Kabuki -- Probably Japan's best-known traditional theater art, Kabuki is also one of the country's most popular forms of entertainment. Visit a performance and it's easy to see why -- in a word, Kabuki is fun! The plays are dramatic, the costumes are gorgeous, stage settings can be fantastic, and the themes are universal -- love, revenge, and the conflict between duty and personal feelings. Probably one of the reasons Kabuki is so popular even today is that it originated centuries ago as a form of entertainment for the common people in feudal Japan, particularly the merchant class. One of Kabuki's interesting aspects is that all roles -- even those depicting women -- are portrayed by men.
Altogether, there are more than 300 Kabuki plays, all written before the 20th century. For a Westerner, one of the more arresting things about a Kabuki performance is the audience itself. Because this has always been entertainment for the masses, the spectators can get quite lively, adding yells of approval, guffaws, and laughter. Also contributing to the festive atmosphere are the box lunches and drinks available during intermission.
One of Japan's most prestigious theaters for Kabuki is Kabukiza, 4-12-15 Ginza (tel. 03/5565-6000 for advance reservations; www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater/index.html). Conveniently located within easy walking distance of the Ginza 4-chome Crossing (directly above the Higashi-Ginza Station), this impressive theater with a Momoyama-style facade (influenced by 16th-century castle architecture) is a remake of the 1924 original building. It seats almost 2,000 and features the usual Kabuki stage fittings, including a platform that can be raised above and lowered below the stage for dramatic appearances and disappearances of actors, a revolving stage, and a runway stage extending into the audience.
The Kabukiza stages about eight or nine Kabuki productions a year. Each production begins its run between the first and third of each month and runs about 25 days, with performances daily from 11 or 11:30am to about 9pm (there are no shows in Aug). Usually, two different programs are shown; matinees run from about 11 or 11:30am to 4pm, and evening performances run from about 4:30 or 5pm to about 9pm. It's considered perfectly okay to come for only part of a performance.
Of course, you won't be able to understand what's being said, but that doesn't matter; the productions themselves are great entertainment. For an outline of the plot, you can purchase an English-language program, which costs ¥1,000 ($8.35); you also can rent English-language earphones for ¥650 ($5.40), plus a ¥1,000 ($8.35) refundable deposit -- these provide a running commentary on the story, music, actors, stage properties, and other aspects of Kabuki. Buying a program or renting earphones will add immensely to your enjoyment of the play.
Tickets generally range from ¥2,500 to ¥16,800 ($21-$140), depending on the program and seat location. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Advance Ticket Office to the right side of Kabukiza's main entrance from 10am to 6pm. You may also make advance reservations by phone (same-day bookings are not accepted). Otherwise, tickets for each day's performance are placed on sale 1 hour before the start of each performance.
If you don't have time for an entire performance or you wish to view Kabuki only for a short while, it's possible to watch only one act; tickets costing only ¥600 to ¥1,000 ($5-$8.35) are available depending on the time of day and length of the show. One-acts generally last about 1 or 1 1/2 hours; note that English-language earphones are not available here, but you can buy an English-language program. Note also that seats are a bit far from the stage, on the very top two rows of the theater (on the 4th floor; there is no elevator). On the other hand, I have seen several acts this way, sometimes simply dropping by when I'm in the area; it's a marvelous mid-day break from the rigors of shopping. These tickets, sold at the smaller entrance to the left of the main entrance, are available on a first-come, first-served basis and go on sale 20 minutes prior to each act. If you liked the act so much that you wish to remain for the next one, it's possible to do so if the act is not sold out; tickets in these cases are usually available on the fourth floor.
If you're in Tokyo in August, you can usually see Kabuki at the National Theater of Japan (Kokuritsu Gekijo), 4-1 Hayabusacho, Chiyoda-ku (tel. 03/3265-7411; station: Hanzomon, 6 min.). Kabuki is scheduled here throughout the year except during May, September, and December, when Bunraku is being staged instead. Matinees usually begin at noon, and evening performances at 5pm. Most tickets range from about ¥1,500 to ¥3,800 ($13-$32).
Noh -- Whereas Kabuki developed as a form of entertainment for the masses, Noh was a much more traditional and aristocratic form of theater. In contrast to Kabuki's extroverted liveliness, Noh is very calculated and restrained. The oldest form of theater in Japan, it has changed very little in the past 600 years. The language is so archaic that today the Japanese cannot understand it at all, which explains in part why Noh does not have the popularity that Kabuki does.
As in Kabuki, all the performers are men. Altogether there are about 240 Noh plays, often concerned with supernatural beings, beautiful women, mentally confused and tormented people, or tragic-heroic epics.
Because the action is slow, sitting through an entire performance can be quite tedious unless you are particularly interested in Noh dance and music. In addition, most Noh plays do not have English translations. You may want to drop in for just a short while. Definitely worth seeing, however, are the short comic reliefs, called kyogen, that make fun of life in the 1600s and are performed between Noh dramas.
Noh is performed at a number of locations in Tokyo, with tickets ranging from about ¥2,300 to ¥6,000 ($19-$50). Performances are usually in the early afternoon at 1pm or in the late afternoon at 5 or 6:30pm; check the Japan Times or Daily Yomiuri for exact times. The National Noh Theater (Kokuritsu Nohgakudo), 4-18-1 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku (tel. 03/3423-1331; station: Sendagaya, 5 min.), is Tokyo's most famous. Other Noh theaters worth checking out are Hosho Nohgakudo, 1-5-9 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku (tel. 03/3811-4843; station: Suidobashi, 5 min.); Kanze Nohgakudo, 1-16-4 Shoto, Shibuya-ku (tel. 03/3469-5241; station: Shibuya, 10 min.); Kita Nohgakudo, 4-6-9 Kami-Osaki, Shinagawa-ku (tel. 03/3491-8813; station: JR Meguro, 10 min.); and Tessenkai Nohgaku-do Kenshujo, 4-21-29 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku (tel. 03/3401-2285; station: Omotesando, exit A4, 5 min.).
Bunraku -- Bunraku is traditional Japanese puppet theater, but contrary to what you might expect, the dramas are for adults, with themes centering on love, revenge, sacrifice, and suicide.
Popular in Japan since the 17th century, Bunraku is fascinating to watch because the puppeteers, dressed in black, are always right on stage with their puppets. They're wonderfully skilled at making the puppets seem like living beings. It usually takes three puppeteers to work one puppet, which is about three-quarters human size: One puppeteer is responsible for movement of the puppet's head, facial expressions, and right arm and hand; another operates the puppet's left arm and hand; the third moves its legs. A narrator recites the story and speaks all the parts, accompanied by the samisen, a traditional three-stringed Japanese instrument.
Although the main Bunraku theater in Japan is in Osaka, the National Theatre of Japan (Kokuritsu Gekijo) in Tokyo, 4-1 Hayabusacho, Chiyoda-ku (tel. 03/3265-7411; station: Hanzomon, 6 min.), stages about three Bunraku plays a year -- in May, September, and December. There are usually two to three performances daily, at 11am, 2:30pm, and 6pm, with tickets averaging ¥5,000 to ¥6,000 ($42-$50). Earphones with English-language explanations are available for ¥650 ($5.40).
