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Kabuki
The origin of kabuki lies in a popular entertainment of the 16th century devised by a shrine maiden named Okuni. This lady, who was formerly in the service of the Grand Shrine of Izumo in Shimane Prefecture, gathered together a troupe of male and female dancers and performed on the dry river beds of Kyoto. Due to the frivolous nature of the entertainment - and suggestions of immorality - the kabuki dances of Okuni and her followers were banned, but they were followed soon after by all-boy wakashu kabuki and then all-men yaro kabuki. To this day, kabuki dance drama is performed only by men, the female parts being taken by actors called onnagata or oyama.
Most of the theatrical developments in kabuki took place in the 17th century and early 18th century when dramas were added to the repertory by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (noted for romantic tragedies) and Takeda Izumo, Namiki Senryu and Miyoshi Shoraku, the creators of the most famous of kabuki dramas, Chushingura, in 1748. A Contemporary performance is made up of drama based on historical events, pure dance pieces and genre dramas of the Edo period.
The presentation of kabuki is vividly colourful and animated. The historical dramas and dance pieces in particular are characterized by brilliant costumes, dramatic make-up and stage devices of the most elaborate kind. The stage itself is very wide and shallow compared to the stage of a Western theatre and it is connected to the rear of the auditorium by a ramp, the hanamichi the setting for many of the most dramatic setpieces in kabuhi drama. Kabuhi is performed in large theatres (principally Kabukiea) in large cities and it is very popular among people of all classes. It has also been staged in the United States of America, Canada and Europe.