Kabuki first started out many centuries ago in the 1600s of ancient Japan. A women named Okuni who was an attendant and dancer from the Izumo Shrine, started to present dance programs in the dry riverbeds in the capital of Kyoto during the Heian period. This attracted large crowds and she started to add people to her routine and acted as men. By 1629, many groups of women were performing in the capital. The groups used tactics that would entice men and then led then to make more money. The Shogun decided to outlaw these women from dancing and performing since he thought they were corrupting men and samurai and associated them with prostitution. Next, young boys started to perform and dance to take place of the women performers. But soon they were outlawed to for similar reasons of the women. Finally, adult men developed a new way of entertaining crowds using dialogue and dramatic skits. This was called Yara (men’s Kabuki).
The word Kabuki comes from the verb kabuku meaning to be eccentric/extraordinary. Kabuki can be broken down into three words in Japanese. Ka means music or song, bu means dance, and ki means acting skill. This shows that a combination of music, dance, and acting make up the theater style of Kabuki. Kabuki was geared towards the general public or commoners rather than the upper class, allowing an emotional and intellectual escape from everyday work and tasks. The plays often reflected the tastes and interests of the public. They focused on dramatic moments in history as well as modern stories both accompanied by dance and musical assembles. Kabuki actors are traditionally all men. Men would play male characters as well as female characters. When male performers played female roles, they are called onnagata. Kabuki is one of Japan’s traditional stage arts along with Noh, Kyogen, and Bunkura.