Kabuki

The word "kabuki" comes from the widespread verb "kabuku", literally meaning "to deviate." Subsequently, the word "kabuki" began to be denoted by Chinese characters, and "kabuku" gradually became obsolete ^[2] .

The word “kabuki” in its original spelling in Japanese consists of three characters - 歌舞 伎 , where the symbols 歌舞 ( kabu ) mean the phrase “song and dance”, and the symbol »( ki ) means“ mastery ”. At the beginning of the XVII century, the characters “qualified woman” and “game” were used as homonyms for ki . Such a combination of characters gives a description of the drama, which at that time was a performance consisting of dances, songs and sketches with a dramatic component ^[3] .

In modern Japanese, the word "kabuki" is used only in one sense: to denote a popular form of drama ^[3] . In modern Russian, the word "kabuki" is an unchangeable indeclinable noun of masculine and feminine gender .

Edo Period (1603-1868)

The Kabuki genre developed in the 17th century on the basis of folk songs and dances. The genre began with Okuni , the servant of the Izumo Taisha Shrine , which in 1603 began to perform ritual dances in the dried riverbed near Kyoto , as well as on the streets of the city, where it was quite crowded. Later, in her performances, she began to add romantic and secular dances, which were performed to the sound of various musical instruments (flute, drums).

Later, the woman became famous throughout the capital. Perch began to perform on stage. Women played male and female roles in comic plays, the plots of which were cases from everyday life. The new genre quickly became popular, Perch was even invited to speak in front of the Imperial Court. On the crest of success of a new type of theatrical art, rival troupes began to emerge, which gave rise to the emergence of the Kabuki theater, as a combination of dramatic and dance art in which all roles were performed by women.

Initially, kabuki was to a large extent rude and indecent; many actresses led an immoral lifestyle. Because of this, sometimes a homonym was used for the name kabuki ( 歌舞 妓 kabuki , "theater of singing and dancing courtesans ") .

The somewhat rude and even frantic atmosphere of the theatrical performances of kabuki attracted the attention of the Tokugawa shogunate , and in 1629, in order to preserve public morality, women were forbidden to perform on stage. Some historians believe that the government was also concerned about the popularity of productions that cover the lives of ordinary people, rather than the heroes of antiquity, and the Kabuki scandals that involved some government officials.

In view of the great popularity of kabuki, young women took the place of female performers. Along with this, the nature of the productions changed - more attention was paid to dramatic art than to dance. However, this had little effect on the moral side of the performances, moreover, the young actor actors were no less accessible to the public than their predecessors. Performances were often interrupted by brawls, which forced the shogunate to ban youth performances on the kabuki stage in 1652.

Since 1653, only mature men could perform in kabuki troupes, which led to the development of a sophisticated, deeply stylized kind of kabuki - “yaro-kabuki” ( 野 郎 歌舞 伎 yaro: kabuki , “rogue kabuki”) . This metamorphosis occurred under the influence of the kyogen comic theater, also popular at the time in Japan. Almost always, all the roles of kabuki are performed by men. Actors specializing in female roles are called “ onnagata ” or “oyama” ([ 形 , “[actors] female style”) . Two other styles of performance are called “aragoto” ( я 事 荒 , “rude style”) and vagoto ( 和 事 事 , “soft, harmonious style”) . Among the kabuki actors, there are theatrical dynasties specializing in certain styles of play.

During the Genroku period, kabuki theater flourished. The production structure was formalized, many elements of stylization appeared. Character types have also been established. Kabuki and Ningyo-jeruri ( Japanese п 浄 瑠 璃 , a puppet theater, later known as bunraku ) were closely associated with each other and had a significant influence on each other. Chikamatsu Mondzaemon , one of the first professional authors of kabuki plays, created several productions that had a huge impact on the development of the theater, although, considered the most famous of his works, the play Suicide of Lovers in Sonezaki , was originally written for the bunraku theater. Like many other plays for bunraku, “Suicide” was adapted for the kabuki theater and evoked many imitations - it spawned so many suicide copycats in life, and not on the stage, that the government forbade the production of plays about the mutual suicide of lovers in 1723. The same period is characterized by the appearance of the language of poses “mie” ( п 見得 ) and makeup “kumadori” ( 隈 取 り ) , created by Ichikawa Danjuro .

By the middle of the 18th century, the public had lost interest in kabuki , and bunraku took the place of the most important art genre for representatives of the lower classes of society (partly due to the appearance of several talented productions of bunraku). Kabuki did not develop until the end of the 18th century, when the theater began to regain its former popularity.

