A collection of 18 plays of the Ichikawa Danjûrô line of actors, selected by Ichikawa Ebizô V in 1840 as the most representative plays in aragoto style:

The number 18 is symbolic, many of these plays are seldom performed and some fell into oblivion. The most famous and performed ones are "Kanjinchô" (performed several times a year), "Narukami" (at least once a year), "Shibaraku", "Ya-no-Ne" and "Sukeroku" (these 3 plays are usually performed to celebrate great events like shûmei). The plays "Kenuki" and "Uirô Uri" are also frequently performed. The 11 remaining plays may be revived by the National Theatre ("Zôhiki", "Fûdô", "Gedatsu", "Kagekiyo") or the troupe led by Ichikawa Ennosuke III ("Kamahige").

In Japanese: 歌舞伎十八番

Literally the three most important Kabuki masterpieces: "Kanadehon Chûshingura", "Yoshitsune Sembon Zakura" and "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami".

In Japanese: 歌舞伎三大名作狂言

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 28th February 1848 and ended the 27th November 1854. The 2 eras before and after Kaei were Kôka and Ansei.

In Japanese: 嘉永

Dramas dealing with a famous suicide/revenge story involving three palace ladies-in-waiting: one lady, who was humiliated by the terrible zôriuchi done by a senior lady-in-waiting, committed suicide. Her death was avenged by her faithful servant, who killed the senior lady-in-waiting. The first kagamiyamamono in Kabuki history was the play "Kagamiyama Kokyô no Nishikie".

In Japanese: 加賀見山物

Guild name (yagô) for Nakamura Tôzô, Nakamura Kaishun and Nakamura Matsue [more details].

In Japanese: 加賀屋

A hidden seppuku: the hero, who has already committed seppuku, hides his belly cut with the outer garnment of his costum.

In Japanese: 陰腹

Play whose main characters are the defeated warrior Taira no Kagekiyo (called Akushichibyôe Kagekiyo), his lover Akoya, Hatakeyama Shigetada and Mionoya Shirô Kunitoshi. Two good examples of kagekiyomono are "Kagekiyo" and "Akoya".

In Japanese: 景清物

A palanquin.

In Japanese: 駕籠

Old province, which grosso modo corresponds to the current prefecture of Yamanashi. It was also called Kôshû.

In Japanese: 甲斐

Literally the "hay money". The tip paid by an actor, who has to ride a Kabuki horse (uma) on stage, to the two assistants doing the horse.

In Japanese: かいば料

A ghost play.

In Japanese: 怪談物

Words of praise shouted by connoisseurs from the audience, at key moments in a dance or a drama, like a mie, a stage entrance or a pose on the shichisan. Usually these words are either the actor yagô or his generation number. These days, only positive shouting is done but in the good old days, it was also possible to insult bad actors, using the infamous word daikon.

In Japanese: 掛け声

The wild tossing of the long hair of a shishi wig in the climax of a Lion Dance (like "Aioi Jishi", "Kagami Jishi" or "Renjishi"). The litteral meaning of kamiarai is "hair-washing".

In Japanese: 髪洗い

The Kabuki of Kamigata (old expression used for the Ôsaka-Kyôto-Kôbe-Nara region) The Kamigata Kabuki main feature is the wagoto style. Nowadays, there are only a few Kamigata actors, led by the star Nakamura Ganjirô and his two sons Senjaku and Kanjaku. The others famous Kamigata actors are Kataoka Hidetarô, Bandô Takesaburô and Kamimura Kichiya, who are still living in the city of Ôsaka. Some actors like Kataoka Nizaemon, Kataoka Gatô or Nakamura Tomijûrô, born and educated in Tôkyô, living in Tôkyô, are also related to Kamigata Kabuki because of their lineage.

In Japanese: 上方歌舞伎

Buyô dances created in Kamigata. The most famous school of Kamigata-mai is the Yamamura School, which was created by Yamamura Tomogorô, the choreographer of the star Nakamura Nakamura Utaemon III, during the Bunka era.

