Monday, February 21, 2011
Kabuki Props
Props: "Kabuki is a traditional form of theatre in Japan which began around four hundred years ago. It is a highly stylized form of theatre, and its use of props is very formalized and full of tradition. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how they use and make props in Kabuki. I don’t speak or read Japanese, so while I took care to double and triple-check all the terminology, someone more knowledgeable than I may still find mistakes. Still, I hope you’ll find what follows to be a good overview of props in Kabuki theatre.
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3 comments:
This article is quite intriguing because it seems to me that Kabuki props and Japanese props in general have a much longer history then those of the US. Just like in Noh Theater or Commedia del’ arte it seems like there are given stereotypes that occur in each play and just like this there are given props that occur over and over again in each play. This repetition of themes means that skilled craftsmen have really honed there art and know exactly how to make each of the props. There are traditional materials and conventions that are used again and again. Also their props people seem to be much more developed. Instead of just having a prop master and possibly one other person there are multiple people working on a project and so it seems more like a costume or set shop. Props seem to be much less under appreciated in Kabuki Theater.
I've always been interested in the differences between eastern and western cultures, usually coming to the conclusion that eastern cultures tend to stylize and add symbolism to their artistic ventures more so than we do here in America. Here it seems that we use our props as decorations or nice additions to complete the stage picture, not very often used as an important symbol or device to drive the plot forward. It's exactly the opposite for Kabuki. In eastern drama, there can be so much meaning packed into one little object, it's simply astounding.
It's surprising how much more elaborate the prop system is in Kabuki theatre than in American theatre. While we usually just have a prop master and his assistant, they have leagues of highly skilled artisans. I would love to get a hold of a copy of a kabuki show's budget, just to see how much actually goes to props. It seems that kabuki is all about the small things in their productions, compared to western dramas that really are about the macro.
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