Kabuki Theatre Research Articles

Acute myocardial infarction in Kabuki syndrome: Chance occurrence or a novel risk factor for premature atherosclerosis?

A 25-year old non-smoker with no classical risk factors for coronary artery disease was admitted to hospital with acute onset of (presumed) chest pain. He had a diagnosis of Kabuki syndrome, a genetic condition associated with dysmorphism, intellectual disability, skeletal, limb and visceral abnormalities, and a classical facial appearance that has been likened to the make-up used by actors in Japanese Kabuki Theater, from which the name is derived [1]. He had been under annual echocardiographic surveillance for minor mitral valve prolapse with mild mitral regurgitation after a murmur was detected incidentally 3years previously.

The vacuum shouts back: postpublication peer review on social media.

Social media has created new pathways for postpublication peer review, which regularly leads to corrections. Such online discussions are often resisted by authors and editors, however, and efforts to formalize postpublication peer review have not yet resonated with scientific communities.

What Could Have Happened to “Femininity” In Japanese Stagecraft: A Memorial Address to Yamada Isuzu (1917 – 2012)

In 2012, legendary “actress” Yamada Isuzu (b. 1917) passed away in Japan. Yamada has been internationally known because of her acting in films such as Mizoguchi Kenji's Osaka Elegy (1936), Naruse Mikio's Flowing (1956), and Kurosawa Akira's Throne of Blood (1957). Overshadowed by her well-recognized contribution to the films is her achievement in Kabuki acting. The Kabuki theater is an all-male theater, with its onnagata actors playing women's roles. Despite the intermittent presence of female Kabuki actors over the history of Kabuki, their achievements have not received the recognition they deserve, and today, the notion that onnagata must be male actors, and female actors cannot do the job is considered common knowledge both in popular and academic discourses. Yamada, however, had substantial stage experience in Kabuki, performing hand in hand with major Kabuki actors. Moreover, her acting was said to remind some — critics and Kabuki actors — of “women actors,” that is, female Kabuki actors around the beginning of the twentieth century. They were trained in Kabuki acting, used the same acting techniques as that of male Kabuki actors, and were evaluated by the same criteria as that of the male actors. Thus the highest compliment for female onnagata was “indistinguishable from male onnagata.” Yamada performed Kabuki in this manner, too. Her Kabuki achievement assures us that the art of onnagata has been available to female actors, if talented, trained, and dedicated to the art; considering the prevailing “common knowledge,” however, Yamada's accomplishment of Kabuki acting as well as what it can tell us will probably be subdued in historiography soon.

Speaking of Science: Introducing Notice-and-Comment into the Legislative Process

Congress enacts, on a nearly continuous basis, a variety of laws that affect scientific research and progress. Some of these laws have an unquestionably positive effect. For instance, Congress’s creation of the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and NASA; its various appropriations to fund ground-breaking research; and a multitude of other laws have incalculably advanced human knowledge, and it is to Congress’s great credit that these laws have been and are continuing to be enacted. However, not all laws that affect the progress of sciences are an unalloyed good. Quite the opposite, often the laws aim to, and in fact do, retard the progress of scientific research. The question is then whether the benefit from those laws outweighs the costs imposed on scientific progress.Congress, however, often does not fully consider the costs that the legislation imposes on science, either for lack of information or as a result of conscious disregard for the views of a politically insignificant group. The public is not able to hold Congress accountable because it lacks an ability to participate in the process and lacks an objective basis against which to measure congressional action. The problem is not congressional malfeasance or ignorance but rather the structure of the legislative process itself. The general public is often taught and told that lawmaking is a process that begins in a committee where the proposal is carefully studied, debated, amended, and voted on. The reality, of course, is much different. First, bills often skip the committee process, and amendments are often added last minute without a chance for a meaningful debate. But even where the process is followed, it is often hard to portray the committee hearings as a true deliberative process. Instead, they are often described as a Kabuki theater, where the Chair and the Ranking Member designate the witnesses they wish to call to support the preformulated position. Interested parties cannot provide testimony unless asked to do so by the relevant committee. Thus, oftentimes the people with the deepest knowledge, but low political skills, are cut out of the process. The end result is that Congress votes on legislation without fully understanding the implication thereof. The voters also are injured in that it is hard to hold Congress accountable if one cannot point out that it ignored the views of the scientific communities.This Article proposes a solution to the problem. Bills that affect the progress of science ought to be evaluated by an independent body similar to the Congressional Budget Office. Like the CBO, this body would not have any authority to block a bill, but it would be able to “score” it (i.e., provide information on the effect the bill will have on research). In order to accomplish its task, this newly created body would be required to provide notice of pending legislation and then seek comments from the interested parties, much like what is done in the administrative rulemaking process. The comments then would be collected and analyzed, and the final report would be presented to Congress before it votes. Congress would continue to be able to vote as it pleases, but with this process in place, it would be forced to do so with its eyes wide open. By understanding the full scope and the implication for the scientific progress of the bills it wishes to enact, Congress would produce better legislation, which would be less detrimental to the scientific progress.

