I am a clown/clown historian. I have noticed the origins of kabuki are very much akin to the theater that lead to the creation of the modern clown. In my opinion kabuki is a vital part of the history. Is covering Kabuki in my lessons accurate, and more importantly is it offensive? Obviously I do not see ‘clown’ as an insult, but I can understand why a performer might find it reductive or obnoxiously tenuous. Especially when one’s culture is so closely tied to it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/zi6zpm/is_it_offensive_to_compare_the_art_of_kabuki_to/
17 comments
I know nothing on the subject. Did Kabuki performers perform mostly for children? If no, then it would raise an eyebrow from me. I have know idea re. offensiveness
It would likely be offensive to practitioners and serious fans of Kabuki to simply state that, “Kabuki performers are Japan’s version of clowns.” Considering your background and the wording of your post, I’m assuming you wouldn’t make such a basic statement and then leave it at that.
On the other hand, if you goal is to demonstrate similarities between various forms of entertainment performance for the purpose of historical education, then to draw those comparisons that exist between Kabuki and clowning would be perfectly reasonable.
Seen both. Kabuki =/= to clowns. Not sure if I would say offensive, but 2 entirely different forms of entertainment.
I’m not sure about offensive… But as for reductive and shallow? And massively incorrect. Yeah definitely. I guess a kabuki actor mind find it offensive if someone misrepresented their profession in such a way. Would a classically trained Shakespearean actor be offended to have their work compared to WWE?
It is wholly inaccurate. It is a whole art form like opera or ballet in the West. I have no idea how you would consider it a vital part of the history of clowns.
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I think as long as you make the distinction you made here and talk about how it’s similar to the historic predecessor of modern clowning it should be ok. I’m not a Kabuki actor though so take my opinion thusly.
Sounds like a mine field. Clowns have negative connotations and to compare Kabuki to it, would seem like an insult
Hold up, what’s up with the disrespect to clowns.
Kabuki is more like a musical than a clown show. At least that’s how I felt when I saw kabuki. I would not have compared it with clowns.
I’m not sure how you ended up at the comparison. If you are interested in comedic elements in Japanese entertainment, then you can already track this back to the male geisha (taikomochi) that were the equivalent of court jesters in the feudal period. In terms of the theatre, you have Kyogen as a comedic form that evolved in parallel with Noh, all of which predate Kabuki. More recently, the Kyogen format can also be seen to have influenced the contemporary Manzai style, which remains a popular format today (e.g. Downtown).
I think if you want to avoid drawing unflattering comparisons, you must first separate between the artisan and the comedian as separate forms of entertainers. Historically this separation was pretty clear between the male/female geisha, as well as in Noh vs. Kyogen, but I think if you were to naively apply this to Kabuki or the modern day geisha (especially given the absence of modern-day taikomochi), most would take offense.
Well, imo both are weird, creepy and disturbing so I guess they share that in common
I think a lot of commenters here are assuming you are saying Kabuki is Japan’s version of clowning, but you’re training people in the art of clowning, yes? I think if you are covering multiple different theatrical traditions in your lessons (i.e. not only history of Kabuki, and then history of clowning lol) I don’t see any reason why you can’t educate your students on other cultural art forms with some parallels to the one they are studying. I think the original appeal of Kabuki as popular entertainment (as opposed to aristocratic Noh) and the acrobatics which feature in some Kabuki plays are two connections I can draw (without knowing very much about clowning). I’d also look into Kyogen which was specifically designed to be humorous. (Not that Kabuki is always serious, the play Rakuda is super funny and very high on the slapstick).
Unfortunately I don’t know of many academic resources about Kabuki, but I do know the University of Hawaii has an Asian Theatre department, so perhaps you can find some contact info of professors there who can give you more idea of where to look?
Why, because they both wear white makeup?
What other similarities do you perceive?
Some people will find a way to be offended, there is no protection from that. Otherwise, I do not see how comparison to the history of clowns is harmful. Are clowns somehow of the lower caste or what? It is a legit genre of performing art.
In my experience, Japanese people have a poor understanding of the concept/culture of clowns. I think the comparison can be done, but do it carefully – and explain with examples.
kabuki is theatre; clowning is circus.
The similarities end with the face paint.