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Kabuki

Kabuki  is the highly stylized classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing, dance , and skill . Kabuki is therefore sometimes translated as "the art of singing and dancing." These are, however, ateji characters which do not reflect actual etymology. The kanji of 'skill', however, generally refers to a performer in kabuki theatre. Since the word kabuki is believed to derive from the verb kabuku, meaning "to lean" or "to be out of the ordinary", kabuki can be interpreted as "avant-garde" or "bizarre" theatre.The expression kabukimono referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and swaggered on a street.Kabuki is the highly stylized classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.

There are three main categories of kabuki play: jidai-mono ( historical, or pre-Sengoku period stories), sewa-mono ( domestic, or post-Sengoku stories), and shosagoto (dance pieces).

Jidaimono, or history plays, were often set within the context of major events in Japanese history. Strict censorship laws were in place almost throughout the entire Edo period, prohibiting the representation of contemporary events and particularly prohibiting criticism of the shogunate or casting the shogunate in a bad light. Strict as the word of the law may have been, however, the strictness of enforcement varied greatly over the years. Most jidaimono, set in the context of the Genpei War of the 1180s, the Nanboku-chō Wars of the 1330s, or other historical events, actually used these historical settings, and the events and historical figures within them, as thinly veiled metaphors for contemporary events. Kanadehon Chūshingura, one of the most famous plays in the kabuki repertoire, serves as an excellent example; it is ostensibly set in the 1330s, though it actually depicts the contemporary (18th century) affair of the revenge of the 47 Ronin.

Unlike jidaimono which generally focused upon the samurai class, sewamono focused primarily upon commoners, namely townspeople and peasants. Often referred to as "domestic plays" in English, sewamono generally related to themes of family drama and romances. Some of the most famous sewamono are likely the love suicide plays, adapted from works by the bunraku playwright Chikamatsu; these center on romantic couples who cannot be together in life due to various circumstances and who therefore decide to be together in death instead. Many if not most sewamono contain significant elements of this theme of societal pressures and limitations.

Important characteristics of kabuki include the mie , in which the actor holds a picturesque pose to establish his character.At this point his house name (yagō,) is sometimes heard in loud shout (kakegoe,) from an expert audience member, serving both to express and enhance the audience's appreciation of the actor's achievement. An even greater complement can be paid by shouting the name of the actor's father. Keshō, kabuki makeup, provides an element of style easily recognizable even by those unfamiliar with the art form. Rice powder is used to create the white oshiroi base, and kumadori enhances or exaggerates facial lines to produce dramatic animal or supernatural masks for the actors. The color of the kumadori is an expression of the character's nature: red lines are used to indicate passion, heroism, righteousness, and other positive traits; blue or black, villainy, jealousy, and other negative traits; green, the supernatural; and purple, nobility.

From TV to politics, Japanese woman blazes a trail

The candidate is young, female and half-Taiwanese ― perhaps not the best recipe for political success in Japan, where ancestry matters and women are accustomed to a back seat. Yet the former TV personality known to all as Renho has become the boost the ruling party needs for next month's parliamentary election.

Her Democratic Party swept to power last year, ousting the long-ruling conservatives and promising to reverse a chronic economic and social malaise. But the Democrats quickly ran into ethical issues and a dispute over relocating a U.S. military base that forced a change of prime minister. A poor showing in the upper house election on July 11 would hamper their push for reforms.

Campaigning for the elections opens Thursday, and Renho ― she goes by one name ― is fighting to keep hers ― not that anyone expects her to lose.

Last fall she won a reputation for toughness by grilling bureaucrats during televised showdowns over government-funded programs seen as money-wasters.

When new Prime Minister Naoto Kan named his Cabinet this month, he chose her to lead the fat-cutting battle as his minister of administrative reforms. It was an unusual honor for someone with only six years' experience as a lawmaker. She also is the youngest in a Cabinet where the average age is 59.

"She is the cheerleader for the Kan Cabinet," said Takehiko Yamamoto, international politics professor at Waseda University.

Renho's office said she was too busy campaigning to give an interview.

Born Hsieh Lien-fang to a Japanese mother and Taiwanese father, Renho took Japanese citizenship in 1985 while in high school.

"As a child, I was raised to speak up and voice my opinion," she wrote in her latest book.

At 20, while at college in Tokyo, she won a contract to model in ads for the audio company Clarion. Then she appeared on TV variety shows and became a talk show host and newscaster. In 1995 she moved to Beijing to study Chinese, and was elected to the upper house in 2004.

The mother of teenage twins ― a daughter and a son ― she is married to a Japanese surnamed Murata, and Renho is the Japanese version of her first name. Her hallmarks are white jackets and short, stylishly coifed hair.

The Democrats' ouster of the Liberal Democratic Party in September was heralded as Japan's political revolution, but the new rulers soon ran into trouble. Yukio Hatoyama, who led the party to victory, had to quit as prime minister this month over a money scandal and a diplomatic dispute with the U.S., and the party's No. 2 official also resigned over funding questions.

So with polls indicating that voters are unsure whether the party deserves another sweeping mandate, the Democrats are happy to have Renho step into the spotlight.

Top US Commander in Afghanistan Resigns

U.S. President Barack Obama accepted the resignation Wednesday of his top commander in Afghanistan, Army General Stanley McChrystal, and named General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command to replace him.

After more than a day of suspense in Washington, President Obama announced that he accepted McChrystal's resignation.

"I did so with considerable regret, but also with certainty that it is the right thing for our mission in Afghanistan, for our military and for our country," he said.

Mr. Obama had ordered the commander to return to Washington from Afghanistan to explain a series of comments in Rolling Stone magazine by McChrystal and members of his staff.  They were quoted as mocking Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser James Jones and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, among others.  Neither McChrystal nor his aides questioned the quotes or the accuracy of the story.

The president said dismissing the commander was the right decision.

"The conduct represented in the recently-published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general.  It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system.  And it erodes the trust that is necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan," said the president.

The president said he is nominating Army General David Petraeus, to replace McChrystal as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.  

Mr. Obama reassured Americans and allies that bringing in General Petraeus represents a change in personnel, not a change in policy.

"He both supported and helped design the strategy that we have in place," he said.  "In his current post at Central Command, he has worked closely with our forces in Afghanistan, he has worked closely with Congress, he has worked closely with the Afghan and Pakistan governments, and with all our partners in the region," he added.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other top Afghan officials had expressed confidence in McChrystal and hoped that he would not be removed.