Reflections on the Onnagata

Reflections on the Onnagata James R. Brandon We should not forget the historical reason the onnagata became part of kabuki theatre: in 1629 government officials banned professional actresses from kabuki stages. The onnagata was a political expedient and did not need justification on artistic grounds until the ban on actresses was repealed in the late nineteenth century. Then theatre scholars, performers, and culture managers were required to come up with reasons why the onnagata should continue. The result was the creation of unsubstantiated myths: only a male actor can suggest the essence of a woman, only a man possesses the physical strength to wear a heavy wig and multiple kimono, and so on. These are not really artistic explanations; they are rationalizations for why the social institution of male-playing-female should continue undisturbed in the modern era when it was no longer needed or required. Are we expected to believe that the reason men took over kabuki's female roles was because men are physically (and mentally?) stronger than women? I don't think so. Today's onnagata actors live immensely privileged lives as idolized kabuki stars. Quite naturally they and their supporters are adamant about keeping female actors out of their profession. It is well known that Chinese opera has allowed female actors to play female roles in recent years and the art form has not collapsed. Why not kabuki? Briefly, because too much is invested in commercial kabuki to disturb the status quo. I have never been persuaded by assertions that onnagata were "more feminine than women." But it occurs to me that this could be so, [End Page 122] in the sense that the onnagata actor deploys only female gender acting techniques, whereas, as we know, real Japanese women may, and often do, express strident, blatant, obnoxious behavior that is not, within Japanese culture, considered proper "feminine" behavior. I am not much concerned with theories of the onnagata, I suppose because of the essentializing nature of such discussions. But I am interested in the characteristics of onnagata acting. The young male kabuki actor is taught by his seniors and his teachers specific physical actions to suggest/indicate/show/present a female kabuki role on stage: pull back and lower the shoulders, keep the knees together, cup the fingers into the palms, and wear straw sandals (zōri) shorter than the foot. All of these simple (gender?) actions make the male body appear smaller in the eyes of the audience. And this is necessary if one accepts that, on average, the male-sexed body is larger, taller, and stronger than the female-sexed body. Therefore, if the male body is presenting a female kabuki role, it helps for the male actor to assume actions and postures that suggest the smaller female body. Consequently, the onnagata actor does in fact attempt to suggest a "real" female-sexed body through these physical patterns (kata), despite all theories to the contrary. Can the female-sexed actor (actress) play a female kabuki role? Of course she can. She can learn to perform what the onnagata performs. To the extent that we think the female and male bodies are different, there will be some subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) differences in their art. And that is all right. It is grossly reductionist to suggest that the mere change in the performer's sex turns "kabuki" into "not kabuki." A score of performance attributes—of movement, posture, and voice, of music, staging, and costuming, of timing and flow of energy, of characterization and dramatic plot—characterize a kabuki performance and distinguish it from, say nō, or bunraku, or shingeki. The onnagata is just one of many elements that characterize kabuki. Further, there exists no single, unified art form called kabuki. There are dozens of varieties or versions. The kabuki acted by the Ichikawa family and that acted by the Onoe family are so different that actors of one family will not act in plays belonging to the other family. Broad differences exist between kabuki as performed in Kyoto-Osaka (Kansai kabuki) and kabuki as perfected in Edo. There is Grand Kabuki (ō kabuki), seen in major theatres today under Shōchiku Corporation sponsorship...

Shinya Mitsunobu, A Study of the Playwrights of the Edo Kabuki Theater: From Kanai-Sanshō to Tsuruya-Nanboku

Shinya Mitsunobu, <i>A Study of the Playwrights of the Edo Kabuki Theater: From Kanai-Sanshō to Tsuruya-Nanboku</i>

Macbeth (review)

