KABUKI KOOL

The historic figure of Minamoto no Yoshitsune has been immortalized in many kabuki plays as a child, a skilled warrior, and a tragic hero. Explore with actor Kataoka Ainosuke.

"Osome's Seven Roles" is a tour de force where seven parts, male and female, young and old are played by a single onnagata actor. Our guest Nakamura Kazutaro will tell us all about it.

Love for family and romance are central themes in the story of many female characters in kabuki. Studio guest and onnagata actor Nakamura Kazutaro reveals techniques he uses on stage.

Eirakukan is a historic theater in Hyogo Prefecture. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains how traditional seating and a small capacity create an extraordinary and intimate atmosphere.

Discover the historic and modern kabuki plays based on bestsellers! Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores two plays from the Edo period and one based on a modern manga series.

Discover the many complex connections between kabuki and the historic capital of Kyoto. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the newly restored Minami-za theater and plays set in Kyoto.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke reveals the wide variety of props used by tachiyaku, the male roles in kabuki. Explore the all-important katana sword, tobacco pipes, footwear and gold coins.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the sometimes tragic and occasionally comical relationships between married couples in kabuki. Explore these dramatic tales of fidelity and romance.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores "The Battles of Coxinga" by Chikamatsu Monzemon. It's an epic tale with a Sino-Japanese hero taking up arms in China for the family his father once served.

Explore the different types of romantic hero who appear in kabuki. From sweet, comic charmers to brooding bad boys, actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains these heroic archetypes.

Explore the fascinating conventions and traditions of kabuki. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains the origins and meanings of kabuki's unique make-up, its onnagata techniques, and stage machinery.

This time Kataoka Ainosuke takes his first turn as our host. Ainosuke is a renowned kabuki actor. He'll be our guide to the attractions of kabuki looking at some of the roles he's played.

Kabukiza is the only theater dedicated to showing kabuki all year round. Explore unique stage machinery based on centuries-old ideas, the backstage, roof garden, and shop.

The strong, manly aragoto style of kabuki acting and plays is our focus this week. Join kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke and our guide Nakamura Kazutaro as they examine its history and try out some aragoto moves in the studio!

Kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke is in the studio with Nakamura Kazutaro and explores some of the male tachiyaku roles of kabuki, including tragic heroes and battle scenes.

Explore some of the props used by onnagata, kabuki actors who play female roles. A props expert joins actor Nakamura Kazutaro to explain how these items are made and how they're used in performance.

Explore the Japanese "Romeo and Juliet", Imoseyama Onna Teikin. Actor Nakamura Kazutaro introduces scenes from this deeply tragic romance.

Explore 400 years of kabuki history through plays of different eras. Actor Nakamura Kazutaro introduces famous writers from each period.

This time on KABUKI KOOL, explore the emotional drama of Kamigata plays with actor Nakamura Kazutaro. This style of kabuki developed in the Kansai region of Japan.

This time on KABUKI KOOL, explore the intricate beauty of onnagata dancing with acclaimed actor Nakamura Kazutaro.

This time on "KABUKI KOOL" explore the music which heightens on-stage action. Musician Kineya Mitaro and his group demonstrate the extraordinary skills that prompt laughter and tears from audiences.

This time on "KABUKI KOOL" actor Nakamura Kazutaro guides us through two stories that hinge on a woman's seduction of the hero. Join us in an exploration of their very different motives!

Explore three kabuki plays that are based on noh and kyogen originals. Nakamura Kazutaro guides us through the originals to see how and why kabuki changed, or kept, certain dramatic elements.

Explore the dazzling world of kabuki costumes! An expert joins the studio to explain the intricate details of some of kabuki's most famous clothes. Join us for the first in a new season of KABUKI KOOL.

This time, a special feature on Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy! A huge hit with the public in the Edo period, its story and stagecraft still enthrall people today.

Many kabuki plays star beautiful courtesans – this time we feature the women of the pleasure quarters. Discover the glamorous allure which entangles both men and women.

How does a man play a woman's role? See the process of this metamorphosis, beginning with makeup, along with highlights of plays that portray women of all kinds of social stations and ages.

The magnificent costumes of kabuki's female roles add flair to the stage. And their colors and designs can even represent the character's social status or her inner feelings.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter – Japan's beautiful seasons are ingeniously portrayed on the kabuki stage with magnificent sets, props and superb acting.

Meet Nakamura Kazutaro -- our new host and the rising star of kabuki. Born into a famous kabuki family, watch how he became a kabuki actor himself, along with some beautiful performances.

Chushingura is a particularly important kabuki play, and has been hugely popular since its premiere over 200 years ago. Find out why, and the history behind this dramatic story about loyal samurai.

Kabuki's leading male roles. There are so many different types, and even villains take the lead! But all of them are irresistibly attractive. Learn about their lives and tragic fates.

Heroes with superhuman powers take the stage in aragoto plays which have stayed popular for over 300 years. Learn about its unique make-up and mie poses that gets the audience excited.

