It's a traditional performing art with a rich history.

It draws a million theater-goers per year...

It's kabuki!

Explore this art with popular kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke on KABUKI KOOL!

Striking and elaborate costumes are a hallmark of kabuki.

They draw on chic kimono culture and historic traditions.

Today we explore some authentic costumes and discover their significance.

Let's open the curtain!

Hi, I'm Sarah Àlainn.

Every time I see kabuki, I'm just absolutely fascinated by the gorgeous costumes.

I would love to see them up and close and I think that today might just be the day.

I'm very excited.

Our guide is kabuki actor Kataoka Ainosuke.

Hello!

I'm Kataoka Ainosuke, hello.

Costumes are very important to any kabuki actor.

We're going to look back at plays we've seen on the show before and explore their costuming.

Yes, and today we have an expert to tell us all about them.

Welcome!

This is Takahiro Ebisawa, head of a firm specializing in kabuki costumes.

I've been helped so much by Ebisawa-san and his company since I was a boy! Thank you.

I've been in this field for around 30 years now.

Today, I've brought some costumes with me for us to have a look at.

Mm, I just can't wait!

We've explored "The Battles of Coxinga" previously on this the show.

Ebisawa-san will be talking us through it today.

It's a famous aragoto play whose hero fights powerfully for the good.

Here, I'm getting ready in my dressing room.

We are putting the costume on Ainosuke-san for "The Battles of Coxinga."

This costume is called "dōmaru" and is red with shiny gold rivets.

It is both colorful and expresses great power.

Then he wears this kimono on top.

The costume is put on with the actor's students and the costumers working together.

Do the costumers do this every day?

Yes. Kabuki costumes require professionals with specialized knowledge.

Now, a special aragoto obi sash.

What? That's an obi?!

Yes. This is called a "hon maru" and weighs 8 kilograms.

It takes 4 people working together perfectly to tie it.

Why are they hitting it with their fists?

This obi is very stiff, so you have to hit it so you can tighten it.

What do all those black cords do? They're tying it very tightly!

That's so it goes on the body perfectly.

Ainosuke-san, that looks quite painful!

It IS quite painful.

But I have to work together perfectly with the costumers to do this.

I must know how they will move and counterbalance them.

We all have to do it at exactly the same time.

I have to stand firm so that everyone can tie it.

They pull and pull many times.

Wow!

The costume is now complete.

Watōnai has come from his native Japan all the way to China,

the land of his father, to try to save the Ming Dynasty.

He is going to burst into a fortress and fights off all the men who try to stop him.

Ainosuke-san, it must be difficult fighting in such a heavy costume.

It is difficult, but you saw how tightly they tie the obi.

If you loosen it because it's painful, the costume will be unstable,

and you can't do the fight.

It's actually easier to fight and looks better with a tight obi.

If it's loose, for example, the sword might drop out.

I see.

The exit is the powerful aragoto jump-walk called "tobi-roppō."

Wow, in that heavy costume!

Ebisawa-san has brought Watōnai's costume to the studio! Wow!

This is the padded kimono and his honmaru obi sash.

Mm, The real thing.

Yes.

The purple and the pattern - it's so bold and striking!

Yes - Watōnai used to be a fisherman.

So, the design of this kimono uses the motif of the rope used to tie up a boat.

I see, so the pattern actually refers to the role itself?

That's right.

This honmaru obi is a symbol of aragoto acting.

Try holding it.

It's Eight kilos, right? Can I...?

It's very heavy.

Oh wow! No way you wear this as an obi ?!

You wear it, along with the costume, and three swords as well.

Just holding it is tough enough, and to think you actually leap in this!

It's incredible, I'm done!

Well, why not try on the kimono and see how heavy an action hero's costumes are?

Yay!

This is padded with floss silk.

It's like a futon!

It's as heavy as wearing a futon.

I brought a lighter obi for you.

Are you okay, Sarah-san?

I... do have to fight to stay upright!

And I'm getting thumped too!

Oh Wow.

Oh goodness!

Don't you feel like a package?

Kind of!

Wow. Careful.

Okay. You're done!

Now turn around for us...

Excellent!

Oh, I think I might fall all over!

But, I do see how this restrictive costume is important.

These restrictions allow you to create distinctive movements.

I'm so glad you had the opportunity to try out the weight yourself.

Just standing still is a workout!

Now, a costume for the gentle wagoto style.

We are in the pleasure quarters of Osaka.

Izaemon has been disowned by his wealthy family.

He is poor with no money for expensive courtesans.

The writing on Izaemon's costume suggests that this is a paper kimono

made by pasting together love letters.

A paper kimono showed that a person was too poor to make a real cloth kimono.

A paper kimono!

