Word of the Month: October

October: 早変わり

(hayagawari)

The leaflet above states the actor, Ichikawa Ennosuke, will change his costume to play 18 different characters. This is made possible by a technique called hayagawari. This word means “quick-change technique” and is used when actors playing more than one role in the same scene quickly change their costume and make-up from one role to another. The change must be made as quickly as possible, so the costumes are rigged in advance. Actors use special techniques to heighten the stage effects. In some cases, a stand-in will appear with his back to the audience while the main actor is actually offstage changing his costume. The quick-change first boomed in the early nineteenth century and was popularized is pieces such as Osome Hisamatsu Ukina no Yomiuri and Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan. Quick-change techniques were especially popular in Kabuki dances. The technique has been seen in the Kamigata area quite often in recent years.

References

KABUKI ENCYCLOPEDIA by SAMUEL L. LEITER

http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/theaters/shinbashi/play/85