Meiji Period (1868-1912)

With the beginning of the Meiji restoration , which changed the course of the historical development of Japan, a broad strip of borrowing the experience of European countries began in all areas of society. In this situation, the art of kabuki was threatened with destruction. The first to respond to new trends was the outstanding theater figure Morita Kanya XII (1845-1897), the former owner of one of the three large kabuki theaters in Edo - Moritadza ^[4] . As soon as the restrictions on the territorial distribution of theaters were lifted, Morita Kanya moved his theater from the Sarukawa-mother quarter in Asakusa to one of the central quarters of the capital - Shintomi-cho ^[5] .

The theater was reconstructed according to the European model. The tower of the jagur was abolished (an indispensable accessory of the old theaters); for the public, dressed in European dresses, chairs were installed in the stalls. For lighting, gas lanterns began to be used. In 1878, more than a thousand guests were invited to the grand opening of the theater under the new name Sintomidza (by the name of the place in which it was located), including journalists, foreign representatives and representatives of the highest authorities. A military band played at the event, and kabuki actors dressed in tailcoats addressed the guests from the stage. Thus, the theater demonstrated a departure from tradition and a desire to adapt to new realities. In 1887, Morita Kanya, with the help of Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru, organized a visit to the theater by the emperor and empress, which was the first such event in the history of kabuki ^[6] . This fact raised the theater in the eyes of the public, and its actors ceased to be regarded as a lower social group ^[7] .

During the Meiji period, actors who laid the foundation of modern kabuki and are considered the greatest actors of this period create it: Ichikawa Danjuro IX, Ichikawa Sadanji I and Onoe Kikugoro V ^[8] .

Ichikawa Danjuro IX (1838 ^[6] or 1839 ^[9] —1903), whose art was considered the highest achievement of Kabuki acting ^[7] , created new types of performances within the framework of the traditional performance technique ^[6] . Beginning in 1878, he began to perform in new plays specially written for him by Katsureki-geki (“plays of a living history”), where, thanks to careful research, he was able to depict historical events in detail ^[10] . They did not have much popularity, but nevertheless played a role in the development of kabuki: the theater attracted interest other than the art of the intelligentsia, and for the subsequent creators of the historical drama, the finds and mistakes of Itikawa Danjuro IX served as a lesson ^[7] .

Onoe Kikugoro V (1844-1903 ^{[7] [11]} ), a friend and rival of Ichikawa Danjuro IX, was the main actor of dzangiri-mono ^[12] - a new genre of everyday plays ^[7] . The word “dzangiri” literally means “short-cropped head”, this is a man’s hairstyle that replaced the feudal temmage (when foreheads and bunches were shaved on the back of the head), which the characters of new plays wore ^[7] . The first work of dzangiri-mono was the play Kawatake Mokuami "Tokyo nitinichi shimbun", staged at the Moritadza Theater in 1873 ^{[7] [13]} . By 1882, the genre had exhausted itself.

Ichikawa Sadanji I (1842–1904 ^{[14] [15]} ) created the Meijiza Theater in 1893 , in which Matsui Shoyo 's Akugenta play was staged six years later, the first play by a person who did not belong to the circle of professional Kabuki playwrights ^{[14] [16]} . This circle was very closed and conservative, avoiding any influence from outside, and it was Ichikawa Sadanji I who changed this situation. In the future, new plays for kabuki began to be created by a wide circle of writers and playwrights ^[14] .

Tsubouti Shoe (1856–1935), a professor at Waseda University and a major Shakespeare scholar , working on translations of an English playwright and constantly comparing Shakespearean texts with the texts of kabuki plays, came to the conclusion that to introduce modernity into Japanese theater it is necessary to save the drama from the narrative ^[17] . He creates the plays “Kiri Hitokha” and “Khototogisu Kojo-no rakugetsu”.

In 1902, the twin brothers Shirai Matsujiro and Otani Takedziro founded the company Shёtiku, ^{[18] which} over time became the largest Japanese theater and film company. Having entered into agreements with the largest leaders of the troupes, they began to finance the production of individual plays, bought theatrical premises and took on the management of theaters ^[19] . In March 1911, the first European-style Teikoku Heikijo Theater ^[20] was opened, at which an acting school was created using the experience of European theater ^[17] . Admission to this school was free: members of acting families were not provided with benefits. The training program included classes in European opera and ballet, taught by Italian Giovanni Rossi . Trained actors and actresses began to appear on stage along with onnat. On the stage "Teikoku hekijo" often performed by foreign artists who came on tour ^[17] .

