Alphabet Inspired-K is for Kabuki

Is anyone else having trouble uploading images to Blogger. I can't do two at a time any more; sometimes I get a "cannot display the website" message in the upload window; and I have to upload the dame file twice to get it to appear in the post...[sigh]

Anyway, here is # 11 in the alphabet inspired series--K is for Kabuki.

Kabuki (歌舞伎, 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 history of kabuki began in 1603 when Okuni of Izumo began performing a new style of dance drama in the dry riverbeds of Kyoto during the Edo period. Female performers played both men and women in comic playlets about ordinary life. The style was popular instantly and rival troupes quickly formed, and kabuki was born as ensemble dance and drama performed by women—a form very different from its modern incarnation. Much of its appeal in this era was due to the ribald, suggestive performances put on by many troupes.

Women’s kabuki, called onna-kabuki, was banned from the stage in 1629 for being too erotic. Following onna-kabuki, young boys performed in wakashu-kabuki, but the shogun government soon banned wakashu-kabuki because of prostitution. Kabuki finally settled with adult male actors, called yaro-kabuki in the mid 1600’s. Male actors played both female and male characters. The theatre was as popular as ever, and remained the entity of the urban lifestyle even until modern times.

Today, kabuki remains relatively popular—it is the most popular of the traditional styles of Japanese drama—and its star actors often appear in television or film roles. For example, the well-known onnagata Bandō Tamasaburō V has appeared in several (non-kabuki) plays and movies, often in a female role. Kabuki is also referenced in works of Japanese popular culture such as anime. (from Wikipedia)

Photograph of 19th Century Kabuki actor from the Peabody Essex Museum collection
Background made with a piece from JoesSistah at T4L.
The foliage is a PS brush set called Japanese1 by Darkgarden from Deviantart.
All were altered with filters, layer styles and blending modes.