Sachiyo Ito and Dance Japan’s discussion and performance was especially enlightening. Sachiyo Ito and Company was founded in 1981, and is a non-profit organization devoted to establish a link between East and West though expressive and aesthetic performances. Sadly, I have never experienced a Japanese dance performance before, or any dance performance as authentic as Sachiyo Ito and Company presented. Kabuki developed its unique characteristics in 1603, and was founded by a female, Izumo Okuni. It has been a pleasure enjoyed by the people of Japan for just about 400 years. Kabuki is a category of Japanese musical that incorporates dancing, music, and acting. As explained by Sachiyo Ito, the word Kabuki can be broken down in the Japanese language, “ka” meaning to “music” or “song”, “bu” meaning “dance”, and “ki” meaning “acting skill”. Therefore, Kabuki denotes the skill of song dance and acting. All three of these elements were combined to produce Kabuki theatrical performance. Although, it became applied in a more limited way—to represent a distinct type of Japanese performance.
Originally an art performed by women, and passed down from generation to generation. Then, in 1629 the Tokugawa shogunate banned women from Kabuki performance, in an attempt to preserve social integrity. The shogunate military government perceived the female performances as being too sensual and risqué, causing chaos amongst the audience. After that, young men in their teens were to perform the traditionally female parts, but that as well became prohibited. In place, older men were substituted for the female roles and cross dressed to portray the female parts—with emphasis on their feminine movements. The art of males playing females parts became known as “onnagata”. Men studied female movements to denote the proper “ideal” feminine way. Sachiyo Ito referred to the practice of men training to walk in small, delicate steps by placing paper between their knees, for proper form. It was believed that these onnagata men understood a women’s ambiance and spirit. This perspective depicts the ideology that women are inferior to men, as well as their own gender—requiring a man to signify the “ideal” woman. It wasn’t until after 1920 that females began to perform Kabuki professionally in public spaces again.
The repertoire performed by Sachiyo Ito and Company represents a mixture of classical, contemporary and traditional Japanese Kabuki dance. Kabuki dance performance is notable for its radiant makeup, colors, costumes and stage ornamentation. Dance is the essence of Kabuki, and through dance Kabuki became an art of story telling with its graceful gestures. The use of props, such as beautiful fans or umbrellas were used to signify different abstract meanings. Many dances have been preserved from the 1600’s, and many new contemporary dances have been introduced—based on the distinct Kabuki style and elegance. Sachiyo Ito expressed that western music has even been incorporated to Kabuki performances, for instance Beethoven.
Kabuki can be compared to short parody’s where acting, fighting, and drama were manifested through dance. Fluid and poised gestures told a story to the enchanted audience. A fan was used to signify flower petals blown by the spring breeze. To express oneself crying, the sleeves of the kimono dress are used, or tears of the sleeve. Sachiyo Ito also demonstrated-- making waves in the pond, both small and big waves, and seeing one’s reflection in the pond. A re-occurring theme of Kabuki dance performance is to celebrate the beautiful re-birth of the cherry blossom each spring. Also, the longevity and resilience of spring and the blooming willows. The music was enchanting along with the majestic gestures of the performance. I found myself quite relaxed and using my imagination to decipher what each fluid gesture and movement symbolized. “Japanese dance is an introduction to Japanese culture” as explained by Sachiyo Ito. Being that I have never been exposed to such authentic art, Sachiyo Ito was very informative on the Japanese Kabuki culture. I felt connected to the Kabuki performers, as they look out into the audience and pull you in. Between each rhythmic movement and the visual detail, I could feel myself escape into this world, the blooming garden of beauty. Between each dance performance, a narrator provided a brief description of the next performances context and function—to help guide those unfamiliar with Kabuki and therefore enhance the experience. A demonstration of how the Kabuki performers make up, such as the white face paint, is applied. The whole process could take hours. The use of the white face painted mask represents the transformation to be someone else. The performers wore beautifully designed kimono costumes, which is also incorporated into their performance. The particulars of Kabuki make-up and tradition of dressing has remained the same through out hundreds of years. Sachiyo Ito also performs Okinawan court dances, which is more closely linked to Chinese culture than Japanese. She incorporated Okinawan into her program after realizing there were Okinawan people in America. As explained in Ito’s presentation, Okinawan make-up incorporates more pinks and reds to the face, which softens up the face—while Japanese make up is solely white. Okinawan songs are written in Okinawan dialect, which is almost essentially unknown to Japanese people. Just as Kabuki songs consists of ancient Japanese dialect hardly known, as well. Sachiyo Ito explained how she enlightens her students on the scenes portrayed in these ancient languages. She compared it to the works of Shakespeare and its core foundation in Western academia. This enables her students to get a better feel of the culture, which is mirrored in the spirit of Kabuki performance. Also, this allows for the continual passing of knowledge, which is crucial for every culture. I found it very authentic and genuine when Sachiyo Ito expressed to us the perplexity of preserving tradition, while still allowing and encouraging new facets of light to shine through. She tries to keep the tradition of hundreds of years ago, while still allowing the unique inherent essence of each individual’s movements. Sachiyo Ito highlighted the idea that movement is always changing and is fluid—therefore each dance performance is so precious and cherished, as it will never exist again. She also expressed the need for criticism, in order to grow. I agree, that is the only way to master a subject, by steadily improving.