The periods of Taisho (1912-1926) and Showa (1926-1989)

On September 1, 1923, a strong earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occurred in Japan, causing great damage and temporarily halting the development of theatrical art: most of the old theaters were destroyed, and performances were staged on small stages ^{[21] [22]} . After 1923, the Shёtiku company became the exclusive owner of the kabuki world, and by 1931 controlled almost all the largest theaters and troupes of kabuki in all of Japan ^[21] . In 1932, Kobayashi Ichizo founded the Tojo company, which became the main rival to Shёtiku ^[23] .

The first foreign tour of kabuki took place in 1928 : a troupe led by Itikawa Sadanji II visited the Soviet Union and gave performances in Moscow and Leningrad ^{[24] [22]} . Ichikawa Sadanji II (1880–1940 ^[25] ), who visited several European countries and the United States along with playwright Matsui Shё ался, was engaged in active theatrical activities, believing that it was not the form of Japanese theater that needed transformation, but its content. Having inherited the status of owner of the Meijidza Theater, he, in collaboration with playwright and critic Oka Onitaro, directed Yamazaki Siko's play Kabuki Monogatari, the sets for which were made in the European style by oil painters. Such an innovation pleased the public ^[21] .

Sadanji II considered useful contacts with other genres of theatrical art; He participated in the creation of one of the first troupes of the modern drama of shingeki - "Jiyu gekikyo". In this theater, kabuki actors first played in a play based on a play by a foreign author - the drama “ Jun Gabriel Borkman ” by Henrik Ibsen ^[21] . Sadanji experimentally included foreign plays such as The Faithful by John Maysfield and At the Bottom by Maxim Gorky in the kabuki program. Sadanji saw a path to renewing the art of kabuki by addressing plays designed for the specifics of kabuki, but written by modern authors; he strove to develop new methods of performance, which, at the same time, would not violate the kabuki style and were the development of old traditions. Together with the playwright Okamoto Kido (1872-1939), Sadanji is the founder of a new type of play for kabuki - shinkabuki ( 新 歌舞 伎 , literally. “New kabuki”) ^[26] .

During the Second World War (1939-1945), many actors were mobilized in the army ^[27] . As a result of the bombing, many Kabuki theaters were destroyed ^[28] , and few of the surviving large theater buildings were converted by the occupation authorities into cinemas and military clubs ^[29] . After the war ended by the American occupation authorities, many types of classical Japanese art, including most of the Kabuki repertoire, were classified as undemocratic ^[27] . According to Earl Ernst, an American theater expert who was appointed immediately after the war by the theater expert at the Headquarters of the occupying forces, employees of the theater section of the Civil Information and Education Department of the Allied Forces (Rengogun Minkan joho kyoikubu) “the entire repertoire of Japanese theaters was examined, especially the traditional jeruri theater and kabuki ”, As a result of which most of the most popular plays of the traditional theater were called based on feudal ideology ^[30] and not suitable for the people intentionally forever refused fight off the war and embark on the path of democracy ^[27] .

Allowed for the production of the play were included in a special list. Theaters were ordered to include at least 30% of new works in the repertoire (in January 1946 the bar was increased to 50% ^[30] ), while the English translation of new plays had to be submitted to the Department of Civil Censorship at the Office a week before the premiere. Notes began to appear in newspapers, the authors of which expressed doubts that a traditional theater would be able to survive in such conditions. However, already in September 1945, the Zensinsa troupe was the first to resume its activity after staging Tsuuchi Jihei 's play Sukeroku , one of the most popular pieces in the classical repertoire. Since 1946, the Shёtiku company also resumed performances, turning to its rival, the Toho company, which owned one of the few major theaters that remained until the end of the war, where it was possible to organize a performance ^[31] .

In contrast to the American, Japanese authorities tried to support traditional national art. In the early post-war years, a number of actors of the older generation were awarded the title of member of the Academy of Arts ^{[comm 1]} , as well as various government awards ^[29] . Due to the fact that many major kabuki actors died during the war or immediately after it, the leading roles in plays began to be entrusted to young actors; since there were few theater rooms, they often had to perform in the halls of large shops ^[32] .

