kabuki
37 movies and shows
Kokuho
Fri, 06 Jun 2025
Nagasaki, 1964: Following the death of his yakuza father, 15-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men grow and evolve together – and one will become the greatest Japanese master of the art of kabuki.
A Story of Floating Weeds
Fri, 23 Nov 1934
An aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all.
An Actor's Revenge
Sun, 13 Jan 1963
In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.
Irohagana Yotsuya Kaidan
Thu, 17 Jun 1937
Irohagana Yotsuya Kaidan
Fri, 01 Jul 1927
Two Portraits of MIYAGINO
Sat, 29 May 2010
In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.
Travelling Actors
Wed, 18 Dec 1940
This film depicts a troupe of wandering kabuki players traveling through rural Japan.
An Actor's Revenge
Thu, 27 Jun 1935
An onnagata (female impersonator) of a Kabuki troupe avenges his parents' deaths. Remade in 1963 as Yukinojô Henge.
Oiwa Nagaya
Sat, 08 Aug 1931
Sayonara
Wed, 25 Dec 1957
Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is reassigned to a Japanese air base and is confronted with US racial prejudice against the Japanese people. The issue is compounded because a number of the soldiers become romantically involved with Japanese women, in defiance of US military policy. Ordinarily, a by-the-book officer, Gruver must take a position when a buddy of his, an enlisted man, Joe Kelly, falls in love with a Japanese woman, Katsumi, and marries her. Gruver risks his position by serving as best man at the wedding ceremony.
Shin Yotsuya Ghost Story
Fri, 29 Jul 1932
Murder in a Hell of Oil
Fri, 08 Nov 2019
Based on a true incident, this is a timeless story of a hot-headed young man who rebels against his parents and is forced into desperate straits, eventually losing himself in madness.
Cinema Kabuki: Fire Brigade Brawl
Sat, 25 Nov 2017
A recording of a play based on a quarrel in the late Edo period of Japan. Recorded in May 2012.
Kabuki Akadō Suzunosuke
Thu, 16 Jun 2022
Two young swordsmen, Akado Suzunosuke and Tatsumaki Rainoshin, arrive at the city of Edo in their quest to test and improve their skills. Soon they become involved in a conflict against a mysterious group of demonic criminals led by the king of hell, Taira no Masakado — a strugle to which both were destined since the moment they were born.
Yotsuya Kaidan
Thu, 04 Aug 1921
The Frozen Moment
Mon, 09 Mar 1964
Created for the "Esso World Theater" series of films in 1964, it features excerpts from "Bugaku," "Gagaku," "Noh, " and "Kabuki" scenes performed by the well-known dancers, musicians and actors and actresses.
Jack the Mouse: Noda Version
Fri, 23 Sep 2005
Nezumi, Jack the Mouse is a Japanese urban legend. His passion for money drives a cynical, duplicitous coffin maker to take on Nezumi’s mantle. In this kaleidoscope of disguise and deception, society’s pretenses are destroyed in a melting pot of farce, social satire and courtroom drama. The mighty are brought low to everyone’s delight. Contemporary theatre genius Hideki Noda collaborates with Kabuki theatre at the invitation of celebrated actor Kanzaburo.
Maple Leaf Viewing
Tue, 28 Nov 1899
[…] A reel was shot of the Noh drama Momiji-gari (Maple Leaf Hunters, or Viewing Scarlet Maple Leaves), in which Danjuro played opposite Onoe Kikugoro V (1844-1903) as an ogress who has disguised herself as the Princess Sarashina. Filmed by Shibata Tsunekichi in the open air on a windy day in November 1899, Danjuro would allow only the one take, so that when his fan blew away in mid-performance the scene had to stay. The film re-emerged at the Kikikan theatre in 1907 where it was a great success and inspired a wave of fiction filmmaking based on traditional Japanese narratives. (cont. http://victorian-cinema.net/danjuro)
Ehon Taikōki - Amagasaki Kankyo
Invalid Date
The play "Ehon Taikōki" was originally written for the puppet theater (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in 1799 in Ōsaka at the Toyotakeza. It was adapted for Kabuki the next year by Nagawa Tokusuke I. The play consisted originally of thirteen acts, one act for each day that passed between Akechi Mitsuhide's murder of Oda Nobunaga and his death at the hand of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The tenth act is the only one which has survived. This act tells of an incident during the battle in which Mitsuhide was finally defeated.