In Japanese: 上方舞

Gentle love scene in which the actor woman, played by an onnagata, combs the hair of her lover while expressing all her love for him.

In Japanese: 髪梳

Stage left. The right of the stage from the audience viewpoint. [=> shimote].

In Japanese: 上手

Agemaku to allow entrance from the kamite.

In Japanese: 上手揚幕

An old Edo period word for hairdresser. It literally means "hair-tying".

In Japanese: 髪結

A high-ranking court title, which was held by the chief advisor for an adult emperor. A possible translation is regent. The kampaku was considered as the highest bureaucrat in the imperial court. It was created by Fujiwara no Mototsune for himself in 887, when the Fujiwara clan effectively ruled over Japan, treating the emperor as a mere powerless puppet. The position was traditionally occupied by somebody from the Fujiwara clan up to the 16th century , when two non-Fujiwara held it, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his son in law Toyotomi Hidetsugu.

In Japanese: 関白

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 27th February 1741 and ended the 21st February 1744. The 2 eras before and after Kampô were Genbun and Enkyô.

In Japanese: 寛保

Young girl attendant for a high-ranking courtesan (keisei).

In Japanese: 禿

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 25th April 1661 and ended the 21st September 1673. The 2 eras before and after Kanbun were Manji and Enpô.

In Japanese: 寛文

One of the most important matsuri in the city of Tôkyô (it is one of the "Three Great Festivals of Edo"). The present day festival was established in the Edo period and is still held every year in the middle of May around the Kanda Myôjin Shrine in Soto-Kanda in the district of Chiyoda [more details].

In Japanese: 神田祭

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 30th February 1624 and ended the 16th December 1644. The 2 eras before and after Kan'ei were Genna and Shôhô.

In Japanese: 寛永

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 12th July 1748 and ended the 27th October 1751. The 2 eras before and after Kan'en were Enkyô and Hôreki.

In Japanese: 寛延

Talented actor able to perform any kind of roles (onnagata, tachiyaku, katakiyaku). The first kaneru yakusha in Kabuki history were Nakamura Utaemon III and Onoe Kikugorô III.

In Japanese: 兼ねる役者

Title awarded on a honorary basis to the best actor in each section of a hyôbanki.

In Japanese: 巻軸

A subscription list.

In Japanese: 勧進帳

A court lady.

In Japanese: 官女

The Goddess of Mercy.

In Japanese: 観音

A Shintô priest.

In Japanese: 神主

A rice cake with sweet boiled beans inside.

In Japanese: 鹿の子餅

A region in Japan, which includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyôto, Ôsaka, Hyôgo and Shiga.

In Japanese: 関西

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 25th January 1789 and ended the 5th February 1801. The 2 eras before and after Kansei were Tenmei and Kyôwa.

In Japanese: 寛政

Kabuki dramas whose main theme is adultery (kantsû in Japanese). In the Tokugawa legal code, adultery was a serious crime, which was punishable by death. The drama "Yari no Gonza" is a good example of kantsûmono.

In Japanese: 姦通物

The Confucian principle of "encouraging good and chastising evil".

In Japanese: 勧善徴悪

During the Edo period, a kaomise was the "face-showing" ceremony of a theater, which celebrated the opening of the new theatrical year and its new troupe. It was generally held in November and was a very important event in Edo, Ôsaka or Kyôto. Nowadays, there are still 3 symbolic kaomise in Japan: at the Misonoza in October, at the Kabukiza in November and at the Minamiza in December.

In Japanese: 顔見世

Legendary flesh-eating creature inhabiting ponds or rivers, hybrid of a human and a tortoise. The word kappa also means a traditional straw raincoat worn by farmers.

In Japanese: 河童

A subsidiary hanamichi, which is occasionally built on the audience's right for specific dramas requiring the use of 2 hanamichi (the best example is "Yoshinogawa").

In Japanese: 仮花道

The senior retainer of a daimyô.

