History of Japanese Theatre

[ Up ]

Japanese Theatre has a long standing history of tradition. This history started with the Noh theatre in 1270 when it was called Suragaku. Over time it became known as Suragaku Noh and in 1362 it was shortened down to Noh. Between 1333 and 1444, Kiyotsugu Kan’ami and Zeami, a father and son team, wrote the majority of plays still performed today and were truly the great innovators of Noh. In 1615, the Noh stage is standardized and Noh begin its long tradition of performance (Brockett, 1987, 293-310.)

In 1603, Kabuki Theatre began in bordellos and bars throughout Japan. The first performances were done by women and were extremely erotic. In 1629, women were forbidden to perform in Kabuki theatres. Between 1675 and 1759, Kabuki theatre developed and evolved its characteristics rapidly. The plays usually lasted about twelve hours. In 1868, play length was reduced to 8 hours in length (Brockett, 1987, 293-310.)