The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-12

Mr.. Utayemon as a woman.
Gently been established, became popu-
lar. and some of the actors were
obliged to play women's roles. This UNI
natural art Of onna-gata or actors In
women's roles gradually developed
until We hear OF great onna-gata in
different eras. Some famous onna-
gaia took great pains, even In theif
daily lives. to train themselves for
female parts. They spoke and be-
haved like ONE They cultivated
and used their voices always In a
thin, high falsetto.
The makeup, the voices, gait, ac-
ton and manner OF some of these
actors are wonderful. ttayemon. the
greatest impersonator ~ female char
aCters. when dressed for the part of
some noble heroine is an ideal beauty
Of ID .vate a~ristocrat!c type. He
il now over sixty years old, but on
the stage looks often "A blooming girl
~ or eighteen years.
The law prohibiting actresses was
in force in most parts of the country
. ltlAA Nllf ~ "a NV 80 49, 49,
fury. This is the reason why there
have been few actresses until quite
recent years. Since "A few years &
many educated girls have aiken to
the profession. But these actresses
are generally considered to be much
inferior to the onna-gata Of the old
school.
BY the time Monzayemon and
kaion were hourishing kahuki thea
tres throve in Osaka, iedo and
Kvoto. But they could not compete
with the marionette theatres because
/ both the performers and the dramas
were still in homage At first the
pieces produced in these theatres were
the compositions of the ignorant
actors. but toward the middle of the
eighteenth century we hear OF the
definite authors whose works were
called kyaku-hon.
These are in form nearly the same
a.. the European drama. With the
exception Of two or three Of them the
kyaku-hon writer's We're second or
third rate authors. Their works are
Of little literary value and cannot be
compared WIN INV 'p4Ndl Ih''h ~
Monzayemon and other writer's.
The reason is this. In the kahuk
theatre the actors were everything
and the playwrights were their
slaves, So TO speak. and had L. MI
their writings to the actors demands.
Moreover, the mobiles despised the
kabuki theatre; the samurai were for
bldden to visit IL, n the actors were
looked upon as "rogues and vaga-
bonds Therefore able authors OF an
independent spirit would not write for
them.
Bur by the middle of the eighteenth
century the kabuki theatres had made
remarkable improvements n begun
t. perform the most popular OF IN,
,p!cal dramas. Thus they soon be-
came moro popular in Osaka h tn,
, mariuncttc theatres, and in ledo al
the middle Of the nineteenth century
. they were at last able 10 drive the
marionette theatres almost out 81 G Y
!StcnCc.
The theatres proper ~ the present
day are Of two classes, namely the
, kahuki theatres and the theatres OF
the new school, In the olden styl,
+. theatres the epiCal dramas, old kyaku,
/ hon and k@yaku-hon adapted from tn,
, cpical dramas are used. In the mod
, crn theatres new kyaku-hon by nativ,
| authors and TRANSACTIONS from Euro
} poan dramatiSts such as Shakespeare
{ lhsen, MacterlinCk, Sudcrmann, shaw
! and Wilde are used,
r These new kyaku-hon are quit,
! commonplace and unpopular, wh,l,
the TRANSACTIONS are very popula'
! among the younger generation, Blu
. it Is still the performances OF thu
! cpiCal dramas In the old school thca
tres which appeal most strongly Il
the imagination of the nation at large
The cpical dramas may be dividc'
= into two classes jidaI-mono or his
- toriCal dramas and sewa-mono or so
cial dramas, The historical drama
have for their themes noble deeds q
y the samurai, feuds ot different clans
, court intr.gucs and what not. Mos
-. of them are excellent illustrations q
~ patriotism, Justice, bcnevolence, honor
s]clf-control and other virtues of bu
- shida, or the moral code of the knight
n hood. The unnaturalness of the char
q aCters and the general lack OF unit
n Of plot are serious drawbacks to thes
# beautiful romantic dramas,
Z The real merit of the epical dram
n rests on the sewa-monO or soCii
Ie dramas. which are studies of real III,
h. Right portrayal OF human nature
~ a prominent feature In them, tt
IL authorities interfercd In the plots ,
* thn historical MIA vs. hut no Cpusprshi