The Truth of Gensokyo Kabuki

Kabuki is a traditional Japanese performance art dating back to the 17th century during the Edo Period, combining dance, drama, and music with elaborate makeup, costumes, and sets. In the Drillimation Danmaku Universe, Gensokyo Kabuki is a regional variant that differs greatly from its original Japanese counterpart.

Kabuki was brought in from Japan to Yakumoshi during the Edo Period before Sakoku was enacted. This was during its early form when it was all women who performed. After the Sakoku policy was enacted which involved the form transitioning to its present-day all-male form, local governments across the Gensokyo continent began enacting laws on who could perform. Some regional variations of Gensokyo Kabuki allowed women to perform, others not.

Like in Japan, female bans were enacted in some jurisdictions on the continent because after performances, women would offer services to male patrons who could afford it; this became a common front for prostitution and fights would occasionally erupt. It wouldn’t be until after the establishment of the Federal Kingdom of Gensokyo in 1702 that the kingdom would revitalize Gensokyo Kabuki in all provinces that were members of the kingdom.

In 1718, the constitution of the Federal Kingdom of Gensokyo was amended for the first time, and despite some backlash from a female performer in Gairai (located southwest of Kozankyo) who was also an admin of the Gensokyo Socialite Order, women were allowed to perform in Gensokyo Kabuki regardless of which branch they were associated with.

For the duration of the Federal Kingdom of Gensokyo’s existence, Gensokyo Kabuki has been one of the main forms of entertainment for both urban and rural residents in the kingdom, as well as Gensokyo diaspora. While Japanese plays remained popular even before the Meiji Restoration, the vast majority of them are set in the Edo Period and earlier, whether traditional or rewritten.