(also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the more traditional ''

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 though ...

'' style. It later spread to cinema.

Art form

The roots of ''Shinpa'' can be traced to a form of agitation propaganda theater in the 1880s promoted by

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

members Sadanori Sudo and Otojirō Kawakami. Theatre historians have characterized Shinpa as a transitional movement, closely associated with the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, whose primary rationale was the rejection of "old" values in favor of material that would appeal to a partially westernized urban middle class which still maintained some traditional habits of thought. Some of the innovations associated with Shinpa included: shortened performance times, the occasional re-introduction of female performers to the stage, the abolition of teahouses that had previously controlled ticket sales, the use of contemporary patriotic events as subject matter, and the frequent adaptation of western classics, such as the plays of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and '' The Count of Monte Cristo''. It eventually earned the name "shinpa" (literally meaning "new school") to contrast it from "kyūha" ("old school" or ''

'') due its more contemporary and realistic stories. With the success of the Seibidan troupe, however, ''shinpa'' theater ended up with a form that was closer to ''kabuki'' than to the later shingeki because of its continued use of

onnagata (also ) are male actors who play female roles in kabuki theatre. History The modern all-male kabuki was originally known as ("male kabuki") to distinguish it from earlier forms. In the early 17th century, shortly after the emergence of the g ...

and off-stage music. As a theatrical form, it was most successful in the early 1900s as the works of novelists such as

Kyōka Izumi , real name , was a Japanese author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays who was active during the prewar period. Kyōka's writing differed greatly from that of the naturalist writers who dominated the literary scene at the time. Many of ...

, Kōyō Ozaki, and

Roka Tokutomi The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

were adapted for the stage. With the introduction of cinema in Japan, ''shinpa'' became one of the first film genres in opposition again to ''kyūha'' films, as many films were based on ''shinpa'' plays.

Spread to cinema

Some ''shinpa'' stage actors like Masao Inoue were heavily involved in film, and a form called rensageki or literally "chain drama" appeared which mixed cinema and theater on stage. With the rise of the reformist Pure Film Movement in the 1910s, which strongly criticized ''shinpa'' films for their melodramatic tales of women suffering from the strictures of class and social prejudice, films about contemporary subjects eventually were called gendaigeki in opposition to

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

by the 1920s, even though ''shinpa'' stories continued to be made into film for decades to come. On the stage, ''shinpa'' was no longer as successful after the Taishō era, but good playwrights such as

Matsutarō Kawaguchi was a Japanese writer of short stories, novels, dramas and screenplays. He repeatedly collaborated on the films of director Kenji Mizoguchi. Biography Kawaguchi was born in the plebeian Asakusa district of Tokyo into an impoverished family. He ...

, actresses like Yaeko Mizutani and such Living National Treasures as Rokurō Kitamura and Shōtarō Hanayagi helped keep the form alive. ''Shinpa'' also had an influence on modern Korean theater through the ''shinp’a'' (신파) genre.

Notes

External links

Gekidan Shinpa
official page (in Japanese) {{Authority control Theatrical genres Theatre in Japan History of film of Japan Film genres

Art form

Spread to cinema

See also

Notes

External links