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Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theater.
It was founded early in the 17th century by Okuni, a shrine maiden
who brought her unique and lively dance style to the dry river beds of
the ancient capital of Kyoto, and over the next 300 years developed into
a sophisticated, highly stylized form of theater.
Though Kabuki was created by a woman, since early on all roles have
been taken by men. Men who play the roles of women are referred to as "onnagata"
female role specialists. Ichimura
Manjiro , an actor who actively participates in this page, is
an "onnagata".
Kabuki plays and dances may be about grand historical events or the
everyday life of people in the Edo period (1600-1868). For each play, though,
the sets, music, costumes and other factors combine to create the fantastic
world of Kabuki. We hope you enjoy exploring this page.
New!
- The November Program at Kabuki-za is now available.
- Upcoming shows at Kabuki-za and the National Theater
- A Brief History of Kabuki is now available in the History section
- Kabuki for Everyone is Rated in the Top 5% of all sites on the Internet by Point Survey.
- Macromedia-Shockwaved Kabuki Page (Now testing) is now available.
- The MPEG Version of 'CHANGES'(408Kbytes) is now available.
- Click here to see a NEW Manjiro Morphing Clip (QuickTime/200Kbytes)
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ONLINE
THEATER connects you to the exciting world of Kabuki. This page
will be frequently updated with video of recent plays and illustrations.
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| KABUKI
SOUNDS Listen to the instruments used in Kabuki or to the voice
of an enthusiastic fan.
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MAKE
UP Watch how an "Onnagata" transforms himself into
a beautiful woman.
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| ALL ABOUT KABUKI Articles on Kabuki's history, summaries and explanations of major plays, an index of Kabuki related books & movies, and so on. | 
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All
English text copyright Matthew Johnson, 1995
