Dance and Acting

"Parodies of Five Seasonal Festivals". Triptych print by Utagawa Toyokuni III, ca. 1854. Source: Colbase Database, courtesy of the Tokyo National Museum

1. Dance

Dance movement and expression are fundamental to kabuki acting and performance. The term, Nihon buyō, the term for Japanese classical dance, is relatively new, coined during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) to differentiate kabuki buyō (dances performed by professional Kabuki actors) and those same kabuki dances being performed by amateurs and hobbyists. 

The term buyō is comprised of two sinographs: 舞 (bu), pronounced mai when used alone, and 踊 (yō), pronounced odo(ri) when used alone. Although the English translations of both Sinographs mean “dance”, in Japanese, these two graphs have different nuances and practices. Mai is a subtle form originating in the dances performed by the shrine attendants (miko) of Shinto shrines. Although each shrine has a unique dance, the general choreographic aspect of these dances is a turning, circular motion, by which the shrine attendants welcome the deities to manifest themselves in their bodies.

2. Training and acting

The fundamentals of kabuki body formation lie in the practice of Nihon buyō. Kabuki actors can begin their training in Nihon buyō as early as three years old.  However, there is a custom that children should officially announce their studies in the art form when they are six years old on the sixth day of the six month (June 6th).

Regardless of the kinds of roles they may eventually specialize in, tachiyaku (male roles) or onnagata (female roles), children begin their training in the role of a young girl in dance numbers such as Nagauta kikuzukushi (“The Varieties of Chrysanthemums”).  There is not a standard starter piece for Nihon buyō studies, but the dances must familiarize children with traditional Japanese music, rhythm, neck and knee movement, posing, walking, slicing the feet (suberi), and usage of the kimono sleeves.  

In the early years, emphasis is placed on the ability of the child to mimic the teacher’s movements, while slowly coming to understand ma (timing) of the music.  A lesson typically begins with the child bowing to the teacher. The child faces the teacher sitting seza (on the knees) with his hands placed on the floor as he bows. Children are taught how to sit and stand as they practice this mark of respect, which readies them to dance. The child first performs what was previously taught, with the teacher stopping the dance when corrections are needed.  Then the teacher demonstrates a new segment by dancing with the child. Typically, the new segment is shown three times before the teacher faces the child to mirror the movements, standing and then sitting.  The lesson ends with the child bowing to the teacher. Children’s lessons generally last for around 20 minutes, and adult lessons range from 30 minutes to one hour. 

As the student progresses, the curriculum remains at the sole discretion of the dance teacher.  There is no set order to the dances an actor must learn, and the sequence or types of dances are determined by the teacher’s sense of the actor’s abilities. As the actor trains and develops his skills, the dances become more complex. Student skills gradually evolve beyond the mimicry of movements to incorporate an understanding behind the movements and the feelings that evoke interpretations.

Throughout their careers, kabuki actors continue to refine their movements and knowledge of the art form. As they advance, they may continue training under their childhood teacher, but they will also start working with other Nihon buyō teachers of different dance schools who serve as the choreographers for upcoming productions in which they will appear.  Lead actors can choose their choreographers, although there are some dance numbers made famous by certain schools that will usually be performed regardless of the relationship between actor and teacher. For example, the Onoe School of Japanese classical dance is famous for its choreography of the kabuki dance Wankyū and Matsuyama (Ninin Wankyū). The basic steps of the original choreography are maintained, although the Onoe teacher who oversees the choreography may alter the dance to highlight the strengths of the actors while downplaying their weaknesses.

During a kabuki performance, actors rarely set aside time to “warm up” in the manner, say, of ballet dancers who may spend upwards of an hour or more to prepare their bodies before a performance. The theory that explains this difference is that kabuki and Japanese dance movements are rooted in everyday lifestyle, the everyday lifestyle of the townspeople of kabuki’s heyday, the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868). Therefore, the body does not need to be specifically warmed up before the performance, since the movements do not strain or constrict the body into unnatural poses or movements.  For Tokugawa-period audiences, the movements found on the kabuki stage offered a sense of realism, a representation of the everyday lifestyles of the townspeople. The notion of realism is embedded in the philosophies of various Nihon buyō schools. For example, the crest of the Yamamura School of dance is based on the sinograph for water (水).  The Yamamura School’s philosophy is to dance naturally, similar to the flow of water.

Most contemporary Japanese no longer sit and sleep on the floor, which had forced them to utilize the lower body. The introduction of Western chairs and beds has weakened lower body strength and led to a greater emphasis on the importance of Nihon buyō in the physical formation of young actors; that is, the core movements of kabuki acting, rooted in the everyday movements of early modern townspeople, are now taught through Nihon buyō.

Some kabuki actors, such as superstar onnagata Bandō Tamasaburō, also now feel the need to conduct warm-ups before their performances. Tamasaburō spends around 60 minutes stretching his body before his performances and is known for his body care after performances, including a massage at the end of the day.

While Nihon buyō is foundational to kabuki actors’ training and remains fundamental to how actors move onstage throughout their careers, other aspects of acting are learned and practiced through master/disciple training and stage performance. As a child progresses in movement studies, he begins to learn acting methods through the study of roles with his primary mentor. The mentor is often a close relative, like the student’s father, whose roles and style the student will one day perform. Once the student has gone through puberty, the kinds of roles in which he will specialize will be decided, and he will study and gradually perform in role types that suit his physicality and skills.