Abstract
This paper explains three classical forms of Japanese performing arts, and one modern outgrowth of the theatre tradition in Japan. These are: Noh theatre, Bunraku puppetry, Kabuki drama and Butoh dance/movement theatre.

Abstract
This paper discusses the form of Asian art called Kabuki, a stage performance style art. Before the age of recording devices, this art could only be experienced first hand, and every piece was different, even though it may be performed over and over again. Through this paper, one takes a look at Kabuki from it origins to its existence in modern day Japan, as well as its influence on Western theatre. The paper also includes many pictures of Kabuki theater actors and performances.

From the Paper
"Kabuki today has even harder competition than puppets and government oppression. Kabuki has survived the loss of its finest actors in WWII and also made it through censorship shortly after the war. But today it faces modern forms of theatrical entertainment in movies and television. Kabuki still holds root though as being a part of japans heritage, and still finds a place in the hearts of the older population. A lot of the key factors, which make the kabuki so great, are less known now, and because it is more of the old ways younger people are not as open to the kabuki. It is said that kabuki is stabilized in a near perfect state, and for that reason it will continue to stand the test of time and keeps its place in japans heritage. Despite the odds against the kabuki, popular actors continue to bring in audiences including a growing number of young people."

Tags:asian, art, experience, history, influences, origins

Abstract
This paper examines how three main groups of kabuki plays, the dance-drama, historical drama, and domestic drama make up the majority of kabuki theater and how they are adapted either from puppet theater, from kyogen dramas, or plays written specifically for kabuki. It looks at how Tokyo's Shochiku Company is one theatrical group that has made an impact on American theater by presenting kabuki in the heart of the U.S., in Texas.

From the Paper
"Kabuki has its origin in Japan's Edo period. The form can be traced back to performances by female shrine dancer Okuni in a dry riverbed in 1603. The dances performed by Okuni and her fellow female dancers combined religious dances and folk dance. Okuni's performances became highly popular, and many troupes soon imitated the style. Performances became increasingly risqu and boisterous, and women were banned from performing in 1629. In 1652, a brawl between two samurai competing for the attentions of a young male actor spurred authorities to ban young men under the age of 14 from appearing in kabuki (Spencer)."

Tags:art, drama, acting, far, east, tradition, shochuki

Abstract
This paper will discuss the training of actors in the Japanese traditional theatres of Noh and Kabuki. It will be argued that the acting conventions of both schools differ in terms of the different requirements of each form; with the more formalized Noh theatre demanding skill in dance, while the action and spectacle of the Kabuki requires physical training and the ability to project expressions with faces rather than masks.

Abstract
The Noh Theater of Japan is an extremely ritualized tradition, and traces of the Noh Theater are found in Western theater. This paper explores many of the distinctive elements of the Noh Theater, such as the use of masks, the themes presented within plays, and the evolution from the old Noh Theater to a more modern presentation of Noh techniques. While the focus of this paper is on the Noh Theater, comparisons are drawn between the Noh Theater and traditional Western theater. There is also a discussion of the more dialogue-driven kyogen style of Japanese theater in respect to the more ritualized Noh Theater.

From the Paper
"The impact on the Noh Theater on the Western theater can be seen to have occurred in a very diverse way. It appears that the Western theaters managed to assimilate various components from the Noh Theater, such as the use of the hitamen in performances to convey a blank countenance. However, the greatest aspect of the Noh Theater on the West is found within the development of more exacting performance techniques, where rather than a single production being subject to incongruities and shoddy acting, the standards of acting were promoted to a higher level overall."

Tags:actor, actors, chorus, culture, dominated, japan, kyogen, male, mask, masks, men, ritual

Abstract
This paper presents an overview of kabuki, including its origins, role in Asian culture, and aspects of performance. Discussion of how Shakespeare's works have been adapted to a kabuki form dominate the paper. Special attention is paid to the woman's role in kabuki theater.

From the Paper
"Drama is an ancient art form, steeped in various world traditions that have many precepts and edicts of rehearsal, production, and performance. The following is a presentation of two viewpoints, and the repercussions of the fusion of the traditions in performance and translation. The Asian world views performance as an attainment of character through repetition and form-study, to learn not just the dialogue and songs of a samurai or handmaiden, but to become that character using extra-ordinary body position (termed "extra-daily technique"), elaborate costumes and makeup, as well as traditional music. There are several styles of performance, but the most flamboyant is kabuki. Presently, there are four hundred plays in the conventional canon, but approximately thirty are performed each year in a seasonal cycle within Japan."

