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CHAPTER 5

Bunka-Bunsei Kabuki

Bunka and Bunsei historically are two eras but are so closely associated that they are usually spoken of as one—namely the Bunka-Bunsei or Kasei period (1804-30). The Kabuki period identified thus also includes a few years before: the Kyōwa era of 1801-4.

Decadence prevailed during the extremely peaceful, mellow years of Bunka-Bunsei under the rule of the eleventh shōgun, Tokugawa Ienari. This rococo period, with its over-all beauty and delicacy, can be likened to the brilliance of a candle just as its flame flickers brightly for the last time, only to die. Ienari, the progenitor of fifty-four acknowledged children, with probably more than fifteen wives and concubines, typified the times and the morals. Ernest Fenollosa has referred to these years as "a real lowering of both the moral and aesthetic standards of the streets. Men and women went to the extravagances of frank vulgarity. It was a sort of Genro carnival, on a lower plane."

During the high living and spectacular spending of the commoners in these liberal-minded years, Kabuki reached the pinnacle of its popularity and material abundance. Admission to the Kabuki increased to fantastic heights, with management taking full advantage of the greater demand for seats as the chōnin rose in monetary power. There were only three licensed theaters in the city of Edo. Those attending the Kabuki dressed sumptuously and frequented the costly teahouses attached to the theaters. Ichi-ryō ni-bu (one ryō and two bu) was the average fee for a day at the theater, including admission, service from the teahouse, and tipping the dekata or usher. First-class tickets to the Kabuki were bought through the teahouses, which naturally profited by the connection, but lower-class tickets were purchased at the box office. Some idea of the expense of a day at the theater can be gained from the information that ichi-ryō ni-bu was equivalent to the current price of three bales of rice. The ryō (four bu) was the basic unit of the monetary system represented in gold coins, prior to the advent of which the system was based on units of baled rice.

As a result of the prevailing extravagance, the theaters prospered and the actors benefited by increased salaries. The lush times gave birth to the term sen-ryō yakusha, signifying a thousand-775 actor, a complimentary term for a leading artist, used by the theatergoers in calling out in approbation a favorite's stage name when some particular bit of acting struck their fancy.

Kabuki set the vogue for lavish dress—an outgrowth from the increase in actors' pay. Their salaries were also supplemented by regular pecuniary gifts from their patrons. Not a little of the increasing splendor, however, was due to the indifference or indolence of the officers in relaxing the enforcement of edicts prohibiting the use of specified costume materials.

A few examples of lavish expenditures for costumes have been recorded in the annals of Sukeroku. Ichikawa Danjūrō VII, considered by many writers to have been the greatest of his family line, appeared for the first time in Sukeroku wearing an obi richly embroidered with the two Danjūrō crests: the mimasu (three nested grain measures) and the gyōyō-botan (peony). About one foot of the embroidery was valued at 58 momme. (At this time, white rice cost 65 or 66 momme per koku—about five bushels—and one koku equaled two and a half bales.) The entire obi would have cost the equivalent of 25 bales of rice. A lovely makie inrō (gold-lacquer medicine case) picturing a carp in a waterfall, made by the renowned lacquer artist Kajikawa, hung from the obi. This little item cost 30 ryō, the equivalent of 27 or 28 koku or 70 bales of rice—or five times the yearly income of a lower-class samurai.

As further evidence to emphasize the degree of extravagance in Danjūrō's costume, it can be noted that the daimyō family of Maeda, the richest lord in the country, received an income of one million koku yearly, while Asano Takumi no Kami Naganori of Akō, revered as Enya Hangan in Kanadehon Chūshingura, received 53,000 koku yearly. The lowest-paid samurai of Akō averaged from 20 koku and 5 personal food allotments to 5 ryō and 3 personal food allotments. The lowest-ranking samurai of all received 4 ryō and 1 personal food allotment.

Iwai Hanshirō, as Agemaki in the same production of Sukeroku, wore an uchikake (ceremonial outer robe) of black velvet embroidered in pure gold thread and an undergarment of karaori, the brocaded cloth normally used exclusively for Nō costumes. Hanshirō paid 70 ryō for this finery, since this was not provided by the management.