In Japanese: 家老

The spouse of a senior retainer.

In Japanese: 家老女房

Play whose main characters are the cursed and disfigured woman Kasane and her husband Yoemon, both from the Hanyû village. Yoemon kills Kasane with a sickle on the Kinugawa river bank, turning her into a vengeful ghost [more details].

In Japanese: 累物

Term synonymous with fukeoyama, which fell into disuse.

In Japanese: 花車方 (花車形)

A set of stylized forms designed for one specific role and transmitted from generation to generation.

In Japanese: 型

Actor specialized in villain roles; a villain role.

In Japanese: 敵役

A swordsmith.

In Japanese: 刀鍛冶

A special collection of roles gathered by the star Kataoka Nizaemon XI and transmitted to his heirs [more details].

In Japanese: 片岡十二集

A wig.

In Japanese: 鬘

"Plays of Living History". New genre of jidaimono dramas, created by the star Ichikawa Danjûrô IX during the Meiji era.

"These plays were enactments of historical incidents performed in every detail with all the accuracy that extensive research could reveal. Their popularity was moderate, and only Danjûrô's brilliant acting sustained them." (Faubion Bowers in "Japanese Theatre")

The word katsureki is a contraction of the words katsudô (action) and rekishi (history).

In Japanese: 活歴

Guild name (yagô) for the Jitsukawa Enjaku line of actors.

In Japanese: 河内屋

Pejorative term used for Kabuki actors and meaning beggars (literally "riverbed people").

In Japanese: 河原者

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 15th February 1648 and ended the 18th September 1652. The 2 eras before and after Keian were Shôhô and Jôô.

In Japanese: 慶安

In Japanese history, the Keichô period is an imperial era which started the 27th October 1596 and ended the 13th July 1615. The era after Keichô was Genna.

In Japanese: 慶長

In Japanese history, the Keiô period is an imperial era which started the 7th April 1865 and ended the 8th September 1868. The 2 eras before and after Keiô were Genji and Meiji.

In Japanese: 慶応

High-ranking courtesan. The word keisei means literally "castle-destroyer". For more details on Japanese courtesan and their history, check the immortalgeisha.com great website.

In Japanese: 傾城 (契情)

Keiseikai or keiseigai, both reading are possible. Literally keisei-buying. A keiseikai is a Kamigata drama, whose main character is a young man who has fallen in love with a beautiful keisei and is desperately looking for the money to redeem her from her contract at her house of assignment in the pleasure quarter.

In Japanese: 傾城買い

A play with the pleasure quarters as background and a high-ranking courtesan (keisei) as main character.

In Japanese: 傾城事

"The way of the Sword". Kendô is the martial art of Japanese traditional fencing.

In Japanese: 剣道

A fencer. A man who lived by the sword.

In Japanese: 剣客

Generic term used for stage tricks like chûnori, hayagawari, yatai kuzushi or honmizu.

"Rapid 'trick' appearances and disappearances of the actor are relatively few and are held in low esteem by the Kabuki connoisseur, who refers to them as keren (playing to the gallery)" (Earle Ernst in "The Kabuki Theatre", written in 1956, some years before the keren boom led by Ichikawa Ennosuke!).

In Japanese: ケレン (外連)

A feather-topped lance used by the footman (yakko) leading the travelling procession of his master.

In Japanese: 毛槍

The traditional commemoration of one's seventy-seventh birthday.

In Japanese: 喜寿記念

Chrysanthemum.

In Japanese: 菊

The duo made up of Onoe Kikugorô VI and Nakamura Kichiemon I, which made from 1908 the success of the Ichimuraza, under the management of Tamura Nariyoshi, who had the brilliant idea to stimulate an artificial rivalry between the 2 young actors in order to make them surpass themselves, just like the dangiku duo of the Meiji era (a duo which was made up of Ichikawa Danjûrô IX and Onoe Kikugorô V). Onoe Kikugorô VI was the specialist of sewamono and Nakamura Kichiemon I was the specialist of jidaimono. The programs were mainly made up of gidayû kyôgen or Kawatake Mokuami's masterpieces, helping for the preservation and transmission of many classics. This golden age lasted a little bit more than 10 years. A series of misfortunes hit the theater: the deaths of the onnagata Kawarazaki Kunitarô IV and Onoe Kikujirô III in 1919, the death of Tamura Nariyoshi in 1920 and ... Nakamura Kichiemon I leaving the Ichimuraza for the Shôchiku Company in 1921.