This time we're looking at the unique stage devices used in kabuki performance -- amazing, ground-breaking mechanisms that have been used for over 250 years.

This time we will look at one of the truly unique features of kabuki. There are no female actresses in kabuki and all female roles are played by male actors called "onnagata." Where did this tradition come from? What is the beauty of acting that can only be performed by onnagata? Join us as we explore the fascinating world of onnagata.

In the first program, we will watch entertaining short clips from great classics of kabuki as an easy key to enjoying the dazzling variety of kabuki. Also, Somegoro will explain why and how he became a kabuki actor and what it means to become part of a long acting tradition.

This time we look at a 17th century historical figure who was the champion of the commoners against the abuses of the samurai. We look at Chobei as a gang boss and then a play that shows his tragic end. Mizuno, the leader of a samurai gang, traps Chobei into going defenseless into the bath so that he can kill him.

This time, a fantastic dance play "The Snowbound Barrier" from the 18th c. with an ambitious villain defeated by the spirit of the cherry tree in the form of a beautiful woman.

Unswerving Devotion: The Japanese Twenty-Four Examples of Filial Piety. Kataoka Ainosuke is our guide to a play featuring a kabuki princess in a story of warring clans and the magic of a sacred helmet. Princess Yaegaki holding the sacred helmet and surrounded by the magical foxes. With the help of the magic of the foxes, she goes to save her lover's life.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores a kabuki dance in which 2 actors play a total of 8 different roles featuring Tokyo's famous Sanja Festival. The most famous part of the dance features the legendary fishermen who caught the Buddhist image in the temple at Asakusa in their net.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the enduring appeal of 2 outlaws. Despite their crimes, they protect the weak and can be tender lovers. The villainous tea priest, Kochiyama (left) and Naojiro (right), ex-samurai and thief, but also a gallant lover, are our attractive villains.

Kabuki often depicts traditional Japanese dishes. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke introduces scenes with several examples, and teaches us about what foods were popular in the Edo period. In "Hokaibo," a disreputable begging priest takes time off from abducting a beautiful girl for a bowl of soba noodles from a roadside stall.

Choreographers create the movement and staging of a kabuki performance, contributing hugely to its appeal. Our guest, expert choreographer Fujima Kanjuro, talks about the intricacies of the job. Kanjuro's grandfather, the famous choreographer Fujima Kanso II created modern versions of classical dances that became standard. "Fuji Musume (The Wisteria Maiden)" shows the spirit of the wisteria blossoms as a young girl in love. The giant set makes the actor look like a small, delicate girl.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the mythical and sacred Shishi lion. Discover the extraordinary variety of Shishi-mono dances in kabuki, and the famous mane-tossing movement. The father Shishi (R) and the child Shishi (L) tossing their manes in "Renjishi."

For the first time, the Soga brothers confront the man that had their father killed. Kawazu no Saburo , the father of the Soga brothers was the object of anger and jealousy, eventually getting him killed. Left without a father, the 2 Soga brothers grow up strong, hoping to avenge their father's death. Finally, the Soga brothers confront Kudo Suketsune, the man that had their father killed. Eventually, they kill Kudo at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

The former retainers of Enya Hangan assemble in front of the gate of their enemy's mansion for the final attack to avenge their lord. In the seventh act, Yuranosuke should be planning a vendetta, but instead plays drunkenly nightly in Gion. Yuranosuke is actually playing to throw off spies, but as he reads a secret letter, he is seen from above by Okaru, a courtesan who is the wife of a former retainer, and from below by Kudayu, a former chief retainer of the clan now become a spy for the enemy. The ninth act shows another tragedy, a story like Romeo and Juliet as the marriage of Yuranosuke's son and the daughter of a senior samurai is caught in the complications of the vendetta. Finally the former retainers attack the mansion of Moronao, the man their lord tried to kill, but couldn't. When Moronao refuses to die honorably by suicide, Yuranosuke must kill him.

Chushingura is one of the most popular plays. It is based on a sensational historical incident when 47 masterless samurai avenged the death of their lord. Ainosuke explores it in a two-part series. Samurai lord Enya Hangan attacks the high official Ko no Moronao in the shogun's palace after being bullied.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the fantastic play, "The Dance of the Earth Spider," where one actor skillfully switches between 5 very different roles.

Every hero needs a good villain, and kabuki has everything from ambitious schemers to vile seducers, and even the odd comic villain. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the roles' appeal.

Ishikawa Goemon is a legendary thief from the late 16th century who appears in several kabuki plays. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores what makes this figure so popular.

Today's play features two sumo wrestlers as protagonists! Kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke talks about sumo in the Edo period and the story of "Futatsu Chocho Kuruwa Nikki."

Eirakukan is a historic theater in Hyogo Prefecture. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains how traditional seating and a small capacity create an extraordinary and intimate atmosphere.