Kabuki in the 21st Century

In modern Japan, kabuki remains a fairly popular genre - it is the most popular form of theatrical art among all traditional Japanese dramatic genres. Многие ведущие актёры кабуки часто снимаются в кино и на телевидении (известный актёр-оннагата Бандо Тамасабуро V сыграл несколько ролей (в том числе и женских) в кинофильмах).

В некоторых театральных труппах женские роли снова стали исполнять женщины, а после Второй мировой войны был сформирован полностью женский коллектив кабуки Итикава Кабуки-дза . Память основательницы жанра, Окуни, была увековечена в статуе в киотоском районе Понто-тё в 2003 году.

24 ноября 2005 года кабуки вошёл в «Третью Декларацию шедевров устного наследия человечества» ЮНЕСКО .

Сцена в театре кабуки имеет своеобразное строение. Её авансцена «ханамити» ( яп. 花道 , букв. «цветочная тропа» или «путь цветка») , по которой актёры входят на сцену и выходят с неё во время театрального действа, расположена прямо в зрительном зале.

Театры кабуки были улучшены технически, получив появившиеся в XVIII веке вращающиеся сцены , механические люки и т. д. , что значительно повысили эффектность театральных постановок.

В кабуки , как, впрочем, и в некоторых других традиционных японских театрах, смена декорации происходит порой прямо посреди акта, актёры продолжают играть, а занавес ( агэмаку ) не задвигается. Рабочие сцены ( яп. 黒子 куроко ) , одетые в чёрное и считающиеся «невидимыми», в это время спешно меняют антураж.

Театр кабуки в настоящее время состоит из трёх типов постановок:

• «Дзидай-моно» ( яп. 時代物 ) — «исторические» пьесы, созданные до периода Сэнгоку
• «Сэва-моно» ( яп. 世話物 ) — «простонародные», созданные после периода Сэнгоку
• «Сёсагото» ( яп. 所作事 ) — танцевально-драматические пьесы.

Первую категорию обычно подразделяют на 3 поджанра: отё-моно (пьесы из придворной жизни), собственно дзидаи-моно и оиэ-моно (пьесы о феодальных раздорах).

Важными особенностями кабуки является «язык поз», миэ , с помощью которого актёр выводит на сцене своего персонажа ; грим кэсё , привносящий необходимую стилистику персонажу, делая его легко узнаваемым даже для не искушённых в театральном искусстве зрителей. Рисовая пудра используется для белой основы грима, в то время как кумадори подчеркивает или усиливает черты лица актёра, для создания «маски» животного или сверхъестественного существа. Кумадори соответствует амплуа. Особенность мужского грима — нанесение на лицо цветных линий, каждая из которых имеет особый смысл. Женский грим отличается от европейского лишь большей утрированностью черт (аналогично красятся гейши ).

Специфическим методом гримирования в театре кабуки является кумадори ( яп. 隈取 , букв. «нанесение полос на лицо» ^[33] ) . По одной из версий, кумадори был создан под влиянием китайского театра, поскольку он похож на образцы грима ляньпу ^[34] . Кумадори особенно широкое распространение получил в театральном мире периода Эдо ^[35] .

Сначала волосы актёра завязываются специальной шёлковой материей, затем актёр наносит белила на переднюю часть шеи и лицо, кисточкой наносит краску на губы и брови, подкрашивает глаза, следом слой белил наносится на руки и ноги, гримёр накладывает белила на затылок, после этого актёру на голову надевают парик . Затем актёра облачают в театральный костюм (нижнее и верхнее кимоно ), поверх завязывают пояс оби , и в таком виде перед выходом на сцену актёр последний раз проверяет и подправляет грим ^[35] .

На нанесение грима актёрами-оннагата затрачивается немало сил. Обычно перед тем, как на актёра надевается парик, на его лбу разглаживают морщины и подтягивают вбок кверху кожу у наружного края глаз, такой приём называется «мэцури». В истории театра бывали случаи, когда актёры, жертвуя своим здоровьем, наносили грим даже на глаза (для создания эффекта налившихся кровью глаз) и язык (в некоторых пьесах существуют сцены, когда актёр должен широко раскрыть рот и высунуть свой язык). Некоторые актёры погибали от отравления свинцом , поскольку использовали ядовитые свинцовые белила , обладавшие лучшими на тот момент кроющими свойствами ^[36] .

