TedTest

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

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Many elements of ttindiaoral 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, manneig out of the ordinary or bizarre. Its history began in erlay 17th century Kyoto, where a shnire maiden nmead Izumo no Okuni would use the city's dry Kamo rbivreed as a stage to pefrorm unusual denacs for passerby, who found her daring paeodirs 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 rlinyeg on makeup, or keshou, and fiacal epinseosxrs instead of masks and fnosicug 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 peroid. At first, the dncae was peatcrcid only by females and commonly rrfreeed to as Onna-Kabuki. It soon evolved to an eebsnlme ponarrfcmee and became a regular attraction at tea houses, drawing audiences from all social cslseas. At this point, Onna-Kabuki was often risque as geishas prefermod not only to show off their sgninig 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 sialmir reasons, there was a transition to Yaro-Kabuki, performed by men, nitteaincessg elaborate costumes and muaekp for those piyalng 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 gourp, 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 seopaonntus, one-act dance evolved into a structured, five-act play often based on the tenets of cncoiuafn philosophy. Before 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate fell and Emperor mjiei was restored to power, Japan had practiced isolation from other countries, or skkaou. And thus, the dvlnmoeepet of Kabuki had mostly been shaped by domestic ifnuelcnes. But even before this period, European artists, such as cludae Monet, had become instetered in and inspired by Japanese art, such as wbooldock pnitrs, as well as live performance. After 1868, others such as Vincent van Gogh and composer Claude Debussy began to itnprcrooae 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 slothry 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, kbukai still lives on as an integral part of Japan's rich cultural heritage, enxetding its influence beyond the stage to television, film, and anime. The art form pioneered by Okuni continues to delight aeeunicds with the actors' elaborate makeup, extravagant and delicately embroidered costumes, and the unmistakable melodrama of the stories told on sgate.

Open Cloze

Many elements of ___________ 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, _______ out of the ordinary or bizarre. Its history began in _____ 17th century Kyoto, where a ______ maiden _____ Izumo no Okuni would use the city's dry Kamo ________ as a stage to _______ unusual ______ for passerby, who found her daring ________ 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 _______ on makeup, or keshou, and ______ ___________ instead of masks and ________ 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 ______. At first, the _____ was _________ only by females and commonly ________ to as Onna-Kabuki. It soon evolved to an ________ ___________ and became a regular attraction at tea houses, drawing audiences from all social _______. At this point, Onna-Kabuki was often risque as geishas _________ not only to show off their _______ 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 _______ reasons, there was a transition to Yaro-Kabuki, performed by men, _____________ elaborate costumes and ______ for those _______ 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 _____, 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 ___________, one-act dance evolved into a structured, five-act play often based on the tenets of _________ philosophy. Before 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate fell and Emperor _____ was restored to power, Japan had practiced isolation from other countries, or ______. And thus, the ___________ of Kabuki had mostly been shaped by domestic __________. But even before this period, European artists, such as ______ Monet, had become __________ in and inspired by Japanese art, such as _________ ______, as well as live performance. After 1868, others such as Vincent van Gogh and composer Claude Debussy began to ___________ 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 _______ 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, ______ still lives on as an integral part of Japan's rich cultural heritage, _________ its influence beyond the stage to television, film, and anime. The art form pioneered by Okuni continues to delight _________ with the actors' elaborate makeup, extravagant and delicately embroidered costumes, and the unmistakable melodrama of the stories told on _____.

Solution

stage
relying
period
interested
audiences
group
practiced
focusing
performed
sakoku
makeup
dances
ensemble
singing
riverbed
meiji
named
influences
spontaneous
early
meaning
claude
referred
shrine
classes
confucian
prints
performance
facial
similar
woodblock
development
dance
parodies
extending
traditional
kabuki
incorporate
necessitating
shortly
expressions
playing
perform

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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