Reviewed by: Macbeth J. Caitlin Finlayson Macbeth Presented by Song of the Goat Theatre (Teatr Pieśń Kozła) at the Corn Exchange, Brighton, England. November 25-27, 2010. Directed by Grzegorz Bral. Designed by Mira Zelechower-Aleksiun and Grzegorz Bral. Lighting by Robert Balinski. Costumes by Cristina Gonzalez. With Gabriel Gawin (Macbeth), Anna Zubrzycki (Lady Macbeth), Ian Morgan (Macduff, Ensemble), Faroque Khan (Duncan, Ensemble), Ewan Downie (Malcolm, Ensemble), Kacper Kuszewski (Banquo, Ensemble), Anu Salonen (Witch, Ensemble), and Rafal Habel (Musician). Exploring "the musicality and muscularity of Shakespeare's poetry," (http://macbeth-thepoint.co.uk/about/) Song of the Goat Theatre's Macbeth stunningly translated the linguistic violence and psychological tension of Shakespeare's play into physical action and dance. Director Grzegorz Bral telescoped the play into approximately 75 minutes of riotous energy, ecstatic movement, incantatory recitation, and choreographed sword play combined with excerpts from Shakespeare's text. This was not a performance of Macbeth, but rather a presentation of the psychodrama and lyricism of Shakespeare's play through key scenes and speeches re-imagined with visceral action and vocal expression. First presented at the Swan Theatre in August 2006 as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works, Song of the Goat Theatre's Macbeth was subsequently developed over two years into its current touring production. Hamlet might be concerned with "word, words, words," but this production explored the physical, gestural, and musical dimensions of theatre, drawing our attention to the stage business beyond mere dialogue—that is, beyond or behind the words in the play-script. While the production highlighted the violence of the play inherent in its very language (e.g. Lady Macbeth's "dash'd the [babe's] brains out" shrieked to the accompaniment [End Page 442] of swooping swords) and contained strikingly visceral moments, overall it failed to maintain its audience's interest, becoming at points obscure. Lyric in both movement and song, the rhythm of Bral's production at its best fully involved the audience in the emotional turmoil and brutality of the play, but at times the inaudible vocalizations of the lines, the redundancy of frenetic movement, and a propensity toward wailing wore on the audience. Click for larger view View full resolution Anu Salonen as a Witch and Gabriel Gawin as Macbeth in the Song of the Goat Theatre's (Teatr Pieśń Kozła) 2010 production of Macbeth, directed by Grzegorz Bral. Photo courtesy of Krzysztof Bielinski. The nearly empty stage promised a stripped down production that focused on the seven actors' physical interpretations of the characters. A rectangular table, throne chair, five shields and candles comprised the sparse props retooled for multiple functions: shields, for example, symbolized castle battlements. The actors were clad in loose, unadorned Japanese hakama-inspired black pants, and brandished wooden swords reminiscent of Kendo swords, which, added to the music of a Korean kayagum (a stringed instrument), played by Rafal Habel, seemed to invoke Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Gabriel Gawin (Macbeth) and Anna Zubrzycki (Lady Macbeth) were differentiated slightly by their red shirts from the more neutral shades worn by the ensemble, and were the only actors to play a single role; the remaining five actors performed individual characters and [End Page 443] doubled as the ensemble, which had a choric function in this production. The actors strode barefoot across the stage, and the minimalist design and the use of a spotlight to highlight their monologues emphasized the drama of the individual in emotional distress or conflict: monologues and even the majority of the dialogue were performed with the actors facing the audience rather than the other characters (a tradition suggestive of Kabuki theatre). Click for larger view View full resolution From left to right: Gabriel Gawin as Macbeth, Anu Salonen as a Witch, Anna Zubrzycki as Lady Macbeth, Iran Morgan as Macduff, and Ewan Downie as Malcolm in the Song of the Goat Theatre's (Teatr Pieśń Kozła) 2010 production of Macbeth, directed by Grzegorz Bral. Photo courtesy of Krzysztof Bielinski. The pitch of performance ran high in this production. Violent fiddling on the kayagum created tension and discordance and acted as a counterpoint to the unified chants of the ensemble. Lady Macbeth's...

Kabuki syndrome: A new case associated with Becker nevus

Kabuki syndrome or Kabuki makeup syndrome was first described in 1981 in Japan by two different groups of authors. These investigators described a group of patients sharing typical facial features, skeletal anomalies, mental retardation, short stature, and dermatoglyphic anomalies. The term Kabuki makeup syndrome was coined because the peculiar facial features of the patients were reminiscent of the Japanese Kabuki theater masks. In 1988, Niikawa et al, after studying 62 patients, proposed five diagnostic criteria for this disease: peculiar facies (in 100% of all patients), skeletal anomalies (92%), dermatoglyphic anomalies (93%), medium to moderate mental retardation (92%), and short stature (83% of all cases). In addition to these findings, a variety of anomalies have been associated with this syndrome - the most serious being cardiac, renal, and urogenital abnormalities. We present a case of Kabuki syndrome in a 6-year-old boy who, in addition to the various features typical of the disease, also exhibited a Becker nevus - a condition not previously associated with this syndrome. The usefulness of dermoscopy in studying alterations in the dermatoglyphic patterns is also discussed.