In real life, there couldn't be a kimono made of love letters.

It's so romantic!

Yes! I really love this costume!

He must really love her to come even though he's so poor!

He's inside, but for a long time, Yūgiri doesn't appear.

Izaemon is so upset that he cries.

I wet my paper kimono with my useless tears.

I must dry it before it comes apart.

The moisture threatens to dissolve the glue holding the kimono together.

That's right! After all, it's a paper kimono.

So, he tries to dry it with the candle.

I hope it doesn't catch fire!

Finally, Izaemon's lover Yūgiri appears.

Yūgiri is the highest class of courtesan, called "keisei."

What a gorgeous costume!

Yūgiri and Izaemon hold her overrobe or "uchikake" between them.

Her high rank as a courtesan is shown by how lavish and colorful this overrobe is.

This is Izaemon's paper costume.

Here, we have Yugiri's "uchikake."

Mm, They look amazing next to each other, don't they?

I know Izaemon is very poor in the story, but it's actually a very fine costume.

Yes, he's down on his luck but still a very attractive man.

And it's actually made of fabric!

Yes, It is.

Paper just isn't durable enough, so we make it from cloth.

The design ensures that it looks like he's wearing letters.

And this is the "uchikake" reserved for high-ranking courtesans like Yugiri.

It's a famous onnagata costume.

Wow, it's so lavish.

The embroidery uses every possible technique to make it as ornate as possible.

Seasonal flowers and plants: bamboo, chrysanthemum, plum blossoms and buds.

All depicted in embroidery dynamically.

It's magnificent.

It really is.

Ebisawa-san, could you tell us more about the work that you do?

This is our workplace near Kabuki-za.

There are over ten-thousand costumes stored here.

That's an amazing amount!

When the plays are chosen, we select the costumes.

They must fit the traditions of acting families and an actor's individual preferences and physical build.

To be able to do this takes at least 10 years of experience.

Then the costumers talk with the actors to make the final decision.

Mm, I see.

The actual performances are a challenge for both the actors and the costumers.

This is the costume room at Kabuki-za.

There can be as many as 15 people working here.

All the costumes for the month are stored here.

After the play begins, we have to go to take costumes off actors after they go off stage.

We have to know the flow of the play

so that we know when to go to put costumes on actors and take them off.

Mm, I see.

Then we wipe off the sweat and stains with Benzine.

I try not to get my costume dirty, but white make-up always gets on my collar.

I'm sorry!

That's all right! We can get that all clean with Benzine.

White make-up is used in a lot of plays, so we use a lot of Benzine.

Sometimes we use so much, it erases our fingerprints!

Ugh! What a tough job!

After the costume is clean, we iron it.

If any place needs mending, we do it right there and then.

All clean now!

We put the costume in its proper place and wait for the next actor's entrance.

This is repeated for every day of performances.

The costumers are crucial to us, actors.

We really depend on them.

I actually brought our database in to show you.

These logbooks record every performance and all the costumes that were worn.

Every item worn by every role is noted down and recorded.

It's so hard to read! But you know what costumes they are.

Yes.

The terms here have been used since the Edo period, and we're used to it.

This is a precious resource!

I don't know how many books we have.

We've never counted but it's an extraordinary number.

And yes, they're our treasure hoard!

When actors ask what our predecessors wore for a role,

they always know the answer.

And this is why!

Now, let's find out about the importance of color in costume.

In a stage announcement, the actors speak directly to the audience.

All the actors wear kami-shimo, formal samurai costume, with shoulder pieces and divided skirts.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me speak.

Look at the different colors of the kami-shimo.

Ainosuke's is dark green and brown.

Nakamura Kazutarō's kami-shimo is a different shade of green.

Each acting family has a different set of colors.

What's the origin of the green and brown on your clothes, Ainosuke-san?

It's never occurred to me to ask that question!

I just knew that these were the colors used by my clan.

It's a good question.

Our name is Matsushimaya, and 'matsu' is a pine.

I guess that maybe it's the green and brown of a tree?

Mm, I see.

And what difficulties did you encounter?

Recreating the colors can be incredibly difficult.

I do remember a costume I once was asked to make.

It was for a performance by Ichimura Uzaemon the 17th.

He had his heart set on wearing 'hi-murasaki,'

which is a crimson purple dye worn by the 9th Ichikawa Danjuro.

When I did my research I discovered that this dye was made from shellfish that lived in Japan in those days.

Today they can only be found in Mexico.

I looked everywhere but wasn't able to recreate it exactly -

in the end we settled on a similar color.

I remember Uzaemon-san telling me, "This color is nowhere near that.

But I'm wearing it because we don't have time to fix it by the performance."

After the show closed I kept looking.

