I
The four characteristic play forms of Kabuki may be classified as follows: sewamono, plays of everyday life; jidaimono, historical drama; shosagoto, music-posture drama; and aragoto, highly imaginary improvisations. Closely allied with these forms is odori, the descriptive dance, which forms the very foundation of the actor’s art, as it is known and practised in Japan.
Sewamono are plays in which human nature holds sway, the playwright selecting for his material the joys and sorrows of the people around him. Those composed for the Doll-theatre partake of the nature of balladry, the marionettes moving to music, song, and recitative, while those written for Kabuki are more akin to the drama of the West.
Jidaimono, historical drama, are pieces that have heroes and heroines taken from the pages of history for central characters.
But since the playwright was forbidden by the authorities to represent the real events of history, his only recourse was to take famous personages and set them in the midst of a wholly imaginary and irrelevant plot. As he was unable to confine himself to truth, he allowed his imagination to run riot in the painting of characters and scenes as far removed from the realities of life as possible.
Shosagoto, also called furigoto, the music-posture drama, provide the most characteristic Kabuki pieces. Largely influenced by the Nō, the shosagoto combine all the Kabuki arts—plot, music, scenery, acting, movement, and colour, and represent the most sincere collaboration of the Kabuki specialists.
Even more detached from life than the jidaimono is the fourth variety of Kabuki play, the aragoto (lit., rough acting). Originated by the first Ichikawa Danjuro, these pieces cannot be classified as drama, for they scarcely possess any form, and are the result of improvisation on the part of the different members of the Ichikawa family, who added or altered, improved or patched up, producing the traditional eighteen pieces of this house.
The essence of aragoto is exaggeration, and this applies to every detail, gesture, posture, movement, costume, and acting. The flimsy material that serves to unite all these strange ingredients is generally an abstraction, and the expressions and words used are largely symbolic. The entire emphasis is placed on the art of acting, and the playwright is left a long distance behind.
Modern stage-writers have made signal departures from these time-honoured forms, and melodrama, as well as translations and adaptations of Western plays, are now frequent. In the weaving of their patterns, however, the modern playwrights appear to wish to throw overboard as much lumber of the past as possible, but without great success. Out of the fusion of East and West that is going on upon the Japanese stage at present, much of interest is to be expected in the future.
On account of the long hours through which the performances extended, it was necessary to spread a veritable theatrical feast to sustain the interest of the audience and keep its attention from wandering. The programmes were so planned as to include all types of Kabuki pieces, and this holds equally true of the entertainments afforded by the modern stage.