KABUKI KOOL

We explore the world of kabuki buyo, a form of dance that grew out of kabuki. It is a mixture of dance and acting where the performer tells a story as he dances. Somegoro gives Haruka a lesson on kabuki buyo, and shows us his own dance endeavors, too!

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.