По цвету кумадори разделяется на три большие группы: красный оттенок символизирует справедливость, смелость и сверхчеловеческую силу, а фиолетово-синий — страх и скрытую злобу. Также существуют специальные расцветки грима фудукома и кумадори для отображения животных ^[37] . В некоторых случаях грим актёра меняется прямо на сцене во время пьесы: актёр может незаметно для зрителя нанести на себя линии кумадори ^[38] .

Первые зарубежные гастроли кабуки прошли в 1928 году в Советском Союзе ^{[39] [22]} . Труппу, включившую 19 актёров, 8 музыкантов и 8 человек вспомогательного персонала, возглавил Итикава Садандзи II ^[39] . Коллектив привёз с собой три программы ^{[комм 2]} ; представления прошли в Москве и Ленинграде ^[40] и имели у советских зрителей большой успех ^[39] . Участники гастролей имели возможность познакомиться со спектаклями московских театров и общались с советскими театральными деятелями ^[41] } ^[42] .

В книге 1966 года «Хоо кабуки соно кироку то ханкё» ( яп. 訪欧歌舞伎 : その記錄と反響 , букв. «Поездка кабуки в Европу. Заметки и отклики») руководство компании «Сётику» отмечало роль Советского Союза в выходе кабуки на международную арену, а также то, что «всемирно известный советский режиссёр Станиславский и творец теории киномонтажа Эйзенштейн и другие советские деятели искусства первыми очень высоко оценили кабуки» ^{[43] [44]} . По словам Сергея Эйзенштейна, «японец рассматривает каждый театральный аспект не как несоизмеримую единицу различных категорий воздействия (на разные органы чувств), а как единицу театра. <…> В кабуки мы действительно „слышим движение“ и „видим звук“» ^{[45] [46]} .

Следующий крупный тур состоялся в 1955 году : труппа, возглавляемая Итикавой Энносукэ II, дала представления в Китае ^[47] . Начиная с 1960 года, когда театр кабуки впервые посетил США , его зарубежные гастроли стали носить частый характер ^{[41] [47]} . Японский театровед , сопровождавший театр во время зарубежных гастролей, писал: «Реакция зарубежной публики <…> доказала, что широкий зритель, который, вероятно, считал, будто привлекательность кабуки заключается в экзотических костюмах и красивых танцах, понял, что кабуки — высокое театральное искусство. Несмотря на различие в языке, необычность костюмов и прочее, подлинное искусство трогает людей всегда и всюду. Театр кабуки доказал, что его искусство именно таково» ^[41] .

Во второй раз театр кабуки посетил СССР в 1961 году ; представления снова состоялись в Москве и Ленинграде. В труппу вошло 28 актёров, 22 музыканта и ещё 22 человека вспомогательного персонала ^[48] . В программу было включено пять пьес — «Рэндзиси» и «Мусумэ Додзёдзи» (танцевальные пьесы, заимствованные из театра но ), «Сюнкан» (историческая пьеса из репертуара театра дзёрури), «Кагэцурубэ» (бытовая драма с пышным оформлением) и «Наруками» (пьеса со сказочным сюжетом) ^[48] .

Поскольку длительность спектакля театра кабуки в два раза больше длительности спектакля русского театра, перед организаторами гастролей и актёрами стояла задача уместить традиционную программу кабуки в определённый лимит времени ^[50] . Первоначально руководители труппы хотели разделить программу и показывать её отдельными частями, и хотя такой вариант был бы для членов труппы самым простым и лёгким вариантом, они его отвергли. Каватакэ Тосио назвал причиной такого решения желание «показать настоящий театр кабуки, а не кабуки, приспособленный для иностранцев».

Выходом из ситуации стало сокращение пьес: актёры снова и снова проигрывали их на репетициях, исключая тот или иной эпизод. На выступлениях ежедневно вёлся строгий хронометраж длительности представления. Так, хронометраж представлений в первый день в Москве и в последний день в Ленинграде составил 2 часа 50 минут при том, что в первом случае демонстрировалось четыре пьесы (не игралась «Наруками»), а во втором — пять ^[49] .

• Кабуки Дзюхатибан — группа восемнадцати пьес, шедевров театра кабуки.
• Натори Сюнсэн — художник, изображающий актёров кабуки

• Kabuki 21 (англ.) . Дата обращения 17 марта 2015. Архивировано 7 мая 2016 года.
• Invitation to Kabuki (англ.) . Japan Arts Council. Дата обращения 17 марта 2015. Архивировано 17 декабря 2013 года.
• Samuel L. Leiter. Woogie kabuki (Eng.) . Date of treatment July 17, 2016. Archived July 17, 2016.