Kabuki has been a part of Japanese culture for nearly four centuries. The plays performed today are generally selected from a classic repertoire that gradually ceased to develop once Japan broke the chains of its isolationist policy and began the surge toward Westernization. The plays largely reflect the values of feudal Japan and they portray a world of noble samurai overcoming evil adversaries, adulterous lovers overcoming their dilemmas through double suicide; parents sacrificing their children in the name of loyalty to a superior and children giving up their lives for the sake of their parents. Though kabuki is so essential to the heritage of Japan, it still remains largely a beautiful mystery to the West. This reference provides a comprehensive guide to the world of kabuki. An extensive revision and expansion of the 1979 Kabuki Encyclopedia, this volume includes many new illustrations, a detailed index, thorough cross-referencing, expanded descriptions of plays, a bibliography of English-language and Japanese sources and 400 new entries. The entries are arranged alphabetically and the volume’s appendices include a chronological table of kabuki history, a list of all major formal play titles, a list of all variant or popular titles, genealogical charts and a list of all major actors’ stage nicknames (yago) currently in use.