kabuki theatre post 1: wk 2

Kabuki Today
In modern Japan, kabuki remains the most popular of the traditional styles of Japanese drama and its star actors often appear in television or film roles. For example, the well-known onnagata Bando Tamasaburo V has appeared in several (non-kabuki) plays and movies, often in a female role.
Some kabuki troupes now use female actors in the onnagata roles, and the Ichikawa Kabuki-za (an all-female troupe) was formed after World War II. In 2003, a statue of Okuni was erected near Kyoto's Pontochō district.
At present, regular performances are held at the Kabuki Theatre (Kabuki –za)—with a capacity of 1,600—and the National Theatre, both in Tokyo. Occasional performances are held at other theaters, and troupes of kabuki actors also perform outside of Tokyo. At the Kabuki Theatre, the length of an average program is about five hours; at the National Theatre it is about four. The Kabuki Theatre upholds the actors’ traditional position by adopting a conservative approach, planning its program around the major stars. The National Theatre stresses the importance of the play itself, in an effort to maintain the historical tradition and to preserve kabuki as a classical form.


I have never thought about kabuki,it is very intresting and new to me I would have loved to have seen the hairstyles & atire that was worn when kabuki theatre first began!!!