Tokugawa period until 1868 - Research Paper Example

?Japanese History Tokugawa period until 1868 Introduction Tokugawa period also known as Edo period marks the ascendency of Tokugawa Ieyasu by defeating his rivals in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and fall of his legacy in 1868 with the emperor Meiji’s capturing of power from the last of the Shougun. The period between the ascendancy and the fall was the period of isolation of Japan from the rest of the world. The 268 years under spell of Tokugawa clan had been characterized as ‘static political, social and cultural life’. Family structure, political structure and social class structure along with many values and ideas remained constant during the 268 years of Tokugawa rule. During this period, Buddhism and Confucianism had been rejected. The native religion Shinto re-emerged.(Bellah). Neo-Confucianism was actually the ‘official ideology of the Tokugawa bakufu (government)’. Confucianism was brought to Japan in 285 A.D. It was later eclipsed by Buddhism. However, Confucian’s teachings had created hierarchical relationships and harmony within the home which became the basis for the harmony in state as well. At the same time, there are arguments that Confucianism was just an extension of social practices of pre-Confucian era. Similarly, Neo-Confucian thought also was concerned with the issues the traditional Confucianism had been obsessed with. Thus, in Tokugawa period, there was no government support for any single tradition. But the fact remained that Neo-Confucianism had the trappings of Shinto and Buddhism (Nosco). Tokugawa remains as one of the periods of Japanese cultural history despite the fact that it did not have ‘Heian era’s elegance and nobility (794-1186) and the Mamoyama’s creativity and flamboyance (late 16th century)’. Tokugawa’s culture was characterized by the highly matured forms of arts and culture which were in the ‘peak of their popularity’. They were no (drama), gagaku (Chinese music), renga (poetry), Kano and Tosa paintings, wares made of porcelain and lacquer all patronized by the upper class such as courtiers, samurai and the priests who were Buddhists. The lower classes such as the chonin (townsmen), the lower samurai and Confucians patronized the popular cultures such as kabuki, joruri (puppet theater), kana zoshi (writings in Japanese syllabary). In fact, there had been no hiatus between high class and lower class cultures (Ng). Further I Ching scholarship which had achieved its highest status during the Tokugawa period and its aspects of yin-yang wu-hsing had also impacted on Tokugawa’s cultural aspects. The flower arrangement popularly known as Kado or Ikebana traceable to pre-Tokugawa period namely Kamakura period (1186-1336) had developed as a Buddhist art. It had been associated with nemustu (chanting to Amida Buddha) and renga (linked poetry) during the Muromachi period (1392 -1573). It came closer to chanoyu during the sixteenth century. The flower arrangement had been the most popular during the Tokugawa period. The yin-yang wu-hsing principle representing harmony of the universe was depicted in the flower arrangement relating to I Ching concepts of yin-yang, san-ts’ai associated with the three powers of heaven, earth, and man, and wu-hsing. The flower arrangement with three divisions was symbolic of heaven, earth and man (Ng). Thus, the religions were the roots of Japanese culture and Tokugawa was no exception. Now the broad aspects of Tokugawa’s culture having been briefly examined, this paper will narrow down its research of Japanese Tokugawa’s culture to Theatrical forms (Kabuki) in the following pages. Kabuki Kabuki is depicted by the three Japanese characteristics referring to ‘dance, music and craft or skill’ as depicted below. Figure 1. (Source: creative-arts.net). Originally Kabuki was associated with “tilted” or “out of balance” characters depicted as ‘exotic’, racy, or debauched’. Though its origin comes from temple dance, Kabuki’s earlier recorded history shows much of its association with “vaudeville” and “burlesque” forms. It was the temple dancer Okuni who is known to have first set up a place for performance on the dry river bed at Kyoto in 1603. (Spencer) Figure 2. (Early Kabuki Theater) (Source: creative-arts.net) The dance forms of her troupe were a combination of folk dance and a religious dance known as nembutsu odori. But the dance forms were not as sacred as it suggests. Kabuki was highly popular among the lower classes and dance troupes also started proliferating imitating Okuni’s dance forms. The popularity of Kabuki amongst the lower classes had its own repercussions. The crowds gathering at the performance places often used to turn boisterous that Shougun had to ban the actors and dancers from towns and permitted them to perform only at the remote places close “ pleasure quarters” in 1608. Kabuki’s early history shows that there had been links between such places of entertainment and theater as a source of entertainment at the places of pleasure for the common man popularly known as ukiyo (floating world). The actors of Kabuki Theater were social outcasts and theater managers were kawara kijiki (riverbed beggars) until 19th century when the actors were accorded the status of artists. Whenever they happened to visit outside their pleasure camps, they had to cover their faces with a large size umbrella hats made of reed (amigas) just as criminals used to wear. This