A Study of Figures of Kabukimone and Kabuki at the Early Stages

2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 17520079
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Aesthetics/Art history
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: OKUDAIRA Shunroku Osaka University, School of Letters, Professor (30167324)
• Project Period (FY): 2005 – 2007
• Keywords: History of Japanese Art / Kabukimono(putlaws) / Mie(striking posture) / Genre Painting / Early Kabuki Paintings / Figures and Forms

Research Abstract

It brought the success of early Kabuki, which is regarded as beginning in the Keicho 8th year (1603), when kabukimono (outlaws) who behaved freakishly but were nevertheless fashionable and attractive young people joined as performers. The aim of this study is to clarify the figures of kabukimono on stage, by categorizing and analyzing these images among genre paintings with a theme of Kabuki depicted in this era, focusing on the paintings that depict the stage for dancing. Among the 79 artworks, there are 123 scenes depicting kabukimone on stage. The details are as follows: 25 scenes among 7 paintings of "Picture of Kabuki (Kabuki-zu)" including handscrolls, albums, and books; 19 scenes among 18 screens of "Picture of Kabuki"; 43 among 31 screens of "Scenes in and around Kyoto (Rakuchu Rakugai-zu)'; 20 among 14 screens of "Famous Sights of Kyoto (Kyoto Meisho-zu)'; 16 among 9 screens of "Amusements along the Riverside at Shijo (Shijogawara-zu). " Paintings such as "Picture of Festival (Sairei-zu)" and "Figures of Merrymaking (Yuraku Jinbutsu-zu)" were researched as well. Consequently the total number of kabukimono figures I investigated is more than two thousand. Moreover, several newly discovered works, including "Amusements along the Riverside at Shijo" owned by the Nishio family and "Picture of Courtesans Kabuki Dancing (Yujo Kabuki-zu)" in the collection of Sunritz Hattori Museum of Arts, have been researched precisely. The details of the figures cannot be grasped from plates in books or catalogues. Previous study of both Japanese art history and performing arts history has examined only a limited number of figures in these paintings. Another achievement of the research is to read and translate all characters and writings inscribed in the paintings as gachu-moji (either Chinese or Japanese characters described in paintings). These writings are important historical records for many reasons. As a result, this study leads to several interesting new facts and keys to further comprehension of Kabuki in the early Edo period, including: (1) documenting changes in the structures of the stage in Kabuki theater such as "Japanese lobby style," in which there is a small partition made from straw mats between the wooden gate and the grand tier; (2) documenting changes in the placement of the ornaments for a turret, specifically a spear covered with feathers and the "three arms," which are the sasumata (two-pronged weapon), tsukubo (cudgel), and sodegarami (pole with tortuous iron blades for catching kimono sleeves); (3) classifying the paintings that include characteristic depictions of the backstage; (4) categorizing mie (striking postures) and capturing the meaning of each posture in the scene of "Chaya Asobi (Frequent the Pleasure Quarters); " (5) examining the various hana (bamboo grass with imitated oval Japanese gold coin and several sheets of paper inscribed with the names of the performer and patron) and their peculiarities of form and ornament; (6) identifying the workshops that produced these Kabuki painting; (7) and determining the process and route by which the iconographic images of the figures in the paintings were developed.