In Japanese: 菊吉

The famous Golden Pavilion in Kyôto.

In Japanese: 金閣寺

Guild name (yagô) for the actors Sawamura Tanosuke, Sawamura Tôjûrô, Sawamura Tetsunosuke, Sawamura Yoshijirô and Sawamura Sônosuke.

In Japanese: 紀伊国屋

The Kinpusanji Temple is an old and famous temple in Yoshinoyama [more details].

In Japanese: 金峯山寺

Kintarô is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by the yamamba on Mount Ashigara. He became one of the four retainers (shitennô) of Minamoto Yorimitsu [more details].

In Japanese: 金太郎

The kiri kyôgen was originally a single-act afterpiece, which was performed at the end of the multi-act historical play (jidaimono). The expression was first used in Kamigata during the Genroku era and the single-act was a short sewamono drama, with characters and thema related to the sekai used in the jidaimono drama. Later, this drama became the nibanme (while the jidaimono was the ichibanme). The expression kiri kyôgen was later used for a short dance ending a program. It is still used nowadays in the Kabuki world with the same meaning.

In Japanese: 切狂言

A long-stemmed traditional Japanese pipe. One of the most important stage props in Kabuki.

In Japanese: 煙管

Old province, which was made up of the current Wakayama prefecture and the southern part of the Mie prefecture.

In Japanese: 紀州

A fox.

In Japanese: 狐

Literally a fox fire. A Japanese will-o'-the-wisp.

In Japanese: 狐火

A kiyari ondo was at the beginning a chant used by the lumber-carriers to bring good luck. It was also a custom for geisha dressed in tekomai to perform kiyari ondo during the major Edo festival. It can still be heard today at wedding ceremonies, celebrations for the completion of the framework of a building (house, shrine, ...) or some religious festivals.

In Japanese: 木遣り音頭

One of the most famous and beautiful temples in Kyôto [more details].

In Japanese: 清水寺

One style of narrative music, originating in the Tomimoto style, and created by Kiyomoto Enjudayû I in 1814. The current head of the Kiyomoto school is Kiyomoto Enjudayû VII.

In Japanese: 清元

Raw-life sewamono drama, depicting the lower strata of the Edo society. The hero is a thief, a gambler or a prostitute. The kizewamono genre was created by the playwright Tsuruya Namboku IV and popularized by Kawatake Mokuami.

In Japanese: 生世話物

A traditional form of story-telling in Japan, which began in the 17th century. While tapping a small table called a shakudai with a paper-covered folded fan, the professional storyteller relates tales of war and martial valor and the occasional ghost story in a unique tone to make the audience imagine the picture he wishes to convey.

In Japanese: 講談

Troupes of Kabuki children-actors.

In Japanese: 子供芝居

Hand-held stage properties.

In Japanese: 小道具

A special collection of roles gathered by the star Sawamura Sôjûrô VII and transmitted to his heirs [more details].

In Japanese: 高賀十種

Kabuki dramas whose main characters are the courtesan Koito and her lover Sashichi (a fireman). Their sad love story leads to the murder of Koito by Sashichi. The most famous koito-sashichimono is "Omatsuri Sashichi".

In Japanese: 小糸佐七物

A spectacular giant carp-catching scene in a Kabuki drama.