Unlimited spending for costumes continued until 1826, when Sukeroku was produced with more dazzling costumes than ever. A 60,000-koku daimyō, Matsuura Seizan, author of the popular Kasshi Yawa (Night Story of Kasshi, or Essays Begun in the First Year of Bunka), wrote: "This spring Sukeroku was performed with Iwai Shikaku II, eldest son of Iwai Hanshirō V, taking the role of Shiratama. His ornate costume, costing 600 ryō, included five uchikake. The one next to the kimono was made of white satin decorated with clouds and a dragon, painted in sumie [black-ink painting] by the famed artist of the day, Sakai Hoitsu Inja [inja, honorific term for a retired man], while the four remaining uchikake, overlaid with embroidered flowers and lions, were so expertly stitched with gold and silver as to appear like masterpieces of metalwork. Only a few years ago such luxuries were not permitted—only dyed patterns on cotton cloth might be used, causing the actors to be troubled, I hear, but at present matters seem to have changed. How is it that today such extravagant costumes can be used?"

Thriving in an atmosphere of degeneration, society had an insatiable desire for change. Such craving extended to the theater. Management, ever mindful of the source of its income, introduced the kaidan-mono, ghost plays of grotesque theme with a ghost as the protagonist instead of as a bit player as had been the custom previously. The realistic domestic plays known as sewa-mono normally dealt with domestic problems and double suicides, the main male characters generally being young men and sometimes merchants, laborers, sumō wrestlers, tobi (firemen), or foppish young men. Love affairs of the young blades, especially those involving shinjū (double suicide), also come under this classification, and the dress worn reflects quite accurately that of the commoners. Management now added kizewa-mono (ki, raw or real; sewa, worldly; literally, pure sewamono) with characters from the lowest strata of society.

The hero and heroine of kizewa-mono are not only from the lower classes but are often lawless characters. The akuba is the role of a bad woman or villainess. She may be a blackmailer, a thief, a gambler, or a panderer, but she is never a prostitute. She engages in fights and is not a lady in any sense of the word. Usually a well-known onnagata appears in the akuba role, so it is only proper that there should be something likable about the character. Perhaps she is stealing money to help re-establish her impoverished lord, or she is a bad woman who realizes she is wrong and commits suicide at the end of the play. The akuba is the woman yakuza (ne'er-do-well, scamp, ruffian). Also seen in the leading roles of kizewamono axe thieves, gamblers, prostitutes, vagabonds, beggars, ne'er-do-wells, and hinin (social outcasts).

Genteel poor or common-class people appear in kizewa-mono but not in leading roles. Beauty was not the essence of this form; it was the presentation of the ultimate in a realistic style of complete production.

It was at this time that the wig known as onnagata katsura made its debut to help enhance the believability of the female impersonator. The copper frame already had been in use since early Genro, but now the hair, strand by strand, was properly secured to the frame by first attaching it to fine silk by the use of needles. Previously, several strands of hair at a time had been tied across a string which was sewn to the front of the copper base, then combed backward over the frame.

The new type of katsura devised by the wigmaker Tomokuro, was worn by Onoe Matsusuke I in the role of Iwafuji in Kagamiyama Kokyō no Nishikie (The Maidservant's Revenge) in 1803 at the Ichimura-za. All other actors in the drama wore the old-style mino wigs—in which the hair was tied across a string and then sewn to the copper base—with purple bōshi, in this instance a decorative piece of cloth placed over the forehead. The bōshi was created to envelop the entire head, but it gradually diminished in size, covering only the upper forehead—as now worn by onnagata—but it still retains the identical name.

Matsumoto Kōshirō V, celebrated particularly for villainous roles, presented his characters without the usual white make-up, trying the more natural approach. As Shihei in Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami he appeared almost void of make-up, wearing a more realistic costume than that worn in the play today.

