Ichikawa Ebizo has made an official adaptation of the Star Wars franchise for the kabuki stage that will be debuting in December of 2019. Currently, it is unknown what the official adaptation will be like, but the name Star Wars Kabuki-Rennosuke Hikarigatana Sanbon meaning something along the lines of Star Wars Kabuki – Ren and Three Lightsabers suggests that it will be centered on Kylo Ren rather than Rey. As for the lightsabers in the title, some have speculated that they refer to the lightsabers of Kylo Ren, Rey, and Luke Skywalker, while others have speculated that they refer to the lightsabers of Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and Kylo Ren. It is worth mentioning that Ichikawa has stated that the official adaptation will be focused on the “love and loss felt by the Skywalker family,” which is definitely a line that suggests a focus on the latter set of characters rather than the former set of characters. Whatever the case, this might be something that interests Star Wars fans, particularly if they happen to be curious about classical Japanese drama as well.
What Is Kabuki Anyways?
Amusingly, while kabuki is now regarded as classical Japanese drama, there was a time when it would’ve been regarded as something much more avant-garde in nature. In fact, kabuki comes from the same source as kabukimono, which is a term that refers to gangs of young men on the fringes of the buke class who wore flamboyant clothing while engaging in a wide range of what was considered to be unseemly behavior. Some of this behavior isn’t quite so bad by modern standards, with examples ranging from unusual hairstyles to dancing, singing, and conversing in a very loud and very public manner. Other behaviors, well, suffice to say that there is a reason why some people believe that the yakuza originated from either the kabukimono or groups of commoners who organized themselves to fight off the kabukimono.
Regardless, kabuki came into existence towards the end of the period when kabukimono were known to exist. In short, the 16th century was a very turbulent time in Japan because the collapse of central authority had resulted in the rise of numerous warlords. Eventually, central authority was reestablished through the efforts of the Three Unifiers – Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Nobunaga was the one who carved out a commanding position in the center of Japan but never managed to complete his planned conquest because he was betrayed by one of his chief retainers. Hideyoshi was the one who killed Nobunaga’s killer, which enabled him to claim the Oda clan’s power before using it to unify Japan. However, a botched invasion of Korea combined with Hideyoshi’s obsession with seeing a son of his blood succeed him in his position ensured that Hideyoshi’s retainers would go to war with one another upon his death. Thanks to this, Ieyasu emerged as the victor at the Battle of Sekigahara in October of 1600, thus enabling him to establish the Tokugawa shogunate that would go on to rule Japan for more than two centuries.
Unsurprisingly, this period is one of the most storied periods in Japanese history. In fact, one could make an argument that Star Wars wouldn’t be Star Wars without it, seeing as how the initial movies took a lot of inspiration from Akira Kurosawa, who made a number of movies set in the period. Regardless, while the founder of kabuki Izumo no Okuni wasn’t one of the warlords of this time, she is nonetheless one of its most storied figures.
In short, Okuni is believed to have been born and raised in the surroundings of the Grand Shrine of Izumo. Eventually, she became a shrine maiden famous for her beauty as well as her acting and dancing skills. Due to this, Okuni was sent to Kyoto so that she could solicit donations for the Grand Shrine of Izumo by putting on performances. In time, she became so well-known that she created her own troupe by gathering up prostitutes as well as other women on the fringes of Japanese society before teaching them her acting, dancing, and singing skills. As Okuni’s troupe became more and more famous, other institutions such as brothels began imitating them, thus resulting in the establishment of kabuki as an art form.
From the very start, kabuki was on rather uncertain ground with the authorities. Certainly, it was exciting. However, it was a bit too exciting, not least because its earliest forms made extensive use of suggestive themes. Something that wasn’t helped by the fact that the earliest kabuki performers doubled as prostitutes as well. As a result, the Tokugawa shogunate went on to ban women from performing kabuki because they were being too erotic, which was followed up by it banning young boys from performing kabuki for much the same reason. For a time, only adult men were allowed to perform kabuki, though it is amusing to note that the Tokugawa shogunate’s efforts to curb the influence of the art form failed because said individuals were just as suggestive and just as available for prostitution as their female counterparts. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ban on women being kabuki performers was dropped by 1652.
Since that time, kabuki has seen both ups and downs. For example, there were times when kabuki flourished under the Tokugawa Shogunate but there were also times when kabuki was pushed to the peripheral under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Likewise, while the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate provided new opportunities to the art form, its subsequent success wouldn’t have been possible without the effort of kabuki performers to modernize the art form for modern tastes. Nowadays, while kabuki has become classical Japanese drama, it is still the most popular of the forms that fall under said classification. Moreover, this news of an official kabuki version of the Star Wars franchise serves as excellent proof that it is very much a living, breathing thing.
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