Discover the historic and modern kabuki plays based on bestsellers! Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores two plays from the Edo period and one based on a modern manga series, Naruto.

Discover the many complex connections between kabuki and the historic capital of Kyoto. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the newly restored Minami-za theater and plays set in Kyoto.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke reveals the wide variety of props used by tachiyaku, the male roles in kabuki. Explore the all-important katana sword, tobacco pipes, footwear and gold coins.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores the sometimes tragic and occasionally comical relationships between married couples in kabuki. Explore these dramatic tales of fidelity and romance.

Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explores "The Battles of Coxinga" by Chikamatsu Monzemon. It's an epic tale with a Sino-Japanese hero taking up arms in China for the family his father once served.

Explore the different types of romantic hero who appear in kabuki. From sweet, comic charmers to brooding bad boys, actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains these heroic archetypes.

Explore the fascinating conventions and traditions of kabuki. Actor Kataoka Ainosuke explains the origins and meanings of kabuki's unique make-up, its onnagata techniques, and stage machinery.

This time Kataoka Ainosuke takes his first turn as our host. Ainosuke is a renowned kabuki actor. He'll be our guide to the attractions of kabuki looking at some of the roles he's played.

Kabukiza is the only theater dedicated to showing kabuki all year round. Explore unique stage machinery based on centuries-old ideas, the backstage, roof garden, and shop.

The strong, manly aragoto style of kabuki acting and plays is our focus this week. Join kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke and our guide Nakamura Kazutaro as they examine its history and try out some aragoto moves in the studio!

Kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke is in the studio with Nakamura Kazutaro and explores some of the male tachiyaku roles of kabuki, including tragic heroes and battle scenes.

Explore some of the props used by onnagata, kabuki actors who play female roles. A props expert joins actor Nakamura Kazutaro to explain how these items are made and how they're used in performance.

Explore the Japanese "Romeo and Juliet", Imoseyama Onna Teikin. Actor Nakamura Kazutaro introduces scenes from this deeply tragic romance.

Explore 400 years of kabuki history through plays of different eras. Actor Nakamura Kazutaro introduces famous writers from each period.

This time on KABUKI KOOL, explore the emotional drama of Kamigata plays with actor Nakamura Kazutaro. This style of kabuki developed in the Kansai region of Japan.

This time on KABUKI KOOL, explore the intricate beauty of onnagata dancing with acclaimed actor Nakamura Kazutaro.

This time on "KABUKI KOOL" explore the music which heightens on-stage action. Musician Kineya Mitaro and his group demonstrate the extraordinary skills that prompt laughter and tears from audiences.

This time on "KABUKI KOOL" actor Nakamura Kazutaro guides us through two stories that hinge on a woman's seduction of the hero. Join us in an exploration of their very different motives!

Explore three kabuki plays that are based on noh and kyogen originals. Nakamura Kazutaro guides us through the originals to see how and why kabuki changed, or kept, certain dramatic elements.

Explore the dazzling world of kabuki costumes! An expert joins the studio to explain the intricate details of some of kabuki's most famous clothes. Join us for the first in a new season of KABUKI KOOL.

This time, a special feature on Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy! A huge hit with the public in the Edo period, its story and stagecraft still enthral people today.

Many kabuki plays star beautiful courtesans – this time we feature the women of the pleasure quarters. Discover the glamorous allure which entangles both men and women.

How does a man play a woman's role? See the process of this metamorphosis, beginning with makeup, along with highlights of plays that portray women of all kinds of social stations and ages.

The magnificent costumes of kabuki's female roles add flair to the stage. And their colors and designs can even represent the character's social status or her inner feelings.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter – Japan’s beautiful seasons are ingeniously portrayed on the kabuki stage with magnificent sets, props and superb acting.

Meet Nakamura Kazutaro -- our new host and the rising star of kabuki. Born into a famous kabuki family, watch how he became a kabuki actor himself, along with some beautiful performances.

Chushingura is a particularly important kabuki play, and has been hugely popular since its premiere over 200 years ago. Find out why, and the history behind this dramatic story about loyal samurai.

Kabuki's leading male roles. There are so many different types, and even villains take the lead! But all of them are irresistibly attractive. Learn about their lives and tragic fates.

Heroes with superhuman powers take the stage in aragoto plays which have stayed popular for over 300 years. Learn about its unique make-up and mie poses that gets the audience excited.

This time we're looking at the unique stage devices used in kabuki performance -- amazing, ground-breaking mechanisms that have been used for over 250 years.

This time we will look at one of the truly unique features of kabuki. There are no female actresses in kabuki and all female roles are played by male actors called "onnagata." Where did this tradition come from? What is the beauty of acting that can only be performed by onnagata? Join us as we explore the fascinating world of onnagata.

In the first program, we will watch entertaining short clips from great classics of kabuki as an easy key to enjoying the dazzling variety of kabuki. Also, Somegoro will explain why and how he became a kabuki actor and what it means to become part of a long acting tradition.