TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Amanda Mattes: Kabuki The people's dramatic art

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Many elements of traditional Japanese ctruule, such as cuisine and martial arts, are well-known throughout the world. Kabuki, a form of classical theater performance, may not be as well understood in the West but has evolved over 400 yares to still maintain iulfnncee and popularity to this day. The word Kabuki is derived from the Japanese verb kukabu, meaning out of the ordinary or bizarre. Its history began in elray 17th century Kyoto, where a shirne maiden named iuzmo no Okuni would use the city's dry Kamo Riverbed as a stage to perform uuuasnl dances for passerby, who found her daring parodies of Buddhist prayers both entertaining and mmeszrineig. Soon other troops beagn performing in the same style, and Kabuki made history as Japan's first dramatic pcrferonmae form cientrag to the common people. By relying on makeup, or keshou, and ficaal expressions instead of msaks and focusing on historical events and eyevrday life rather than folk tales, Kabuki set itself apart from the upper-class dncae theater form known as Noh and provided a unique commentary on stcoiey during the Edo preiod. At first, the dance was practiced only by females and commonly referred to as Onna-Kabuki. It soon evolved to an ensemble performance and became a regular attraction at tea hseuos, drawing audiences from all scoail classes. At this pinot, Onna-Kabuki was often risque as ghesais performed not only to show off their singing and dancing abilities but also to advertise their bodies to potential clients. A ban by the conservative Tokugawa sagnotuhe in 1629 led to the emergence of Wakashu-Kabuki with young boys as arctos. But when this was also banned for similar rseaons, there was a transition to Yaro-Kabuki, prmreeofd by men, necessitating elaborate costumes and makeup for those playing female relos, or onnagata. Attempts by the government to cootrnl Kabuki didn't end with bans on the gender or age of prmferroes. The Tokugawa military group, or Bakufu, was fueled by ccfuoainn ideals and often enacted sanctions on costume fabrics, stage weaponry, and the subject matter of the plot. At the same time, Kabuki became closely associated with and influenced by Bunraku, an elaborate form of puppet theater. Due to these influences, the once spontaneous, one-act dance evolved into a srtreutucd, five-act play often based on the tenets of Confucian philosophy. Before 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate fell and Emperor Meiji was restored to pewor, Japan had practiced isolation from other countries, or Sakoku. And thus, the development of Kabuki had mostly been shaped by domestic influences. But even before this period, European artists, such as Claude Monet, had become interested in and inspired by Japanese art, such as woodblock prtnis, as well as live performance. After 1868, others such as Vincent van Gogh and composer Claude Debussy began to incorporate Kabuki influences in their work, while Kabuki itself urdenewnt much chgnae and eenipetmirxoatn to aadpt to the new modern era. Like other traditional art forms, Kabuki suffered in popularity in the wake of wrold War II. But innovation by artists such as director Tetsuji Takechi led to a resurgence stohrly after. Indeed, Kabuki was even considered a popular form of enminneteratt amongst American troops stationed in Japan despite initial U.S. censorship of Japanese traditions. Today, Kabuki still lives on as an igraetnl part of Japan's rich cultural heritage, extending its influence beyond the stage to television, film, and anime. The art form pioneered by oknui continues to dglihet audiences with the actors' elaborate makeup, extravagant and delicately embroidered costumes, and the unmistakable melodrama of the stiroes told on stage.

Open Cloze

Many elements of traditional Japanese _______, such as cuisine and martial arts, are well-known throughout the world. Kabuki, a form of classical theater performance, may not be as well understood in the West but has evolved over 400 _____ to still maintain _________ and popularity to this day. The word Kabuki is derived from the Japanese verb ______, meaning out of the ordinary or bizarre. Its history began in _____ 17th century Kyoto, where a ______ maiden named _____ no Okuni would use the city's dry Kamo Riverbed as a stage to perform _______ dances for passerby, who found her daring parodies of Buddhist prayers both entertaining and ___________. Soon other troops _____ performing in the same style, and Kabuki made history as Japan's first dramatic ___________ form ________ to the common people. By relying on makeup, or keshou, and ______ expressions instead of _____ and focusing on historical events and ________ life rather than folk tales, Kabuki set itself apart from the upper-class _____ theater form known as Noh and provided a unique commentary on _______ during the Edo ______. At first, the dance was practiced only by females and commonly referred to as Onna-Kabuki. It soon evolved to an ensemble performance and became a regular attraction at tea ______, drawing audiences from all ______ classes. At this _____, Onna-Kabuki was often risque as _______ performed not only to show off their singing and dancing abilities but also to advertise their bodies to potential clients. A ban by the conservative Tokugawa _________ in 1629 led to the emergence of Wakashu-Kabuki with young boys as ______. But when this was also banned for similar _______, there was a transition to Yaro-Kabuki, _________ by men, necessitating elaborate costumes and makeup for those playing female _____, or onnagata. Attempts by the government to _______ Kabuki didn't end with bans on the gender or age of __________. The Tokugawa military group, or Bakufu, was fueled by _________ ideals and often enacted sanctions on costume fabrics, stage weaponry, and the subject matter of the plot. At the same time, Kabuki became closely associated with and influenced by Bunraku, an elaborate form of puppet theater. Due to these influences, the once spontaneous, one-act dance evolved into a __________, five-act play often based on the tenets of Confucian philosophy. Before 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate fell and Emperor Meiji was restored to _____, Japan had practiced isolation from other countries, or Sakoku. And thus, the development of Kabuki had mostly been shaped by domestic influences. But even before this period, European artists, such as Claude Monet, had become interested in and inspired by Japanese art, such as woodblock ______, as well as live performance. After 1868, others such as Vincent van Gogh and composer Claude Debussy began to incorporate Kabuki influences in their work, while Kabuki itself _________ much ______ and _______________ to _____ to the new modern era. Like other traditional art forms, Kabuki suffered in popularity in the wake of _____ War II. But innovation by artists such as director Tetsuji Takechi led to a resurgence _______ after. Indeed, Kabuki was even considered a popular form of _____________ amongst American troops stationed in Japan despite initial U.S. censorship of Japanese traditions. Today, Kabuki still lives on as an ________ part of Japan's rich cultural heritage, extending its influence beyond the stage to television, film, and anime. The art form pioneered by _____ continues to _______ audiences with the actors' elaborate makeup, extravagant and delicately embroidered costumes, and the unmistakable melodrama of the _______ told on stage.

