Western influence began to be felt in Japanese cultural life during the Meiji period (1868\u20131911), when the Japanese Empire was transformed, through the so-called Meiji Restorations, into an industrialised world power. Many aspects of Japanese society, its infrastructure, army and laws were remodelled according to Western models.<\/p>\n
The long-lasting rule of the shogunate was demolished and Emperor Meiji (who ruled 1867\u20131912) became the actual ruler. The old Shinto religion was reinterpreted so that it emphasised the divine origin of the imperial house and thus the emperor became the head of the Shinto cult.<\/p>\n
In Japan\u2019s rapid process of opening itself up to the outside, particularly Western, world, everything Western became highly fashionable. This also led to drastic changes in the fields of theatre and dance.<\/p>\n
Noh<\/i> and kyogen<\/i> were regarded as odd and old-fashioned, although noh<\/i> was protected and supported by the imperial court. It also maintained even older forms, such as kagura<\/i> shrine dances and bugaku<\/i> court dances. Bunraku<\/i> puppetry mainly flourished in Osaka.<\/p>\n
Kabuki<\/i>, on the other hand, did not lose its popularity. However, even it was influenced by Western stage realism, as can be seen in the \u201cnew kabuki\u201d or shin kabuki<\/i> plays of the period in which stage realism was favoured and kabuki\u2019s<\/i> many special features and stage tricks were eliminated.<\/p>\n
Japanese intellectuals quickly familiarised themselves with Western dramatic literature, which partly influenced the new trends in kabuki<\/i> too. A reform group was founded, which established a Western-influenced administration system for kabuki<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Kabuki<\/i> actresses, who were unheard of in kabuki\u2019s<\/i> history since 17th<\/sup> century, were trained, although this reform was doomed to be short-lived. Patriotic themes were adapted for the kabuki<\/i> stage, which led again to a new sub-genre of kabuki<\/i>, katsureki geki<\/i> or \u201cplays of contemporary history\u201d.<\/p>\n In these new forms of kabuki<\/i> it was the Western-influenced stage realism that dominated. One of the reformists of the period was the prolific playwright Kawatake Mokuami (1816\u20131893), who wrote some fifty kabuki<\/i> plays. Most of them represent various traditional categories of kabuki<\/i>, but he also wrote so-called zangirimono<\/i> plays or sewamono<\/i> plays set in the Meiji period. He also translated Western dramas into Japanese.<\/p>\n At the stormy beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century, the new forms of theatre were used as a platform for patriotism and political reforms. One of the important men in theatrical life at that time was Kawakami Otojiro (1864\u2013911), who, with his wife, a famous actress, established his own theatre company, the Kawakami Company.<\/p>\n\n\t\tInternational Winds of Change<\/h2>\n