Kabuki's Forgotten War, 1931–1945 (review)

Reviewed by: Kabuki's Forgotten War, 1931–1945 Jonathan Zwicker (bio) Kabuki's Forgotten War, 1931–1945. By James R. Brandon. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 2009. xiii, 465 pages. $52.00. One of the most trenchant commentaries on the relationship between kabuki and the social world was given voice in 1830 in the Seji kenmonroku, a caustic treatise on social mores. While it had once been the case that kabuki imitated life, the anonymous author wrote, "the theater of the present does not imitate the world; rather, it is theater itself that is the base and the world that imitates the theater."1 To a modern viewer of kabuki from the late twentieth or early twenty-first century, it is often difficult to see how [End Page 372] this "classical" form of theater once played an important role in social life, shaping taste, generating desire, broadly influencing how people perceived and lived in the world beyond the stage. But as James R. Brandon argues in his new book on Kabuki's Forgotten War, as late as a century after the Seji kenmonroku was written—and in the midst of war no less—kabuki continued to function as it had in the final decades of the bakufu, not merely reflecting but actually creating and shaping social experience, providing a grid through which the world was understood. Not only was "kabuki theater … a living, contemporary performing art as late as 1945" (p. 321) but, Brandon argues, "during the war, and especially in its early years, kabuki was partner with the government in molding Japanese support for the war. Kabuki did not have to change to do this: its nature was suited to the task" (p. 354). "Classic kabuki," Brandon writes, would come later, in the wake of defeat and under the American occupation. Kabuki's image in the second half of the twentieth century was—and continues to be—the expression of a particular kind of "forgetting" or "erasing" through which kabuki's very contemporary nature during the first half of the twentieth century would be essentially written out of history. This forgetting has taken many forms and has operated at many levels. At the level of the individual, Brandon quotes the actor Ichikawa Ennosuke II—"The five years of the Pacific War was a dark period, a time of suffering for performers" (p. 313)—and comments: "Like most others, Ennosuke did not see himself as a participant in the war. Forgotten were his morale performances in Manchuria, flying to China to gather authentic war material, and the many heroic soldier roles he enacted in war plays" (p. 313). Ennosuke's own "forgetting" of his wartime roles (in both senses of that word) is emblematic but is only a particular example of how kabuki's wartime history has been written (or not written) in the half century following the war, the product of what Brandon describes as a mix of "Western illusions of what kabuki was and of Japanese desires for what kabuki should be" (p. 320). For several generations of postwar historians of kabuki—in both Japan and abroad—the wartime history of the genre has been largely ignored and Brandon frames his own study as "an attempt to remember some of the more important aspects of kabuki's forgotten war from 1931 to 1945" (p. xi). At one level—and this is particularly true of the introduction and the book's final chapter on the fate of kabuki after the war—Kabuki's Forgotten War is very much about questions of forgetting and remembering, about the nature of historical memory, and how forgetting and remembering have shaped the historiography of kabuki following what Brandon describes as its "fossilization" (p. ix) during the occupation. The body of Brandon's book, which follows the arc of the war, is shaped by this governing theme [End Page 373] of forgetting and remembering, and reads much as if it were a willful act of remembering, an attempt to restore a somehow forgotten or repressed—though barely submerged—memory. Kabuki's Forgotten War weaves together a rich social history of the theater with sharp analyses of the plays, their staging, and their reception...

Esotropia in Kabuki Syndrome

Kabuki syndrome is a mental retardation-malformation syndrome affecting multiple organ systems. The typical facies resembles the make-up worn in Japanese Kabuki theater. Although there are several clinical findings, the ocular findings affecting vision have been underreported. The current patient shows esotropia and previously unreported nummular corneal opacities.