And eventually, about three years after Uzaemon-san died,

I found the right dye at a Kyoto specialist.

I remember bringing some thread dyed the exact right color.

Ahh, I placed it on his family altar, heh, heh, just to show him!

For a new kabuki play, the costumers design the costumes together with the actors.

Here is a new play with costumes Ainosuke helped to create.

Here, Ainosuke plays the spirit of a father bird.

The Ko-no-tori birds have been caught by the villains and are about to be killed.

Prepare to die!

Stop right there!

There is a mighty call from a distance.

A powerful hero, Yamanaka Shikanosuke, has come to rescue the family of birds.

Ainosuke has changed from the father bird to the aragoto hero in just 5 minutes.

These two costumes are a good example of ones that Ainosuke has worked with the costumers to create.

Shikanosuke really bowled me over!

Did you come up with the costume plan, Ainosuke-san?

Yes, I talked it over with wardrobe and we put together a costume based on aragoto heroes.

Mm, I see.

The rope you see on my shoulders and back is called a niō-dasuki.

Tasuki are used to tie up the sleeves and keep them out of your way.

The niō-dasuki is far too big and wide to be practical,

but it's a symbol of strength and power.

Mm, just like A superhero!

That's right.

We padded the kimono to make him look bigger and stronger as well.

I was very eager for Shikanosuke to get this costume but there's a major problem.

I only have five minutes to change out of the Kōnotori' costume and into this one.

At first, I thought it was impossible.

I also need to change my make-up and kumadori in that time too.

In just five minutes!

Five minutes! What on earth did you do?

A wardrobe person, an apprentice, and myself all practiced with a stopwatch.

We did the change over and over again.

Eventually we got it down to under five minutes!

That's amazing.

I'm very grateful to the team.

They're the ones who made it possible for me to wear this costume!

Finally, the popular kabuki dance, "The Heron Maiden."

Watch as the costume changes instantly on stage.

Sarah-san, I want you to pay close attention to the hiki-nuki where the costume changes in an instant.

Wow! That change was instant! Spectacular!

First, a white bride's costume changes into the red kimono of a commoner's daughter.

But, she actually is not a human being.

She is the spirit of a heron.

At the end, she reveals her true form.

This change is hidden behind the umbrella, but this is an instant change called, "bukkaeri."

Wow! It took just a moment!

Hikinuki and bukkaeri are techniques unique to kabuki.

Now, Sarah-san and Ebisawa-san will show us the bukkaeri technique.

How do you feel?

Like an actual spirit!

It suits you!

Really? Thank you very much.

Sarah-san is wearing a young village girl's kimono.

This is in the form of a young girl's kimono,

but it is a very pale blue and has embroidery showing herons and snow-covered branches.

The costume is whitish and has embroidery suggesting a snowy landscape.

The obi features a pattern of snowflakes.

The embroidery looks like you are focusing in on single snowflakes as they fall gently.

First, we lower the top of the outer kimono.

The underkimono drapes down in the bukkaeri.

So she changes from the color of a chaste village maiden to a passionate red of her underkimono.

In a bukkaeri, the sleeves drop off and the top drapes down.

The kimono is held together with cords with a ball on the end.

When the cords are pulled, the parts separate.

It has a different feeling already!

This is a sign of passion overcoming the demure young girl.

In the Edo period this would be impossible.

Oh dear!

It would be the equivalent of going in your underwear in public!

Oh dear!

Now let's try the bukkaeri.

Are you ready?

I'll try my best!

Allow me to pull the strings, it's my first time.

Well, I'm honored!

Ready?

Let's go!

Well done, good work!

That was fast!

How is it?

Well, I've worn casual yukata before but even those take a good 15 minutes to put on.

This happened in a flash!

It takes you by surprise, doesn't it?

Yes.

I'd love to use this technique at one of my a concerts!

I'd be delighted to oblige!

We got to see so many authentic costumes today.

I even had the chance to not only wear one of them, but to even experience bukkaeri!

So honoured!

Thank you so much for coming in to talk to us today.

I've definitely got a newfound respect for kabuki costumes.

I'm so pleased.

Our costumes for female characters are big as they're made for male actors.

Dressing a lady in them was a first for us!

I'm delighted you enjoyed the chance to see the costumes up close,

and to have had a new experience myself.

Thank you very much.

I don't think many people will have worn the costume for both Watōnai and the Heron Maiden in one day!

And I had the chance to pull the bukkaeri strings for the first time.

I've learned a great deal today.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Don't forget to visit our website.

You can find lots of information on kabuki and now you can also view video digests of our show.

Send us your questions and comments.

Sarah-san, why don't we finish as herons.

Absolutely!

Ready?

Hear ye!

That's all for today!