segregation was characteristic of Tokugawa principle of isolation. There were social and physical barriers in place that all non-aristocrats had been segregated into clans and groups making it impossible for any inter-movement between them aimed at effective control of the population. The tradition continues in that kabuki clan descendants control theater activities of modern Japan even today. Entry into the profession from outside is very difficult. The kabuki system is perpetuated till this day by giving the titles house name or yago of yester years to those who show maturity in performance. For example, the founder of aragato style of acting Ichikawa Danjuro 1660-1704 is known as Danjuro I. The leading actor during the Mejii period who lived in 1838-1903 is known as Danjuro IX. And the present day actor is known as Danjuro XII. In spite of Kabuki’s boisterous nature, the Tokugawa government permits its performances in a regulated manner because of the popularity it enjoyed. Thus, theaters were permitted to be built in the main Kyoto, Edo and Osaka by granting them with licenses. However, since the performances became more ‘boisterous and overtly risque’ in due course, women were banned from acting in Kabuki theatrical performances in 1629. As such, the Kabuki emerged the sole domain of boys and young men (wakashu) who would don the role of women too. Thus, “it was often the case that the roles being played would involve some element of sexual cross-over”. But in 1652, the wakashu Kabuki had to be banned due to brawls between the rival groups. Later, following representations from the theater managers, the Kabuki theaters were allowed to open but on the condition that boys could not perform any more and males above 14 only years were allowed. Thus, the absence of boys and women made the Kabuki form of performance resulted in the invention of onnagata (women person) and yarou Kabuki or fellows Kabuki which required greater dedication in acting for the extremely specialized roles. Thus, this period marked the matured form of Kabuki (Spencer). Puppet shows From this time onwards, Puppet Theater also became popular as a competition to Kabuki. Kabuki had to adopt some forms of puppet shows in order to retain its audience. Devices used in puppet shows such as gidayu were also imported for Kabuki. Even puppet show stories in their entirety were copied for Kabuki stages. With the amalgamation of puppet stories, Kabuki shows enjoyed the highest popularity during the period of Genroku (1688-1704). Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) who was originally the writer for puppet theater contributed to Kabuki theater which highly improved their quality. While the famous kabuki plays came to be the puppet show plays, Kabuki also started drawing from other forms such as noh and kyougen. (Spencer) Figure 3.Noh theater (Source: Creative-arts.net) Figure 4. Mid Edo period kabuki theater (Source: Creative-arts.net) Kabuki plays having thus become popular with all the levels of society, irked the government of the day as a source of ‘pernicious influence’. A high ranking lady official serving the mother of the Shougun was found have illicit relationship with a popular Kabuki actor which forced the government to take extreme actions such as banishments and even executions on such offices. In this case, all the theaters were shut down and the one belonging to the actor was demolished and property sold. The episode was known as Ejima affair, named after the said lady. After three months, the theaters were reopened but with stricter regulations. In tune with the Tokugawa policy of segregation of classes, ban was imposed on secret encounters between class types besides all activities of Kabuki being transparent. Thus, covered pathways between the theaters and the teahouse of pleasure places were removed. No blinds were allowed to hide the occupants of the sajiki in which only two levels were permitted. But the resourcefulness of the theater managers enabled them to circumvent the restriction by introducing a second tier chou nikkai (mezzanine) as the middle level and a third tier hon nikai as the second level. From this stage onwards, there was no looking back for Kabuki which became extremely popular until the end of the Edo period. The actors had no longer been looked at as pariahs. With such a maturity, Kabuki of Japan was equated with Shakespearian Theater in England. In Shakespearian theaters too, males played as females and there were many similarities of stage technique and style of delivery. Both the forms had their existence attributed to pleasure districts. They both came from divergent societies, one from the closed one and the other from Renaissance England (Spencer). Figure 5 .Modern Kabuki theater (Source: Creative-arts.net) Theater designs Tracing the history of development of structure or designs of Kabuki theater, originally Kabuki plays were performed on river beds and fences later constructed as a form of crowd control as they became popular. Permanent theaters were established in Kyoto in 1617 and in Edo in 1624. As the Tokugawa administration wanted to control its development, roofs were not allowed until 1724. As such, until then, no performances could be held in times of inclement weather conditions. However, the theater managers who were clever enough managed to cover the upper void with mats stretched across the void as a makeshift shelters for protection from such elements. The