are typically performed, while I would be interested to read a full kabuki play beginning to end. Second, as far as I know, this 4-volume anthology includes no examples of a "snow torture" scene, as in the play "Akegarasu" (which is not included). That said, I don't know of any work in English that would give you either of those things, and I recommend the "Kabuki Plays on Stage" anthology unreservedly. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Asian Theatre Journal, published by University of Hawaii Press on September 22, 2008. The length of the article is 15984 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: America's Kabuki-Japan, 1952-1960: Image Building, Myth Making, and Cultural Exchange.(Essay)
Author: Barbara E. Thornbury
Publication: Asian Theatre Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2008
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Volume: 25Issue: 2Page: 193(38)

Article Type: Essay

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
Restoration and Reform, 1872-1905, is the fourthand final volume in a monumental new series that traces kabuki'schanging relations to Japanese society during the premodern era.

The twelve plays translated in Volume 4 cover the remarkable Meijiperiod, which followed the restoration of the emperor as the leader ofJapan. They reflect the years in which reform-minded leaders struggledto help Japan catch up with the West. Dramatists no less than otherssought ways in which to bring their traditional art into the modernworld and to bring international respectability to the nationalstage. Included are kabuki dance plays that strive to resembleno and kyogen; historical dramas that abandon theatricalfantasy and opt for accurate reproduction of ancient manners; domesticdramas featuring colorful heroes and heroines; pieces that introducefaddish Western properties and behavior; and a play that bridges thegap between the conventions of classical kabuki, Shakespeare, and themodern psychological drama. Dominating the era are the works ofKawatake Mokuami, the last great kabuki playwright, while thedramaturgy of literary scholar Tsubouchi Shoyo brings kabuki into thetwentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a sumptuous, oversized collection of photographs by a celebrated Japanese photographer of the actor Bando Tamasaburo, a rising young star on the Kabuki stage, and a specialist in the refined art of the "onagata", or female roles traditionally played by men. Bando gave Shinoyama Kishin unprecedented access into the secluded and tradition-bound world of Kabuki, allowing the photographer to create an intimate and diverse portrait of a multi-talented artist. An absolute must for Kabuki enthusiasts or Japanophiles. (Published entirely in Japanese by Kodasha.) ... Read more

Product Description
There is much that is remarkable about this volume. Its roots date back to an international conference on Shakespeare and kabuki with the theme 'Traditions of Cross-dressing and Cross-gender Casting', held near Kobe, Japan, in August 1995. In January of that year Kobe had suffered a major earthquake resulting in significant loss of life and great damage to the infrastructure. At last, it is now possible to publish most of the papers that were presented at the Kobe conference (together with some additional contributions), which have been edited, and where necessary, revised for publication; and though so long delayed, the essays continue to represent key areas of research by some of the world's most distinguished scholars in their fields. The topics addressed include feminism, transvestism, cross-dressing, cross-gender casting, Elizabethan boy actors and kabuki onnagata. Importantly, the volume also contains a full transcription of the Open Forum session which concluded the conference, providing the reader with a quality debate on the main issues.Also included is a plate section featuring images from the 1991 London staging of an 1886 kabuki version of "Hamlet", directed by Koji Orita, today Artistic Director of Japan's National Theatre, along with Orita's original presentation on the staging of his kabuki Hamlet, with an introductory commentary by Scott Johnson. ... Read more

Product Description
Mayama Seika wrote plays for all four of the major theatre genres in modern Japan over a period of 30 years. His life in that theatre and his work for it afford us a unique view of the panorama of theatrical development in Japan since the early years of this century. "Kabuki in Modern Japan" focusses on Mayama's contribution to the vitality of 20th-century kabuki. It discusses his plays both in the context of his playwriting career and as part of the living theatre of Japan. Although Mayama died in 1948, his story is continued into the 1980s with a description of a kabuki production of his most famous plays under the direction of his daughter Mayama Miho. ... Read more

Product Description

Kabuki is the most popular form of Japanese traditional theatre, a colourful and exciting spectacle based on traditional, historical and mythic narratives, many of which involve the code of the samurai. Dazzling though the costumes and makeup are, Kabuki is basically the telling of a story, but as there is no spoken narrative or dialogue in Kabuki, the story has to be known in advance, in order to fully appreciate the performance. A proper playgoer's companion, it not only gives plot summaries of more than a hundred of the greatest and best Kabuki plays and dances, but also describes exactly what is happening on stage as the performance proceeds -- who the characters are, how they can be identified, when they enter and exit, and what they are doing. All forms of Kabuki drama are included -- exotic spectacles, classical plays about valour and devotion, love stories and dances. The structure of Kabuki programmes is explained, as are the technical terms and customs that visitors find perplexing, and there is a helpful system of cross referencing, and a comprehensive index. It enables novices to appreciate the unique art of Kabuki for the first time, and enhances the appreciation of experts. Indispensable for any play-goer, this remarkable volume is also a valuable resource for all students of traditional Japanese culture and literature.