Kabuki-za

I went to go watch kabuki today with my theater class. I must say that it was one of the most amazing things that I've ever seen and may very well be my favorite thing in Japan. I don't think that anything can top it. There were two hikinuki throughout the three performances. What is a hikinuki? Arg, can't find a clip for it but it's when literally, the stage assistant pulls the garments of the actor to reveal a whole other outfit underneath. It's so trippy but so spectacular that everytime a hikinuki happens, the audience breaks out into applause.

How can I describe what I saw? Man, all I can say is kabuki is so dramatic! And spectacular! And fantastic! I'm not using spectacular and fantastic synonymously with "wonderful," but with what they literally mean.

You wouldn't think that the overstylized kind of acting could move someone to tears but at the end of one play, I was hurting with the female character!

The last play was the lion dance and it was absolutely fantastic and beautiful. Here's a clip of it:





It's not the same dance as the one that I saw but quite similar in many aspects. I suppose that it's very stereotypical Japanese. Hahhaa.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you all how fabulous kabuki is, as outrageous of an art form as it seems. I now have a composition to write for Japan. We just got the prompt today and it's due tomorrow. Yay!

BTW! I forgot to mention-- the dancer is a man. Only males do professional kabuki. I'm doing my research paper on onnagata, men who play women in kabuki. Isn't that trippy?