kabuki
nounUS /kəˈbuːki/ · UK /kəˈbuːkiː/
Etymology Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
1
Capitalized, Often A form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies.
- Despite its self-consciously assumed irreverence toward traditional practices, “Hokaibo” incorporates all the essential elements of classic Kabuki: the all-male company of actors, exaggerated makeup, the stomping dances, the arresting, cross-eyed poses at moments of high drama that are recognized and applauded.2007 July 19, Charles Isherwood, “Guilty Pleasures of Comic Kabuki”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 09 Mar 2021:
- Ichikawa, whose real name is Takahiko Kinoshi, made his kabuki debut in 1980 and went on to become one of the country’s most renowned performers.2023 June 27, AFP, “Japanese kabuki actor arrested for allegedly assisting in his mother’s suicide”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Jul 2023:
2
US, Broadly, Figuratively A stylized, pretentious, and often hollow performance; (especially) political posturing.
- The whole "weapons of mass destruction" concern was phony from the start, and the drama about inspections was just kabuki: going through the motions.2005 June 12, Michael Kinsley, “No Smoking Gun”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 12 Dec 2024:
- Health care reform recently brought Kabuki to mind for both Rush Limbaugh—“what you have here is ‘Kabuki theater’”—and New York Times columnist Frank Rich: “[I]f I were to place an incautious bet on which political event will prove the most significant of February 2010, I wouldn’t choose the kabuki health care summit.”2010 March 14, Jon Lackman, “It’s Time To Retire Kabuki: The word doesn’t mean what pundits think it does”, in Slate, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2020:
1 more example
- The boy tells her she will find iPhone chargers if she takes five steps back. Here the performance shifts from mere stiltedness to a kind of hateful Kabuki, an affected defiance of how people naturally act: She walks backward, counting her steps, then turns and slaps her forehead.2020 January 29, Dan Brooks, “Comedy Written for the Machines”, in New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 08 Jul 2020:
- Derived terms
- kabuki brush, kabuki dance, kabukiesque, kabuki makeup syndrome, kabuki play, kabuki syndrome, kabuki theater, kabuki theatre