Hana-gumi Shibai was founded in 1987 by Yukikazu Kano, who was trained in kabuki and felt that indigenous Japanese theatrical forms could maintain their uniqueness whilst also embracing the new and different. The troupe performs original plays written by its director, based on kabuki scripts and accompanied by both traditional and western music; the director calls this theatre nouveau kabuki. All performers are male actors, trained on the kabuki stage, who perform both male and female roles.