Q 01/05

Kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo performed to jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara at the opening ceremony of which event?

A) The Rugby World Cup

B) The Tokyo Olympics

C) The Osaka World Expo

D) The FIFA World Cup

Answer · why

B) The Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics opened in 2021 with Ebizo as the swaggering hero of the classic Shibaraku, in a segment intended to dispel negative energy.

Q 02/05

Which film saga was staged as a one-night kabuki play in Tokyo in 2019, with Ichikawa Ebizo as its villain?

A) Harry Potter

B) The Lord of the Rings

C) The Avengers

D) Star Wars

Answer · why

D) Star Wars

Star Wars Kabuki cast Ebizo as Kylo Ren and replayed scenes from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, staged weeks before The Rise of Skywalker brough...

Q 03/05

Kabuki is dated to 1603, the year which warlord became shogun?

A) Tokugawa Ieyasu

B) Oda Nobunaga

C) Toyotomi Hideyoshi

D) Minamoto no Yoritomo

Answer · why

A) Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu took the title in 1603 and ruled from Edo. His grandson Iemitsu, the third shogun, banned women from the kabuki stage in 1629.

Q 04/05

In which city did Okuni's troupe give the first kabuki performances?

A) Nara

B) Edo

C) Osaka

D) Kyoto

Answer · why

D) Kyoto

Kyoto was then the imperial capital, and the craze spread fast: Okuni was soon invited to dance at court, and rival troupes sprang up to copy her.

Q 05/05

What do the three kanji of the word kabuki mean?

A) Sing, dance and skill

B) Mask, drum and story

C) Face, robe and sword

D) Song, spirit and shrine

Answer · why

A) Sing, dance and skill

Sing, dance and skill are characters chosen later for their sound. The word itself is thought to come from a verb for behaving outlandishly, first app...