Noh theaters contributed to the development of stage construction. The stage area was covered with a thatched roof with supports from all the four corners. The hashigakari was the right of the stage that stretched from the dressing rooms to the performing area. The right of the stage was widened later in order to provide a second performing area (tsuke butai). On the opposite side, an extension was made in the same fashion. These areas were sectioned off to enable the audience to observe the action by standing. The area which was the most economical for the audience was known rakandai. Subsequently, the walls were allowed instead of fences which served the dual purpose of both defining boundaries as well as seating for the audience “away from the turmoil of the theater floor”. The sajiki had three rows. The lowest was quail boxes (uzura sajiki). Masu was the cheapest to watch from, situated on the theater floor with tightly packed audience. It was only in 1886, the mash’s size was regulated to be close to 1.5 square meters meant hold not more than five persons. In the 18th century, roofs were allowed to be put up. It rendered performances under cramped conditions of dim artificial light though it saved audience from adverse weather conditions. The provisioning of roofs also facilitated stage additions such as hannamichi, lifts (suppon) and revolving stages (mavari butai). The artificial lights also led to burning down of theaters in some cases. The invention of hanamichi enabled the actors to reach the stage through the walkway from the theater’s back entrance with audience seated on the sideways (Spencer). Vulgar culture? Reading Japanese culture during the Edo period of 1600-1868, one comes across historians who have dismissed Edo culture as vulgar culture of the city of Edo. While attempting a thesis on Kabuki plays of Tsuruya Nanboku IV (1755-1829), the author was dissuaded from writing a thesis on a vulgar subject inappropriate for a thesis in History. Even afterwards in 1960, he was not encouraged to write a thesis on the vulgar culture. When he showed it to Kogoshima Juzo, he is reported to have told the author that he was reprimanded for reading such “inspid Edo trash”. Hence, he too was unable to appreciate Edo culture until he read the author’s notes. Until the period of Taisho (1912-1926), very few people showed interest in Edo-period culture. The author found that even the small interest was because of European evaluations. The strength of Edo period does not come from the contemporary artifacts of the era but is found in its breadth and diversity. The Edo or Tokugawa period witnessed unprecedented cultural proliferations. The public participated in leisure activities and also created newer forms of culture. The common man took interest in reading books or visiting theaters. But the author, who was determined to pursue the study of Edo culture, has found the culture worth researching. It was rejected by Meiji rulers due to their bias. Commenting on the various cultural forms, Kabuki Theater comprised of variety of elements such as hairstyles, makeup, costumes, setting, props, music etc. Though each one of them deserves detailed study, four aspects Edo Kabuki are found to be prominent. They are the aesthetic of the “street knight, the aesthetic of exorcism, the aesthetic of fashion and aesthetic of evil”. As a sample observation, the street knight represents the entry of Ichikawa Danjuro whose name has been inherited over a dozen generations till this day as the greatest actor-hero. He created the style of acting ‘aragoto’ (bravura). The first Danjuro (1660-1704) appeared on stage at the age of fourteen. He played the role of Heian-period warrior Sakata Kintoki as his debut performance. He was praised for his wild and energetic performances. Just before his debut, Puppet Theater called Kinpira joruri was extremely popular in Edo. This puppet show featured Sakata Kinoki’s son Kinpira engaging in extraordinary feats of defeating enemies or fishing out a thousand foot whale from the ocean. All the three theaters of Edo period- the Nakamura-za, the Ichimura-za and the Morita-za produced variations of a single plot throughout the Edo period. Such was the power of aragoto’s play theme. That was the defeat of evil at the hands of righteousness (Nishiyama and Groemer). Conclusion The culture of Tokugawa period is indeed overwhelming with the Kabuki players surviving the period of seclusion and rigors of Tokugawa’s clans over more than two and a half centuries. The seemingly vulgar culture alleged to have been portrayed by Kabuki plays actually had been well intended as revealed in the above account of Nishiyama and Groemer. Otherwise they would not have survived. Works cited Bellah, Robert Neelly. Tokugawa religion: the cultural roots of modern Japan. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985. Ng, Wai-ming. The I Ching in Tokugawa thought and culture. Hawai: University of Hawai Press p 188, 2000. Nishiyama, Matsunosuke and Gerald Groemer. Edo culture; daily life and diversions in urban Japan, 1600-1868. Hawai: Univesrity of Hawai Press. p 7, 212, 1997. Nosco, Peter. Confucianism and Tokugawa culture. Hawai: University of Hawai Press, 1997. Spencer, Michael. "Kabuki Story : Theatre Design." 1999. The Kabuki Story; Theatre design. 16 October 2011 . —. "Kabuki Story; History and Social Context." 1999. The Kabuki Story; History and Social Context. 16 October 2011 . Read More