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Kabuki theatre of Japan
Impact on Contemporary Culture
When Japan began to modernize in the late
nineteenth century, the position of Kabuki in society began to
change. In general terms, it began to attempt to preserve its
traditions, rather than being concerned with contemporary culture.
As the cinema and other forms of theatre developed, Kabuki
gradually lost its central place in popular culture. Today, Kabuki
is still valued for its accomplished and handsome actors, but also
because it preserves a piece of Japanese
history.
Many popular
Kabuki actors still remain in the public eye in Japan, appearing in
films, commercials, musicals and popular TV series. However, Kabuki
itself continues to exert a strange fascination. Modern novelists,
poets, playwrights, artists and fashion designers have all found in
Kabuki a uniquely colourful and vibrant antidote to the uniformity
of contemporary culture. The creativity of Edo can seem just as
exotic to modern-day Japanese as it does to
Westerners.