Kabuki’s Nineteenth Century: Stage and Print in Early Modern Edo by Jonathan E. ZwickerMatsuba Ryōko

Excerpt

In early modern Japan, kabuki emerged as the preeminent form of theatrical expression among the performing arts. Closely connected with the popularity of kabuki were a wealth of ephemera including theater programs (banzuke), actor prints, illustrated books, and maps. Jonathan E. Zwicker’s recent book, Kabuki’s Nineteenth Century: Stage and Print in Early Modern Edo, explores these materials—including their dissemination, the conceptual space they occupied, their authorship, and their preservation as historical documents. His study is particularly informed by the perspective of Japanese author, critic, and playwright Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859–1935), and thus the book can be seen as fostering a dialogue between scholars spanning three centuries.