Despite the introduction of the proscenium arch and modern lighting instruments, the Kabuki remains essentially what it always was: a non-representational form of theatre.Įrnst, E. The use of increasingly elaborate settings did not result in the establishment of an illusory world, for the settings constituted a generally flat, decorative back- ground against which the actor played. In the Kabuki, on the contrary, the movement since the early seventeenth century has been to- ward and through the audience. Behind this line, the actor came to move in an illusory world in which he related him- self to the mise en scene. In the Western theatre, generally, the movement has been distinguished by increasing with- drawal of the actor from the audience, both spatially and psychologically, and the creation of a line of division, phy- sically reinforced by the proscenium, between stage and auditorium. The development of the physical theatre of the Kabuki offers a startling contrast to that of the Western theatre since the Renaissance. It is used as an area spatially continuous with the stage it can be related to the stage but defined as a spatially differentiated area or it is used as a completely independent stage. The hanamichi is transmutable into three psychological areas. It is a kind of special, intimate stage used almost invariably by the actor alone, and the theatrical use to which it is put makes it unique in theatre history. The hanamichi is something more than a long, relatively narrow, raised platform through the auditorium by means of which an important character moves to and from the stage. The vigilant government made regulations concerning the auditorium, but it made none about the acting areas. The Kabuki, consequently, was never encumbered with a permanent form of theatre build- ing. This gradual process was greatly aided by the fires which periodically and frequently destroyed not only theatre buildings but also large sections of Japanese cities. In part, the history of the development of the physical theatre is that of gradual modification of the No theatre, so that eventually the Kabuki created an entirely new form. The earliest permanent stage used was an adaptation of the No stage, which consisted of two acting areas: the stage proper, approximately eighteen feet square, and the “bridge,” a long plat- form, six feet wide, which led from the dressing room to the stage proper. The Kabuki is primarily a theatre of the actor, and his influence is nowhere more apparent than in the historical development of the physical theatre. The Kabuki began, according to tradition, with performances by an ex-priestess, Okuni, in the city of Kyoto in 1596. Extracts from Notes on the Form of KabukiĪn important historical fact in the development of the Kabuki is that it was a theatre of commoners in a feudal society.
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