Tags:drama, england, japan, theater

Abstract
This paper discusses the similarities and differences between Greek tragedy and Japanese Noh Drama. It examines how although they are separated by nearly two millennia, by thousands of miles and by cultural differences, both were theatrical traditions involving masked performers, frequent use of music and dancing, on-stage choruses and historic-mythological themes and stories drawn from traditions. It looks at how later centuries' understanding of them, depends heavily on Aristotle's "Poetics" and Zeami's essays on Noh drama and how the two writers' approaches indicate the principal difference in the two traditions.

From the Paper
"Greek drama originated in the choral hymns sung to the god Dionysus. Mimed episodes were enacted to accompany the dithyrambs of the seventh century and, as Aristotle has it, a "long series of changes" ended only on Tragedy's "attaining to its natural form" (Aristotle 670). The alternation of choral song and dance with enacted scenes predominated until Aeschylus introduced the second actor and "made the dialogue, or spoken portion, take the leading part in the play" (Aristotle 670). Sophocles introduced the third actor and scenery. And tragedy acquired its magnitude by expanding its scope and increasing the dignity of its presentation. The playwrights proceeded by discarding the trochaic meter, more appropriate to dancing, for the iambic which was more like natural speech."

Tags:culture, theatre, tradition, music

Abstract
This paper discusses the history of film animation in Japan. Particularly, it discusses anime produced by Japan's Studio, Giblias, and whether it plays a part in Japanese culture. The paper concludes that though Japanese animation has it's roots in western animation, it has developed and continues to do so in a very different direction and that it draws on its own cultural influences like kabuki theater and woodblock prints as well as developing it's completely unique style.

From the Paper
"By the 1990's anime took a more serious turn that in my opinion is not present in modern day western animation. While still outputting light-hearted so called children's anime, studios began to release more intellectual sophisticated anime such as Anno Hideaki's television series Neon Genesis Evangelion and Miyazaki Hayao's film Princess Mononoke. These films often touched on themes and issues that modern Japanese faced. To truly explain the Japanese nature of these films I believe that an in depth look at one of them in necessary."

Tags:television, film, Disney, children

From the Paper
"This paper will be concerned with the Kabuki theater of Japan. It will discuss the virtuosity and techniques of the Kabuki actor, as well as the use of body language as it pertains to Japanese concepts of space. The origins of the Kabuki in Japan can be traced to the city of Kyoto in the early 17th century, A.D. Although the Kabuki is performed exclusively by men today, it was originally founded by a woman named Izumo no Okuni. Okuni led a group of women, most of whom were prostitutes, in the performance of narrative dances for the public. In this way, dance was used not just for its own sake but for the purpose of telling a story to the audience. Specifically, the gestures and body language of the dancers were used to tell the story while at the same time expressing the emotions of the characters. This was an important innovation in ... "

Abstract
This paper discusses the development of tensions between the United States and Japanese governments in the years leading to World War Two. Specifically, this paper details the facts supporting the argument that the Roosevelt Administration was well aware not only that an attack by the Japanese against America was imminent, but that the American government knew the attack upon Pearl Harbor was a very real possibility. The paper also states that all indications show that even though diplomacy failed, there were indications that Pearl Harbor was a definite possible target for attack. The paper asserts that the Pacific Fleet should have been put on alert and the attack should have been met. The paper concludes that if action had been taken, the United States could have entered the war without sustaining substantial losses and a defeat could have been inflicted on the Japanese Empire and the war could have ended sooner.

From the Paper
"There were many problems darkening diplomatic relations from both Japanese and American points of view. The Japanese list of grievances included the American recognition of the Chiang Kai shek regime instead of Manchukuo in China and the American immigration policies of Asian exclusion. Above all the Japanese focused on America's huge naval expansion, which was thought to be aimed at Japan, and the embargoes which the United States had placed an American exports to Japan."

Tags:Roosevelt Hawaii, World War Two Pacific Theater Admiral Nomura Cordell Hull