Review
“New Kabuki Encyclopedia is completely revised and expanded; the increase in number of entries (about one-third) is impressive, but it is the expansion in entry content that is truly magnificent.... The entries themselves are clearly written, accessible to specialists and nonspecialists alike. The text is profusely illustrated with photographs and line drawings....[T]ruly the most comprehensive reference work on Kabuki in English... it belongs in all academic and research libraries serving Japanese and theater studies.”–Choice
“Leiter's new work is a substantial revamping of his earlier tome: a considerable amount of material has been added, and the format has been altered.”–References and Services Quarterly
“[T]his massive, important volume is far more than a "revision" of Leiter's earlier effort. Over ninety-five percent of the 1979 Kabuki Encyclopedia has been completely rewritten, and extensive new material has been added. The result is a clear, nearly exhaustive study of one of the world's most significant theater genres....The book is of tremendous value not only to those interested in kabuki, but to anyone seeking spirited details about daily life in the Edo period....Every library with Japanese materials ought to have a copy of this outstanding work.”–Asian Thought and Society An International Review
“Leiter's new work is a substantial revamping of his earlier tome: a considerable amount of material has been added, and the format has been altered.”–
“[T]his massive, important volume is far more than a "revision" of Leiter's earlier effort. Over ninety-five percent of the 1979 Kabuki Encyclopedia has been completely rewritten, and extensive new material has been added. The result is a clear, nearly exhaustive study of one of the world's most significant theater genres....The book is of tremendous value not only to those interested in kabuki, but to anyone seeking spirited details about daily life in the Edo period....Every library with Japanese materials ought to have a copy of this outstanding work.”–
Product Description
Kabuki has been a part of Japanese culture for nearly four centuries. This revision of the 1979 Kabuki Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive reference source on Japan's kabuki theatre in any language other than Japanese. The present volume, a massive updating and expansion of the original, includes many new illustrations, a lengthy and detailed index, thorough cross-referencing, greatly expanded descriptions of plays, an extensive bibliography of English-language and Japanese sources, and more than 400 new entries. A major feature is the inclusion of Japanese characters for all main entry terms, titles, and names. The entries are arranged alphabetically, and the volume's appendices include a chronological table of kabuki history, a list of all major or formal play titles, a list of all variant or popular titles, genealogical charts, and a list of all major actors' stage nicknames (yago) currently in use.
