Children's Kabuki - Kodomo Kabuki

Japanese: 子供歌舞伎 - こどもかぶき

Kabuki is a type of kabuki performed by a troupe of children. It was started in the mid-Edo period by Takeda Shibai, a puppet theater company, as a prelude or interlude to the puppet theater, and became popular in Osaka. It is also called chinko shibai, kuburi shibai, mige kyogen, etc., and often involves silent gestures and facial expressions to accompany the Joruri narration. Kabuki took over the form of puppet theater, and in the mid-Meiji period, children's theater, centered around Nakamura Kichiemon I and Nakamura Matagoro I, became popular, and also played a role in training actors. Meanwhile, in the field of folk performing arts, children's kabuki, performed on floats called hikiyama kyogen, is dedicated mainly to spring festivals at shrines in places such as Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Tarui Town, Fuwa District, Gifu Prefecture, and Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

子どもだけで一座を組織した歌舞伎。からくり人形の竹田芝居が，からくりの前芸または間狂言として江戸中期に始めたもので大坂で流行した。ちんこ芝居，首振り芝居，身振り狂言などともいい，多くは浄瑠璃につれて無言で身振りや表情をみせた。人形芝居の形式を歌舞伎が継承し，明治中期に初世中村吉右衛門，初世中村又五郎らを中心とした子供芝居が流行，これは役者養成の役割も果たした。一方民俗芸能では，曳山（ひきやま）狂言といわれる山車の上で行われる子供歌舞伎が，滋賀県長浜市，岐阜県不破郡垂井町，石川県小松市などで神社の春祭を中心に奉納されている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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