kabuki theatre
Stylized Japanese performance
Kabuki theatre is a traditional form of Japanese drama characterized by elaborate costumes, stylized movements, and male actors playing all roles, including female characters.
The term has extended figuratively to describe any highly theatrical or ritualized performance, especially in politics: The budget negotiations were pure kabuki theatre—everyone knew the outcome in advance.
Multi-puppeteer Japanese theater
- nohClassical Japanese dramatic form
- kyogenJapanese comic stage tradition
- NakamuraJapanese family name
- stage namesPerformers' professional pseudonyms
Raised performance platform
- actorsThose playing roles
- costumesClothes for assuming roles
- makeupProducts for beautifying faces
- choreographyDesigning performance movement sequences
gestures · movement · expression · mie · aragoto · revolving stage · trapdoors · scenery
Japanese three-stringed plucked instrument
- taikoJapanese ceremonial drum
- percussionSound through impact
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- singersThose who vocalize melodies
Ruling samurai dynasty, 1600s-1800s
- ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock print tradition
- woodblock printsArt stamped from carved timber
- feudal JapanPre-modern warrior-ruled archipelago
- merchant classTraders as social group
Tales of the supernatural
- historical dramaFiction set in past
- domestic dramaStories of household strife
- supernatural talesFiction involving paranormal elements
Ornate, detailed clothing ensembles
- wigsArtificial head coverings
- stylizationArtistic rendering with deliberate conventions
- spectacleVisually striking event
- kataMartial arts movement pattern
poses · tableau · exaggeration · color symbolism · red · white · grandeur · formalism
bunraku
Multi-puppeteer Japanese theater
stage
Raised performance platform
choreography · gestures · movement · expression · mie · aragoto · revolving stage · trapdoors · scenery · curtain
shamisen
Japanese three-stringed plucked instrument
- taikoJapanese ceremonial drum
- percussionSound through impact
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
singers · chanters · sound effects · rhythm
Tokugawa
Ruling samurai dynasty, 1600s-1800s
- ukiyo-eJapanese woodblock print tradition
- woodblock printsArt stamped from carved timber
- feudal JapanPre-modern warrior-ruled archipelago
ghost stories
Tales of the supernatural
- historical dramaFiction set in past
- domestic dramaStories of household strife
- supernatural talesFiction involving paranormal elements
elaborate costumes
Ornate, detailed clothing ensembles
- wigsArtificial head coverings
- stylizationArtistic rendering with deliberate conventions
- spectacleVisually striking event
kata · poses · tableau · exaggeration · color symbolism · red · white · grandeur · formalism · bombast
kabuki theatreGreek tragedy
Classical dramatic form featuring downfall
West End theatre · Elizabethan theatre · Broadway · Broadway musical · American drama
kabuki theatreimprovisational theatre
Unscripted live dramatic creation
improv comedy · experimental theatre · street theatre · guerrilla theatre · happenings
kabuki, theatre, theater, theaters, theatres, theatrical, theatrically, theatricality