In Japanese: 鯉つかみ

Formal stage announcement. "There are often announcements from the stage, showing the close relationship between the actors and the audience in Kabuki. When the occasion is especially important, like the taking of a distinguished acting name, or commemorating the death of a great actor, the announcement becomes a separate act. The top members of the company assemble in formal costume to offer their congratulations and the audience is always delighted by this blend of kabuki style and glimpses of the private lives of their favorite actors" (from Earphone Guide website)

In Japanese: 口上

An prestigious rank in a hyôbanki. Possible translation: meritorious - superior - superior - excellent.

In Japanese: 功上上吉

The old jôjûri. All the jôjûri done in Japan before Chikamatsu Monzaemon I's 1685 drama "Shusse Kagekiyo".
"Puppet plays of a sort go back in Japan at least as far as the twelfth century. The puppeteers, a gipsy-like people, wandered about the country, performing at festivals and wherever else there was a demand. The plays put on were probably elementary skits, perhaps incorporating legends of the shrines where they were performed. By the seventeenth century, when the puppet theater assumed much of its modern form, moralistic plays on Buddhist themes constituted the bulk of the repertory. Most puppet plays (or jôjûri, as they were called) before "Shusse Kagekiyo" were crudely constructed and filled with stereotyped expressions." Donald Keene in "Major Plays of Chikamatsu")

In Japanese: 古浄瑠璃

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 2nd December 1844 and ended the 28th February 1848. The 2 eras before and after Kôka were Tenpô and Kaei.

In Japanese: 弘化

A Kabuki stage assistant. His role is similar to kurogo but he wears formal stage dress, decorated with the mon of his master.

In Japanese: 後見

The opening ceremony for a new Kabuki theater.

In Japanese: 杮落し

Title of an illustrated book, which was published in 1693. It can be translated as "Beauty Contest of One Hundred Actors of All Ages" (sources). The pictures were made by Torii Kiyonobu I. Starting with Nakamura Kanzaburô V and ending with Morita Kan'ya II, it listed 100 actors from Edo, Ôsaka, Kyôto or Ise.

In Japanese: 古今四場居色競百人一首

International wedding (one of the spouses being Japanese). Still a hot topic in nowadays Japan. Watônai's father and mother in Chikamatsu Monzaemon I's masterpiece "Kokusen'ya Gassen" were the first and only "international wedding" couple depicted in a theater drama. His father Rôikkan was Chinese and his mother Nagisa was Japanese.

In Japanese: 国際結婚

An oriental fiddle.

In Japanese: 鼓弓

A babysitter in Old Japan.

In Japanese: 子守

A wandering and mendicant Zen priest with a flute, wearing a deep sedge hat that covers the face.

In Japanese: 虚無僧

Guild name (yagô) for the actors Matsumoto Kôshirô, Ichikawa Komazô, Ichikawa Somegorô, Matsumoto Kingo and Matsumoto Kôemon.

In Japanese: 高麗屋

Spectacular murder scene in a Kabuki play. The most famous koroshiba is in the Kamigata play "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami".

In Japanese: 殺し場

A special set of 13 fixed mie done by the actor playing the role of Danshichi Kurobei in the famous murder scene of the play "Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami".

In Japanese: 殺しの見得

Dances or dramas whose main characters are the lovers Kosan, a bathouse girl, and Kanaya Kingorô, an Ôsaka Kabuki actor. Both really existed (Genroku era).

In Japanese: 小三金五郎物

A word without equivalent in English. Kôseki combines articulation, elocution and declamation.

In Japanese: 口跡

Medium trapdoor located in the center of the stage and used to bring actors on stage. The koseri is set within the ôseri.

In Japanese: 小セリ

Minor unlicensed Kabuki Theatres. Many Edo actors started their career and gained experience at Koshibai before being accepted in the major theatres.

In Japanese: 小芝居

A lady's maid (usually a low-ranking samurai's wive in the service of a daimyô's wife).

In Japanese: 腰元

A widow; a dowager.

In Japanese: 後室

Old province, which grosso modo corresponds to the current prefecture of Yamanashi. It was also called Kai.

In Japanese: 甲州

A Japanese horizontal harp.

