Edo Kabuki in Transition: From the Worlds of the Samurai to the Vengeful Female Ghost

Satoko Shimazaki revisits three centuries of kabuki theater and its dynamic representations of medieval Japanese tales and tradition, boldly reframing Edo kabuki as a key player in the formation of an early modern urban identity. Challenging the common understanding of kabuki as a subversive entertainment and a threat to shogunal authority, Shimazaki argues that kabuki actually instilled a sense of shared history in Edo's inhabitants, regardless of their class.

Satoko Shimazaki revisits three centuries of kabuki theater and its representations of medieval Japanese tales and tradition, reframing Edo kabuki as a key player in the formation of an early modern urban identity. Challenging the common understanding of kabuki as subversive, Shimazaki argues that kabuki instilled a sense of shared history.