is the term for a journey scene in

Japanese theatre This article is an overview of traditional and modern Japanese theatre. Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment ; kabuki, ...

, which shows the characters dancing or conversing while travelling. The term , in its generic sense of ''michi wo yuku'' "to go on a road", is used in lyrical descriptions of journeys from the 8th century. It was also a term for the music in

bugaku is a Japanese traditional dance that has been performed to select elites, mostly in the Japanese imperial court, for over twelve hundred years. In this way, it has been known only to the nobility, although after World War II, the dance was ope ...

dances of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

, played while a dancer was moving onto the stage. As a technical term in

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

and

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

theatre, ''michiyuki'' is used from the 16th century. In Noh, the michiyuki customarily takes the function of a prologue, the characters introducing the play while travelling to the location where the main action will take place. In Kabuki, by contrast, the michiyuki often takes place in the last act. The michiyuki is performed by the travelling characters moving about in a steady pace either on the main stage or on the

hanamichi The is an extra stage section used in Japanese kabuki theater. It is a long, raised platform, running left of centre to the stage through the audience, connecting to the main stage. The is typically used for character entrances and exits, t ...

(a walkway or "corridor" attached to the main stage).

References

*Martina Schönbein, ''Die Michiyuki-Passagen in den Sewa-Jōruri des Dramatikers Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724)'', 1994, . *Henry W. Wells, 'michiyuki', in John Gassner, Edward Quinn (eds.), ''The Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama'', Courier Dover Publications, 2002, {{ISBN, 978-0-486-42064-6, p. 564.

References

See also