V. A. Howard, &lt;em&gt;Charm and Speed: Virtuosity in the Performing Arts&lt;/em&gt; (New York: Peter Lang, 2008)

Reviewed by: Charm and Speed: Virtuosity in the Performing Arts Anthony J. Palmer V. A. Howard, Charm and Speed: Virtuosity in the Performing Arts (New York: Peter Lang, 2008) There may be one other book on virtuosity, but nothing that approaches the depth of argument put forth by V. A. Howard in Charm and Speed. As the author states, “[t]his book offers an interpretation, analysis, and reconstruction of the concept of virtuosity which plays so prominent a role in historical, critical, and theoretical discussions of artistic performance.”1 The book is not an easy read, however, because of Howard’s customarily esoteric vocabulary. While the writing is in fine style, there are too many occasions where the reader may be hampered by having to pause to reconsider what was stated, especially in some of the longer sentences, or because a dictionary consultation is warranted. Nevertheless, this is a must-read for voice and instrumental students and their teachers, coaches, and accompanists. Moreover, this book is a must-read for anyone working with performing artists; Howard covers the performance arts broadly, including theatre and dance as well. If you only surmise what virtuosity is, you will become intimately aware of its meaning and all its ramifications. Its casual use suggests that virtuosity can be found everywhere, from auto mechanics to baristas and even include, as Howard describes, cheetahs on the hunt and the kill. And although the cheetah is perfectly suited to find food to feed her [End Page 101] cubs, the intentional development of techniques and a conscious plan to attack her prey is questionable; she acts out of instinct. We can admire various manifestations of excellence, but their qualities do not measure up to the characteristics of virtuosity. Excellence in execution is not by such virtue virtuosic. The fact is performance in the arts requires a special understanding of virtuosity that must be narrowly applied under appropriate conditions. The ten chapters comprising the book deal with every facet of virtuosity in performance and clarify the issues forcefully and accurately. Charm and Speed is a brief treatise of only 134 pages, plus notes and a 3-page appendix. But in those chapters lie explanations to which most professional performers, teachers, and subsidiary personnel may need to give serious consideration. On the other end of the spectrum, for those who may require a less than keenly argued thesis, how much does one really need to know about virtuosity to enjoy fine, but lesser, performance? Some differences do need to be noted, however, and confusing virtuosity with other artistic appellations could be eliminated. At the outset, virtuosity can easily be confused with creativity, but the latter is more general while “a judgment of virtuosity is necessarily grounded in the observables of execution.”2 Howard’s outline of the conditions of virtuosity is carried throughout the discussion. Three parts comprise any consideration: 1) the performing individual or group “inclusive of training and manifest talent,” judged by experts; 2) the domain of the performance—acting, dancing, and playing the violin—must be specified; and 3) the audience comprised of a general audience and “critics, colleagues, and institutions” must render appropriate judgment.3 Virtuosity is not a single state but requires both process and achievement. Howard narrows his discussion on virtuosity to those in the performing arts, “to those who play instruments, or sing or act, dance or conduct,”4 with no other reason or intention but to render the artwork with unique interpretations at the highest level possible. Howard restricts discourse to allographic5 works in the Western tradition, an important distinction that I had considered questionable at first, but came to realize that virtuosity considered on a wider scale could be overly complicated. My experience with Japanese performing art, for example, would have to examine, Nô, Bunraku, Kabuki theatre, and traditional vocal and instrumental performance, among other things, all quite complex in their own right. Can a puppet in Bunraku be a virtuoso, or would it be the puppeteer? Further, Korean art forms such as pansori and African arts, where some cultures are communal rather than performed by superb practitioners, would all have to be considered. When the whole world is examined...

Katsura Sato, The Kabuki Theater of the Late Edo and the Meiji Periods: The Age of Kabuki as Popular Art

Katsura Sato, The Kabuki Theater of the Late Edo and the Meiji Periods: The Age of Kabuki as Popular Art

Outposts: Literary Landmarks &amp; Events

outposts LiteraryLandmarks& Events Kabuki-za Theater Tokyo,Japan Although theGinza district of Tokyo is known mostly for itsupscale shopping centers,depart ment stores, and dining, ifyou're seeking to experience Japanese culture,do not skip this train stop on yourway toUeno Station orHarajuki. Ginza ishome toone of the most famous kabuki theaters in theworld, Kabuki-za Theater. Kabuki, a traditional formof theater, tells Japan's legends and stories through song and dance. The Japanese characters that form theword kabuki literally translateas "sing," "dance," and "skill." These plays have been a notable form of entertainment in Japan for centuries. At theKabuki-za Theater, an excitingblend of traditionalplays and modern staging awaits. Even the theater itselfisdramatic inappearance, adorned with hanging lanternsand painted scenes from theplays. After thebuilding burned down in 1937, it was rebuiltwith modern materials and stage equipment, but itstill resembles the architectural stylingof old Japanese theaters.The all-male cast per forms fourplays at every showing, relaying .tales of emperors, princesses, love, ghosts, shoguns,magic, and battle.At theKabuki-za Theater, the actors performmany variations of thegenre?everything from the classic Osaka-style acting of theold plays toplays first preformed in themid-i90os. A new rotation ofplays is featured eachmonth, sweeping viewers away to the mystical worlds of thekabuki tradition. Kate Long Kate Long recently graduated fromOklahoma Christian University with a bachelor's degree inEnglish and minors in international studies and Spanish. She currentlyworks as a copyeditor forT?te Publishing. ...

Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater , and: Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo (review)

Reviewed by: Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater, and: Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo Anne Prescott (bio) Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater. Alison McQueen Tokita. Studien zur Traditionellen Musik Japans Band 8. Kassel: Barenreiter, 1999. 400 pp., with photos, illustrations, scores. ISBN: 3–7618–1469–0. Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo. Jay Keister. New York and London: Routledge, 2004. 285 pp., with photos, scores. ISBN 0–415–96972–7. Shamisen music of the kabuki theater is a complicated topic, encompassing several different musical genres and numerous artistic lineages. Two recent books set out to demystify different aspects of kabuki music. Alison McQueen Tokita’s Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater is a thorough study of the kiyomoto tradition, and Jay Keister’s Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo is an ethnography of one of the leading 20th century nagauta masters. Tokita’s exhaustive study of kiyomoto-bushi is so full of “good stuff ” that it is hard to know where to begin. But Tokita does; her introduction commences with “What is kiyomoto-bushi?” She proceeds to define katarimono (narrative) and utaimono (lyric) genres of shamisen, and then situates kiyomoto in relation to other katarimono genres as well as other genres of kabuki music. The numerous charts illustrating the concepts outlined in the text are a great asset in understanding the sometimes complex relationships. The first three chapters situate kiyomoto in its three important roles: as narrative music, outlining its historical relationship to Japanese literature, as well as noh and bunraku, whose stories and stories’ sources are often closely aligned with kabuki; as kabuki dance music; and as shamisen music, including the instrument itself, the tunings, and the mechanics of playing. Through all of these discussions, Tokita is careful to define all terms and her explanations are clear and concise. Chapters 4–7 deal with different musical structure issues, including the formulaic nature of today’s kiyomoto repertoire, a comparison of the structure of kiyomoto in relation to kabuki dance form, formulaic phrases of kiyomoto, and narrative substyles. The detailed examples, including charts, musical examples, and texts in both Japanese and English, are well crafted and contribute greatly to [End Page 149] an understanding of kiyomoto. The final chapter is a thorough analysis of three pieces: Kasane, Tamaya, and Hokushû. The appendices are not merely attachments to the book, but are themselves valuable reference tools, including a bibliography that should be of interest to anyone concerned with any genre of traditional Japanese music; a discography (and as Tokita notes, boxed sets of recordings of traditional music in Japan usually have notes written by leading scholars, making the discography an important source for written scholarly material); a list of 50 kiyomoto works, including their official titles as well as the name by which they are usually known (extremely helpful); an index of names; and a list of terms including the kanji (Chinese characters) for all terms. In my copy of the book, the list is out of order (starting with “nagauta” through “Okamoto Bunya” and then going to “chikuzen biwa”), and terms coming before “chikuzen biwa” in the alphabet are missing, so if the reader wants to know the kanji for Chikamatsu Monzaemon or Bon, she or he is out of luck. Having this exhaustive list in Japanese is crucial for anyone who is serious about Japanese music as the characters often provide vital information about the term which is not evident in English. This volume is a welcome addition to the literature on traditional Japanese music. It is a thorough examination of the topic, the examples are plentiful and greatly aid in understanding the material, the writing is clear, concise and well organized, and there is something in this book for anyone interested in any genre of traditional Japanese music, not just kabuki or shamisen music. I knew Kikuoka Hiroaki (1927–1999), the subject of Jay Keister’s Shaped by Japanese Music, only by his reputation as a mover and shaker in the nagauta world and as the teacher at Tokyo Geidai (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku; Tokyo National...

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOH THEATER REFORM IN THE LATE MEIJI PERIOD

This paper examines the debates on Noh theater reform that formed the core of Noh reform during the late Meiji period. Specifically, it considers the Noh Theater Reform Committee, in which Yamazaki Seitaro and Got Keiji participated, and analyzes the content of the committee's discussions. In particular, improving the kensho (spectator seating) became the main issue, and comparisons were always made with reformed kabuki theaters. Ultimately, the opinions of the Noh Theater Reform Committee became ideals furthering the adoption of nested seating in later Noh theaters.

Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyōshi of Edo Japan (review)

Reviewed by: Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyōshi of Edo Japan Stephan Köhn Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyōshi of Edo Japan. By Adam L. Kern. Harvard University Asia Center, 2006. xxiii + 567 pages. Hardcover £32.95/€52.79. In the present volume, Adam L. Kern undertakes the challenging task of presenting the first comprehensive introduction in a Western language to the world of the kibyōshi, a fully illustrated form of Edo literature named after its yellow cover. Despite its popularity and financial success, illustrated literature of the Edo period was long ignored by Japanese and Western scholars. The hybrid character of these works that use words and pictures to tell a story was doubtless the main reason for their fatal dismissal by the academic discipline of National Literature (kokubungaku) as popular entertainment of little literary worth. Quite recently, modern manga studies have "rediscovered" Edo's illustrated literature as a precursor of the modern manga, but much of what has been published on this subject falls within the category of impressionistic essays (hyōron). An academic study such as the present volume is thus highly welcome. Kern takes as his subject the kibyōshi's "socioeconomic and historical contexts, readerships, critics, narrative conventions, modes of visuality, history as a genre and a media and a format, relationship to the modern manga as well as to other genres of Edo's popular literature, comic spirit, and satire" (p. 12). The book is divided into two parts: a study of kibyōshi (part 1) and translations (part 2). After a brief glance at previous studies of kibyōshi in the introduction, chapter 1, "The Floating World in An'ei-Tenmei Edo" provides a comprehensive overview of the genre. Written mainly by male adult samurai for pleasure-quarter-frequenting juvenile or adult townsmen (including low-ranking samurai as well as merchants), the kibyōshi was a mass-produced, highly commercial, visual-verbal comicbook format that, in some respects, shows astonishing similarities to modern book production. Mutual influences between kibyōshi and a variety of other literary genres and mass media (kabuki theater, for example) within the Edo intellectual and cultural network were responsible, as the author convincingly shows, for the extensive intertextual and intermedial allusions found in most kibyōshi, allusions that the real connoisseurs of Edo's savoir-vivre could recognize and appreciate. An investigation of the cultural environment of the kibyōshi follows in the second chapter, "The Blossom of Pulp Fiction." Looking at different kinds of literature such as the mock-sermon book (dangibon), fashion book (sharebon), or review book [End Page 235] (hyōbanki), poetry such as madcap verse (kyōka) or comic haiku (senryū), and performing arts such as story-telling (kōdan), kabuki, or puppet theater, the author points out many elements that can be considered sources of the kibyōshi's visual and textual features. Although this detailed survey considers very different kinds of cultural "influences" on the shaping of the genre, the chapter, for no obvious reason, does not take a close look at the "grass booklet" (kusazōshi), a comicbook format (with a similar way of presenting text and picture on every page!) that the kibyōshi is generally counted among. Chapter 3, "Manga Culture and the Visual-Verbal Imagination," is, judging from the title, the heart of the present volume. The starting point of this chapter is the assumption found in some treatises on manga history that the kibyōshi was the direct precursor of the modern manga. Kern points out correctly that the major factor underlying this assumption has been the desire to legitimize modern manga through the construct of a transhistorical manga culture. His critique of the connections that have been drawn between kibyōshi and manga is not really convincing, however. Manga studies have not, as he suggests, emphasized the element of pornography as the basis for a genealogy linking kibyōshi and manga so much as the aspects of satire (fūshi), deformation (deforume), and abbreviation (shōryaku), which Kern himself identifies as fundamental characteristics of kibyōshi. While acknowledging some "obvious" similarities between the kibyōshi...

Frozen Moments: Writings on Kabuki, 1966–2001. By Samuel L. Leiter. East Asia Series No. 111. Ithaca: Cornell University, 2002; pp. xx + 360; 210 illustrations. $21 paper.

This lavishly illustrated collection covers a period of time that has seen tremendous growth in English-language kabuki scholarship. In 1966, there were in print but three introductory books on kabuki in English—Faubian Bowers's Japanese Theatre (1952), Earle Ernst's The Kabuki Theatre (1956), and A. C. Scott's The Kabuki Theatre of Japan (1966)—along with a handful of plays in translation and a few journal articles. Today, thanks to the work of such researchers as Samuel L. Leiter, James R. Brandon, Leonard Pronko, Donald Shively, Lawrence R. Kominz, Andrew C. Gerstle, and others, kabuki scholarship can boast of dozens of books and book chapters, as well as scores of articles covering a range of topics from music, theatre architecture, and dramatic text to actors, acting, and audience. Furthermore, with the recent publication of the four-volume series Kabuki Plays on Stage (edited by Brandon and Leiter, 2002–3), fifty-one previously untranslated plays are now available in English. No longer is it necessary to spend years learning the Japanese language in order to carry out research into kabuki theatre.

