aragoto

{{short description|Style of acting in kabuki theatre}}

{{distinguish|Arigatō (disambiguation)}}

{{Italic title}}

Image:Ichikawa Danjuro Ⅷ.jpg in the lead role in {{Transliteration|ja|Shibaraku}}, a role considered definitive of the {{Transliteration|ja|aragoto}} style. Ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kunisada.]]

{{nihongo||荒事|Aragoto}}, or 'rough style',{{Cite book|title=Japanese Classical Theater in Films|last=McDonald|first=Keiko I.|date=1994|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|isbn=0838635024|location=Rutherford|pages=43}} is a style of kabuki acting that uses exaggerated, dynamic {{Transliteration|ja|kata}} (forms or movements) and speech. {{Transliteration|ja|Aragoto}} roles are characterised by the bold red or blue makeup ({{Transliteration|ja|kumadori}}) worn by actors, as well as their enlarged and padded costumes.{{cite web |url=http://www.kabuki21.com/glossaire_1.php#aragoto |title=Aragoto in Kabuki Glossary |access-date=2007-03-05 |work=Kabuki21.com | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070219214222/http://www.kabuki21.com/glossaire_1.php| archive-date= 19 February 2007 | url-status= live}} The term {{Transliteration|ja|"aragoto"}} is an abbreviation of the term {{Transliteration|ja|"aramushagoto"}}, which literally means "wild-warrior style".{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KClyAgAAQBAJ&dq=aragoto+style+aramushagoto&pg=PT40|title=Kabuki a Pocket Guide|last=Cavaye|first=Ronald|date=2012-07-09|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=9781462903993}}

The {{Transliteration|ja|aragoto}} style was created and pioneered by Ichikawa Danjūrō I,{{Cite book|title=Post-Narratology Through Computational and Cognitive Approaches|last1=Takashi|first1=Ogata|last2=Taisuke|first2=Akimoto|date=2019|publisher=IGI Global|isbn=9781522579809|location=Hershey, PA|pages=203}} a kabuki actor in the Edo period (1603-1867), and has come to be epitomized by his successors in the Ichikawa Danjūrō line of kabuki actors. Roles such as the leads in {{Transliteration|ja|Sukeroku}} and {{Transliteration|ja|Shibaraku}} are particularly representative of the style. {{Transliteration|ja|Aragoto}} is often contrasted with the {{Transliteration|ja|wagoto}} ("soft" or "gentle") style, which emerged around the same time but focuses on more naturalistic drama. It is also contrasted with {{Transliteration|ja|onnagata}} or "female-like style".{{Cite book|title=Beautiful Boys/Outlaw Bodies: Devising Kabuki Female-Likeness|last=Mezur|first=K.|date=2005|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781349529919|location=New York|pages=30}}