In Japanese: 琴

Short ballads with shamisen, flute and percussion ensemble, which were used to accompany all kind of Kabuki dances at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. It was replaced by Nagauta.

In Japanese: 小唄

A drama with a mother and child sad separation scene.

In Japanese: 子別れ

Child role.

In Japanese: 子役

Old province, which grosso modo corresponds to the current prefecture of Gumma. It was also called Jôshû.

In Japanese: 上野

Inspection of the decapitated head of a samurai, a prince or a lord. The climax of many epic dramas like "Terakoya" or "Kumagai Jin'ya".

In Japanese: 首実検

Standard wooden box, cylindrical in shape, used for a kubi jikken.

In Japanese: 首桶

highly dramatic scene in which an onnagata actor depicts a woman's sighs, tears, love, passion or regrets for the past. Somehow the equivalent of an aria for Kabuki female roles.

In Japanese: 口説き

A noble villain in Kabuki who plots to usurp the power of the emperor.

In Japanese: 公家悪

Distinctive Kabuki make-up used for aragoto roles.

In Japanese: 隈取

Unskilled laborers, colourful and unruly characters, who frequented the great highways (like the Tôkaidô) during the Edo period.

In Japanese: 雲助

A traditional storehouse to store treasures and others valuables.

In Japanese: 蔵

Kabuki stage attendants completely dressed in a black costum with a san-benito look-alike black cloth covering the face, the convention for invisibility on stage. If the background is a snowy landscape, they are dressed in white. If the background is the Sea, they are dressed in blue. Their roles are multiple: they bring or remove stage props, help actors during the costums/roles changes, animate fake animals or will-o'-the-wisps... Their technical skills and efficiency are essential for the success of many stage tricks. They are also called kurombô. The word kurogo itself is used for either the stage assistant or his black costum.

In Japanese: 黒衣

Pleasure quarters. The most famous ones were Yoshiwara in Edo (Tôkyô) and Shimabara in Kyôto.

In Japanese: 廓

The kusazôshi are popular novels which heavily rely on illustrations to tell the story. They were published in Japan from the middle of the Edo period. The first kusazôshi writer was Ryûtei Tanehiko and his followers were Ryûtei Senka, Takahata Ransen, Okamoto Kisen, Ryûsuitei Tanekiyo, Mishina Rankei, Maeda Kosetsu or Aiba Koson.

In Japanese: 草双子

A bombastic tug-of-war involving Soga Gorô Tokimune and Kobayashi no Asaina, who pull the tassets of an armor. In the current Kabuki repertoire, the most famous play on this subject is the Nagauta-based dance-drama "Shôfudatsuki Kongen Kusazuri", which was staged for the first time in January 1814 at the Moritaza.

In Japanese: 草摺引

A comical farce in the Nô theater.

In Japanese: 狂言

A generic term for a Kabuki drama.

In Japanese: 狂言

A Kyôgen peformer.

In Japanese: 狂言師

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 22nd June 1716 and ended the 28th April 1736. The 2 eras before and after Kyôhô were Shôtoku and Genbun.

In Japanese: 享保

A man of chivalrous spirit; a street knight.

In Japanese: 侠客

An important, prestigious and rare rank in a hyôbanki. Possible translation: fast - superior - superior - excellent.

In Japanese: 亟上上吉

A state of madness in a dance. The main character is frantically searching for somebody (a lover, a lost child) in a dazed state. The dance describes his/her mental disorder.

In Japanese: 狂乱

Dramas or dances dealing with kyôran. The most famous ones are "Onatsu Kyôran", "Yasuna", "Sumidagawa" and "Ninin Wankyû".

In Japanese: 狂乱物

An imperial era in Japanese history which started the 5th February 1801 and ended the 11th February 1804. The 2 eras before and after Kyôwa were Kansei and Bunka.

In Japanese: 享和

Guild name (yagô) for the actors Nakamura Jakuemon, Nakamura Kyôzô and Nakamura Shibajaku.

In Japanese: 京屋