Early Meiji kabuki censorship

Abstract

Throughout its early history, kabuki was profoundly influenced by the Tokugawa bakufu regulations to curb its perceived immoral and decadent influence on society. This policy changed at the start of the Meiji era when the new regime, inspired by Western concepts of theatre as an integral part of civilized society, made efforts to embrace kabuki's potential as a morally didactic and educational entertainment. This paper investigates the political, historical and ideological background to the censorship codes of the 1870s and 1880s that sought to replace vulgar and historically anachronistic elements of the traditional stage with wholesome tales of honour and valour. It also examines official efforts to extend this censorial approach beyond textual matters so as to apply the bunmei kaika ideology to aspects as diverse as kabuki's architectural specifications and actors' private lives. The received wisdom is that official efforts to control kabuki were toned down after the first five years of the Meiji era. I will argue that politicians rather turned their attention from public announcements of regulations applicable to all kabuki theatres, and instead engaged in private encouragement of individual reformers based primarily at Meiji Tokyo's leading theatre, the Shintomi-za.