Kabuki

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Kabuki is one of Japan's traditional theatrical arts. Its inception goes back to the latter part of the 16th century and, with extensive and continuous evolution, it has flourished and remains a very popular dramatic art form in Japan drawing large audiences across the country.
During the period generally referred to as the Edo Era, during which much of the development of kabuki took place, distinction between the warrior class and the commoners was more rigidly observed than at any other time in Japan's history. The art of kabuki was cultivated mainly by the merchants in those days. They had be come increasingly powerful economically, but had to remain socially inferior as they belonged to the commoner class. To them kabuki was perhaps most significant as the artistic means by which to express their emotions under such conditions. Thus, the fundamental themes of kabuki plays are conflicts between humanity and the feudalistic system. It is largely due to this humanistic quality of the art that it gained such an enduring popularity among the general public of those days and remains this way today.
A unique feature of the kabuki art is the fact that it has no actresses whatsoever. All female parts are played by male impersonators known as onnagata. The players of the kabuki drama in its primitive stage were principally women, and with the increasing popularity of kabuki, many of the actresses began to attract undue attention from male admirers. The authorities felt that this would lead to a serious demoralization of the public and in 1629 the theatrical appearance of women was officially banned.
However, since kabuki as an art form was already accepted by the public, men immediately took over and have continued performing to the present. The ban on actresses was in effect for about 250 years. In the mean time kabuki brought to perfection the art of the onnagata. As a result, there was no room for actresses in kabuki whe...