The lobby of the Kabuki-za in Higashi Ginza -- the mecca of kabuki -- was swarming with people last week, ahead of the start of this year's noryo kabuki (summer festival of kabuki).
Not only was it packed, but the air was full of excitement. Those gathered were about to witness a historic crossover: Hideki Noda -- the internationally renowned standard-bearer of modern Japanese theater -- is this month directing and dramatizing the traditional theater form for the first time.
Back in the Edo Period (1603-1867), kabuki was popular drama enjoyed by the ordinary townspeople, certainly not "high art" or the exclusive preserve of the rich and well-educated. Although some of that democratic character remains (seat prices start at 500 yen for one act), there is, equally, a trend to allot kabuki some kind of authoritative, elite cultural status.