Much to the consternation of the Kamigata inhabitants, Kōshirō V changed the make-up and costume of Gonta in Yoshitsune Sembon-Zakura to a typically Edokko style. Though the Kamigata people protested that Gonta was a real man of Yamato (the early name for the central provinces of Japan; Edo did not exist at that time)—in this instance a Kyoto man and not an Edokko—the Kōshirō adaptation of costume and the use of heavier make-up now remain in the kata for the play, whether it is given in Kansai or in Tokyo. Gonta's cotton costume is designed in the Benkei-gōshi pattern: an oblong checkerboard in black and white, to make the wearer look more slender.

In Banzuin Chōbei Shōjin Manaita, better known as Suzugamori (The Execution Grounds at Suzugamori)—a sewa-mono that tells the story of the gallant commoner Banzuin Chōbei and the young rōnin Gompachi—Banzuin Chōbei wears a cotton kimono with a pattern on a white background, an obi tied with a hako musubi (square bow) or a kai-no-kuchi (shell-mouth-shaped) bow, and a naga-wakizashi, the medium-sized sword permitted commoners. Kampei, in Act VI of Kanadehon Chūshingura, wears a crested blue kimono called asagi mompuku, first worn by Kikugorō III.

Danjūrō VII, after witnessing the poorer class of rōnin trying to make a living by putting paper on umbrellas, decided to express the role of a destitute rōnin in a real-life manner. His garb was a kata-ire (kata, shoulder; ire, covering) of black cloth, patched over the shoulders to hide the worn spots, over which was tied a cloth tasuki, a cord or sash used for tucking up kimono sleeves during manual labor.

In March 1837, when he appeared at the Ichimura-za with Ichikawa Danzō III of Osaka in Yūsoku Kamakura-Yama (Kamakura Mountain Man Versed in Ancient Court and Military Practices), Danjūrō VII played the role of Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo wearing a replica of the true daimyō asagi (flax blue) naga-gamishimo, a kamishimo with long trailing hakama. It is interesting to note that the title of the play, while it refers to knowledge of ceremonial matters of the noble class, contains a reference to yūsoku-moyō, a textile pattern worn by the nobility. Since the actual theme of the play was political troubles in Edo, the scene was shifted to the Kamakura period to circumvent the ban on stage portrayals of politics. Eventually the naga-gamishimo was added to the proscribed list, but Danjūrō VII continued to appear in the costume in Osaka, where there was less chance of his being reported to the government authorities, since the powerful merchant class outweighed the samurai in influence.

Danjūrō's naga-gamishimo was made of ramie, replacing satin and other rich-textured cloth previously in popular favor. Today ramie is no longer used, for it is far more expensive than other fabrics and not so lovely as the ryūmon silk now available. Chemical dye is occasionally used with results more satisfactory on silk than on ramie.

Although restrictions had been placed on the naga-gamishimo, the ordinary kamishimo was not affected. In fact, it was worn in real life even by the chōnin class. On the stage, any material could be used for it.

Danjūrō, possessed of a curious mind, was an ardent student of history, always eager to adapt his discoveries about the past to the stage, wherever possible. Though some aspects of the Nō had been incorporated into Kabuki, it was Danjūrō VII who modified the pine-tree backdrop (used for Kabuki plays of Nō origin), the costumes, the dialogue, and the acting for the Kabuki theater. Make-up was not introduced from the Nō. Since social intercourse was lacking between Nō and Kabuki actors—Nō being performed exclusively in aristocratic circles, Kabuki in popular ones—it was extremely difficult for a Kabuki actor to gain admittance to any performance of Nō. He had no way to study the costumes carefully enough to imitate the shōzoku (costumes) of the older classical theater.

Danjūrō was determined to overcome this social barrier and to study Nō costumes. He called on the Nō costumer Sekioka, but Sekioka refused to see the kawara kojiki—the riverbed beggar, as the Kabuki actor was still commonly called. Undaunted, Danjūrō visited Sekioka time and time again until the costumer at last relented and showed him a plain shiroōguchi—that is, a man's white hakama with wide pleats and a stiffened back—a costume worn by the lowliest character on the Nō stage. As a result, even today the ōguchi worn by Benkei in Kanjinchō (The Subscription List) is white, although it has a pattern in the weave.

