Article: The elements of abstraction: a kabuki primer: four hundred years after its first moves were played out on the dry river beds of Kyoto, the theatrical form known as kabuki is still going strong. Watanabe Tamotsu outlines the history and defining elements of this venerable dramatic tradition.(Culture Feature)

THE traditional Japanese performance art of kabuki has tour distinctive characteristics. First, it is a classical theater form; second, it is abstract in nature: third, its performers pursue an aesthetic methodology called gei: and fourth, it has a very broad and diverse repertory.

Let's look at each of these characteristics in turn, starting with kabuki's status as a classical performance art.

Japan has four classical stage arts that are still performed today: noh, kyogen comic drama, bunraku puppet theater, and kabuki. Although kabuki is of course an independent performance art, it flows from the same historical stream as the other three. The famous ...

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