The first thing that struck me when I watched them rehearsing was that some of the actors were women! Mainstream Kabuki theaters have only male actors, with the men playing the female roles, too. But in rural Kabuki, it seems there is nothing unusual about women playing women on the stage.

One of them, Tachibana Misaki, explained why she became an actress. "I went to high school away from Hinoemata, but came back after I graduated. That's when I decided to do something for my village. I thought, why not become an actress? It's been a great experience ever since — the makeup is fun, and we wear old-fashioned clothes we'd never wear otherwise."

The group has 32 members, and seven are in their 20s. Membership has been dropping over the last few years, although the number of young members is growing. Lots of young people leave the village for big cities, but many come back. Fewer return to the surrounding villages. Hinoemata is luckier because the roads leading to it are in better shape and it has hot springs, making it possible for the local youth to get tourism-related jobs in the area.

"As a tourist attraction, Hinoemata Kabuki is a big plus for the village. The Oze marshlands offer natural beauty, while our Kabuki offers culture. If we stopped performing for a while, it would die. We have to keep going strong and pass our traditions on to the next generation," explains Hoshi Hayato, the unofficial leader of the young members.

Masanori, the head of the group, is a little more pessimistic. "It's true we have some keen young actors, but we're having trouble finding people to take over from some of the support staff when they retire, like the hairdresser and the costume fitter. That's our main worry right now."

When Masanori joined the group almost 40 years ago, they were able to put on 30 plays. Now their repertory is down to 11 plays, mainly because they lost their tayu story chanters and their shamisen players. These days, the chanting and music come from a cassette tape.

It's hard to perpetuate traditional performing arts for future generations. But everyone in the group agrees that they want to keep alive at least the 11 plays they can now perform.

Rural Kabuki
People in some Japanese farming communities performed their own version of Kabuki plays, imitating the professional theatrical groups that began in the early 1600s. The plays were performed as entertainment, of course, and as part of local festivals. Rural Kabuki evolved in different directions, depending on the region. Today, only a few groups are still active.