Upon seeing Kanjinchō, Yamanouchi Yōdō, feudal lord of Tosa and a patron of Danjūrō VII, was so shocked at the poverty of the costumes in comparison with those used on the Nō stage in performing the same story that he presented Danjūrō with his own Nō costume for the role of Benkei. Since then, the costumes for Kanjinchō have been made from excellent textiles. This has been especially true since the 1860's, since during Meiji and the following eras restrictive edicts on elaboration of theatrical costume were not enforced, and the field was left wide open for Kabuki in this respect.

Iwai Hanshirō V, an extremely "pretty" actor, was the representative onnagata of the Bunka-Bunsei era. The public called him by the pet name of me-senryō or thousand-rye eyes, for his eyes were remarkably beautiful and expressive. (Kawarasaki Gonjūrō I was also called me-senryō.) Hanshirō was a skillful actor, showing his amazing versatility in a wide range of roles, from musume-gata (young women) to tachi-yaku (leading male characters). He established the role of the akuba (bad woman), and his stylization remains the kata for roles of wicked women. He was famous for his portrayal of such akuba parts as Mikazuki Osen (Osen of the Crescent Moon), Dote no Oroku (Oroku of the Riverbank), and Kaminari Otsuru (Thunder Otsuru). His stellar tachi-yaku parts were Hanaregoma Chokichi in Sekitori Seniyo Nobori, a story dealing with sumō wrestlers, and Shirai Gompachi in Suzugamori. The black costume worn by Gompachi originated with Hanshirō, but the hiwa kimono (so named because its chartreuse color resembles that of the small finch called hiwa in Japanese) worn by the present-day Baikō VII was introduced by Kikugorō III.

Hanshirō was prolific in contriving fresh ideas for patterns. His Hanshirō kanoko (small-spot shibori or tie-dyeing resembling the spots on a fawn's hide) in the asanoha (hemp-leaf) pattern in blue and red was first used for the costume of Yaoya Oshichi—Oshichi the greengrocer's daughter—in a play given in March 1809 at the Morita-za.

The Iwai-gushi, a crescent-shaped comb designed by Hanshirō for use in the role of Mikazuki Osen, was considered very chic and became the rage among style-conscious ladies. It was one of numerous things described as having iki, the commoners' word for aplomb, dash, and spruceness. In fact, toward the end of the Edo period, all sorts of things expressed iki, for it was a time of debonair activities. Men wore their kimono very narrow, pulled tightly around the body, and open and loose at the top to give a careless dandified effect.

Up to and including the Bunka-Bunsei era all costumes had been paid for by the actors with exception of those for specialized roles and those worn by the lowest-paid actors. It was exceedingly difficult and often embarrassing for even the average-paid actor to maintain proper stage appearance, for his pay was most inadequate. This situation often produced an unbalanced stage effect, for a leading actor might wear a resplendent costume as a yakko (samurai's servant or footman) while an underpaid actor who had the misfortune to portray the yakko's lord might appear as a minor character because of an uninspired costume necessarily made of inexpensive material.

However, some garments created out of cheaper stuffs turned out to be strikingly original. For example, Ōtani Hiroji II in the play Koi no Sekifuda (Strong Love Breaks Every Barrier, or Love Working as an Almighty Passport) lacked the necessary costume for a red-faced villain's role. So he borrowed a woman's everyday kimono patterned with daffodils, which he had made into attractive stage attire.

Nakamura Nakazō III, as Kōmori Yasu in Yo wa Nasake Ukina no Toko-gushi (The Love Story of Yosaburo and Otomi), commonly called Kirare Yosa or Genjidana, donned his wife's hanten with happy results. (The harden is a short outer coat resembling the haori but lacking ties to fasten it in front. The collar, occasionally of black satin, is not folded like that of the haori.) Ichikawa Omezo I, a popular actor and an accomplished tailor, thought it too costly to have his wardrobe made, so he cut and made his own garments.