Shinosuke Nakamura and his friend, Kyoju Nakamura, walk into a cafe near the Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo in jeans and stylish jackets, just like any other young men in their 20s. But when they return to work, they are serious kabuki actors dressed in kimono and performing plays that date back as far as four centuries.
"I think people who have not really watched kabuki before tend to have a biased view of kabuki actors. Of course, I was like that, too, in the past," 28-year-old Shinosuke said, laughing. "But really, we are just ordinary people like everyone else."
Kyoju, 23, chimed in: "Watching kabuki is just like going to the movies, so people shouldn't feel they have to get all dressed up in formal attire to come see kabuki. It's entertainment."