Is kabuki really empty?

September 15, 2005 9:16 PM

It seems that when we Westerners call an event a "kabuki dance," we mean that the event is elaborate but ultimately without substance. Examples: 1, 2. When did this usage arise, and is this unfair to the kabuki art form?
posted by profwhat to Writing & Language (8 answers total)

Find it used outside of America and I'll debate it. Otherwise, it's just some localised corruption of a foreign term. A common occurrence among the ignorant, particularly among insular communities.
posted by krisjohn at 10:27 PM on September 15, 2005

I think the intention is not "without substance" but rather "obscured" or "concealed," as it is hard to recognize the person under the makeup. Because kabuki started off as a commoner's riverside burlesque in comparison to the more hifalutin' noh drama, and since even native-speaking Japanese can find it bewildering, it's not unfair or insulting to make the analogy. Kabuki will be fine. Oldest kabuki theater is right near my mother-in-law's house here in town, BTW.
posted by planetkyoto at 10:44 PM on September 15, 2005

That's not the way it's being used in your citations. The way we use "Kabuki" in the west is to emphasize the formal and perfunctory nature of some political communications. When Biden asks Roberts questions about abortion, he knows that Roberts is going to stonewall him. Still, Biden's role is to ask the questions so that Roberts may stonewall him.
I do think that part of the reason why Kabuki is referenced instead of Noh is the homophonic nature of Noh.
posted by klangklangston at 2:00 AM on September 16, 2005

Dr. Joy Brown was using the term in the early 90s to describe the phenomenon when callers would tell a long story but never actually state their problem and then would 'shuffle to and fro' while she tried to get them to pin down what their problem was. This was the first (and for quite a while the only) time I'd heard the term used.
posted by kimota at 4:08 AM on September 16, 2005

It is unfair to Kabuki. It's true that there's pretty much a set repertoire of plays, but the acting is actually really hammy, with beloved actors occasionally stopping in the middle of the action to just strike a pose and make googly eyes (if you've ever seen woodblock prints of this, you'll know what I mean). The staging is also lavish, with wirework, rotating and elevating stage modules, etc.

Noh theater, on the other hand, is all the things that Westerners seem to be talking about when they invoke Kabuki: highly formalized and austere.
posted by adamrice at 5:44 AM on September 16, 2005

I happen to be going to Tokyo for an 8 day tourism blitz next month. Seeing Kabuki and/or Noh is one of the goals. Any recommendations?
posted by intermod at 8:38 PM on September 16, 2005

go see some butoh dance instead.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 10:44 AM on September 17, 2005

I'd say skip the Noh and Kabuki and see some Bunraku. Anything.
posted by adamrice at 12:53 PM on September 17, 2005