Living More “Like Oneself”

This paper looks at the development of transgender identities in twentieth-century Japan, from their “professional” antecedents in the kabuki theater, through post-war paradigms based in the entertainment world, to recent notions of “amateur” transgenderism and cross-dressing. It is argued that early paradigms of transgenderism centered on occupational categories and that, despite modern understandings that associate transgender performance with homosexuality, the traditional bisexual potential of the transgender body was never completely occluded. In recent years transgender individuals have emerged who, distancing themselves from the entertainment world, have sought to interrogate mainstream notions of “normal” sexual and gender identities-arguing instead for a “gender free” society in which gender expression and sexual orientation are not tied to biological sex.

Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: The Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History (review)

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney. Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History. University of Chicago Press, 2002. 411 pp. This curious title is in itself a good introduction to this book. It is not simply a history of kamikaze, symbol of cherry blossom, or development of nationalist ideology in Japan; rather these are threads interwoven into a more complex argument about role of aesthetics and symbolic communication in totalitarian ideologies. resulting discursive tapestry is detailed, dense and multi-layered. Essentially diachronic, book is divided into four distinct parts, each with separately titled chapters with several levels of discussion. focus of concern is question of what motivated young men to volunteer as kamikaze pilots. Part 3 of book, in this reader's view most interesting, deals with thoughts of these men as revealed in their diaries and other writings. complex forces that impacted upon their decision are analysed and interpreted in preceding and subsequent chapters. In preface, Ohnuki-Tierney recalls that she was inspired to write Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms out of a 'rage against forces that terminated these young brilliant minds', and because she felt a 'moral obligation to introduce them to non-Japanese readers' because of their stereotyped portrayal outside of Japan. Far from being ultra-nationalistic zealots, these students are shown to be intelligent individuals, extremely well-read and cosmopolitan in outlook, and sensitive to issues of war and death. Ohnuki-Tierney not only rehabilitates image of tokkotai pilots, but also makes a valuable contribution to scholarship on this generation of Japanese intellectuals. (The detailed list of their reading which forms appendix is in itself a valuable source for scholars.) This group has received little attention in English-language literature on Japan-its relative neglect is apparent from useful survey of related material in Part 3-and Japanese secondary-sources are frequently biased towards distinct political agenda. That access to important archival sources continues to be restricted indicates difficulty of conducting original research into this sensitive period of Japan's recent past. question of why intelligent and intellectual young men fight wars orchestrated by totalitarian states, or indeed, any state, is an important one, with contemporary relevance. Ohnuki-Tierney examines this in historical perspective, and offers valuable insight into mechanics of totalitarian ideology. While clear introductions to each section and frequent recapitulation guide lay reader through analysis of multiple complex processes, frequent digressions obfuscate rather than explicate author's attempts to answer her central question. first part of study examines polysemic nature of cherry blossom symbol through an exploration of its artistic and literary representations, from earliest history Kojiki (712) through to Edo period (1600-1867) kabuki theatre and woodblock prints. cherry blossom appears variously as a metaphor for agrarian productive force, reproductive power, celebration of love and display of pomp, celebration of life, and rebirth; Ohnuki-Tierney concludes that, '[u]ltimately, cherry blossoms symbolize processes and relationships' (p. 38). In premodern poetry and literature, cherry blossom in full bloom is associated with evanescence (youth, women, courtship), and falling cherry blossom with pathos (impermanencc, decline, sometimes death). Another set of meanings relate to depiction of identity: non-normative identity (the alternative universes of madness, the floating world, and homosexuality) and collective identity (the elite in ancient Japan, imperial court, and Japaneseness). Part 2, The Road to Pro Rege et Patria Mori: Naturalization of Imperial Nationalism, consists of three chapters which treat manipulation of cherry blossom metaphor by Japan's modern institutions, principally emperor system and military. …

Melting Things

(in remembrance of the infinite moments leading up to thanksgiving in japan, year 2000) Melting Things the framed photos of flowers in the corridors of hotel maruyama (and the orgasmic moans of the girl in a nearby room) the light-contact shiatsu massage/ the no-contact part of it the gradated blue of tiled bathroom the bottom of the sea where only fish go the higher part where man swims the earth the sky where planes can go the outer reaches of the sky the purity of mankind [fade to white] "it's better to have a beautiful sleep than to watch stupid japanese television" the history of the kabuki theatre and it false pretensions to nobility eye-ball licking narcotic napping waking up to the silky whisper of flesh-on-flesh