Kabuki

Engraving
Performance by Kabuki actors posed in imitation of sumo wrestlers
Japan, Meiji Period (1868-1912)
Print on paper
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

The17th exhibition of the Fondation Pierre Berge – Yves Saint Laurent is devoted to the Japanese Theatre costumes, known as Kabuki. The exhibition is the first of its kind ever held in Paris and features a wide selection of beautiful costumes from the Shôchiku Costume accompanied by accessories, engravings, photographs and documentary footage, offering a full analysis of this great Japanese dramatic art.

The exhibition will last by July 15, 2012

Woman’s ceremonial costume (uchikake) decorated with motifs from the Japanese New Year
(kadomatsu, or ‘pine tree of the threshold,’ and shimekazari, ‘decorative rope’) and worn by the
character, Miuraya Agemaki, in the production, Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura (Sukeroku, The Flower
of Edo)
Japan, 1970
Embroidered satin silk and gold thread – 175 cm x 160 cm
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Man’s ceremonial costume with large sleeves (suô) and pants (hakama) worn by the character, Kamakura Gongoro
Kagemasa, in the production, Shibaraku (Stop a Moment!)
Japan, 1980s
Hemp, cotton, taffeta and silk satin damask, tinted with a khaki base – 175x160 cm
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Short coat (haori) and kimono (kitsuke) with motif depicting pine trees under the snow worn by the character,
Matsuo (King of the Pine Trees), in the production, Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami
(Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy)
Japan, 1940s
Damask silk satin and embroidery – 175x160 cm
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Woman’s ceremonial costume (uchikake) decorated with weeping cherry tree blossoms and the drum worn by the
character, Miuraya Agemaki, in the production, Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura (Sukeroku, The Flower of Edo)
Japan, 1980s
Silk crepe with red embroidery and gold thread – 175 x 160 cm
© Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Pair of shoes (geta) worn by the character, Miuraya Agemaki, in the
production, Sukeroku Yokari no Edo Zakura (Sukeroku, The Flower of Edo)
Japan, 2008
Igusa rushes, lacquered paulownia wood, velvet – 16.5 cm x 8 cm x 13.5 cm
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Short coat (haori) and kimono (kitsuke) with motif
depicting swallows under the rain worn by the character,
Nagoya Sanza, for the production, Saya-até (The Rivals)
Japan, 1970s
Satin with tinted and painted silk taffeta, embroidery –
175x160 cm
©Shôchiku Costume Co, Ltd, Tokyo

Images courtesy of the Fondation Pierre Berge - Yves Saint Laurent