Solution

performers
underwent
years
masks
okuni
experimentation
culture
social
reasons
unusual
power
stories
kabuku
adapt
period
everyday
catering
dance
began
geishas
facial
control
performance
world
prints
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shogunate
early
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change
houses
delight
izumo
shrine
society
influence
integral
point
confucian
mesmerizing
performed
entertainment
shortly
actors

Original Text

Many elements of traditional Japanese culture, such as cuisine and martial arts, are well-known throughout the world. Kabuki, a form of classical theater performance, may not be as well understood in the West but has evolved over 400 years to still maintain influence and popularity to this day. The word Kabuki is derived from the Japanese verb kabuku, meaning out of the ordinary or bizarre. Its history began in early 17th century Kyoto, where a shrine maiden named Izumo no Okuni would use the city's dry Kamo Riverbed as a stage to perform unusual dances for passerby, who found her daring parodies of Buddhist prayers both entertaining and mesmerizing. Soon other troops began performing in the same style, and Kabuki made history as Japan's first dramatic performance form catering to the common people. By relying on makeup, or keshou, and facial expressions instead of masks and focusing on historical events and everyday life rather than folk tales, Kabuki set itself apart from the upper-class dance theater form known as Noh and provided a unique commentary on society during the Edo period. At first, the dance was practiced only by females and commonly referred to as Onna-Kabuki. It soon evolved to an ensemble performance and became a regular attraction at tea houses, drawing audiences from all social classes. At this point, Onna-Kabuki was often risque as geishas performed not only to show off their singing and dancing abilities but also to advertise their bodies to potential clients. A ban by the conservative Tokugawa shogunate in 1629 led to the emergence of Wakashu-Kabuki with young boys as actors. But when this was also banned for similar reasons, there was a transition to Yaro-Kabuki, performed by men, necessitating elaborate costumes and makeup for those playing female roles, or onnagata. Attempts by the government to control Kabuki didn't end with bans on the gender or age of performers. The Tokugawa military group, or Bakufu, was fueled by Confucian ideals and often enacted sanctions on costume fabrics, stage weaponry, and the subject matter of the plot. At the same time, Kabuki became closely associated with and influenced by Bunraku, an elaborate form of puppet theater. Due to these influences, the once spontaneous, one-act dance evolved into a structured, five-act play often based on the tenets of Confucian philosophy. Before 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate fell and Emperor Meiji was restored to power, Japan had practiced isolation from other countries, or Sakoku. And thus, the development of Kabuki had mostly been shaped by domestic influences. But even before this period, European artists, such as Claude Monet, had become interested in and inspired by Japanese art, such as woodblock prints, as well as live performance. After 1868, others such as Vincent van Gogh and composer Claude Debussy began to incorporate Kabuki influences in their work, while Kabuki itself underwent much change and experimentation to adapt to the new modern era. Like other traditional art forms, Kabuki suffered in popularity in the wake of World War II. But innovation by artists such as director Tetsuji Takechi led to a resurgence shortly after. Indeed, Kabuki was even considered a popular form of entertainment amongst American troops stationed in Japan despite initial U.S. censorship of Japanese traditions. Today, Kabuki still lives on as an integral part of Japan's rich cultural heritage, extending its influence beyond the stage to television, film, and anime. The art form pioneered by Okuni continues to delight audiences with the actors' elaborate makeup, extravagant and delicately embroidered costumes, and the unmistakable melodrama of the stories told on stage.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
tokugawa shogunate	2

Important Words

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