Kabuki Makeup
And Other Exciting Secrets Of The Kabuki Theater
Kabuki theater is a traditional Japanese form of theater that includes music, Kabuki Makeup, dance and Kabuki Masks.
The Best Tokyo places to see a Kabuki play, and insider Tips for enjoying the show.
Kabuki theater started during the Edo period, so they are a part of Ancient Japanese culture.
A Kabuki play is usually about moral conflicts and love relationships.
Come to think of it, not very far from our favorite TV show today…
Where Can You See A Japanese Kabuki Theater Show?
The best place to see Japanese Kabuki Theater is in the Kabukiza Theater in Ginza Tokyo.
It's a taste of traditional
entertainment in Japan.
Ancient Japanese culture comes to life in these shows.
The Kabuki plays take 3 hours, but…don't run away yet -you can buy tickets for just one act of Kabuki Theater, which takes about 30 minutes.
You can also rent English headphones.
This is absolutely one of the best things to do in Tokyo.
The Kabuki History
In the early years, both men and women acted in Kabuki plays. Later women were forbidden to act in Kabuki theatre - a restriction that still goes on today.
Why Were Women Actors Banned Out?
Kabuki theater began when female followers at religious shrines began performing a kind of folk dance and religious dance.
These dance performances became very popular, but the shows often became sexually provocative.
The government didn't like these provocative performances and decided to put a stop to it by creating a law.
From 1629 only male actors could take part in Kabuki plays. Male kabuki actors play the roles of females too.
The male Kabuki dance was combined with elements from a popular puppet theater called Bunraku. These are the origins of Kabuki theater.
Kabuki Make up
The most exciting part of the Kabuki theater for foreigners is to see the dramatic Kabuki makeup worn by the actors.
The makeup 'Kabuki masks' create a white painted face.
The use of colors in 'Kabuki masks' is symbolic. It gives a clue as to the gender, age or status of each character.
A Kabuki mask also hints on the temper and personality of the character.
Kabuki Makeup is a very significant part of Kabuki theater.
The make up of Kabuki plays is considered a very important aspect of the performance.
Each actor applies his own Kabuki make up, in a process that takes hours.
First, the actor oils and waxes his face to help the makeup bond to the skin.
Then he puts a thick coat of white makeup called Oshiroi to cover the whole face. The Oshiroi is made from rice powder.
Different shades of white are used to indicate the age, rank and gender of the character.
These white Kabuki Masks create a very dramatic look.
On top of the white Kabuki Makeup, the eyes and mouth are painted in red and black lines.
The face features are painted differently for male and female characters.
Supernatural heroes and criminals, who appear often in Kabuki plays, get a special style of makeup called kumadori.
The Kumadori Kabuki make up is even more dramatic, with lines and shapes in different colors representing different qualities.
The most common colors used in Kabuki Theater are dark red, which represents anger, passion, or brutality, and dark blue, which represents melancholy or hopelessness.
Pink represents youth or optimism, light blue or green represent peacefulness, purple symbolizes aristocracy, brown stands for selfishness and black for fear.
There are about a hundred different Kabuki mask styles.
The Kabuki make up is considered such an important part of the performance that a common souvenir is a silk handkerchief that the actors press to their face to make a print of their makeup.
Kabuki face-prints become valued souvenirs of the Kabuki theater right after the show.
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