Short answers, pulled from the story.
Izumo no Okuni founded kabuki theater in 1603 by forming a troupe of young female dancers to perform dance drama in the dry bed of the Kamo River in Kyoto. The performances quickly became popular among common people in Edo and Kyoto before authorities banned all female performers from the stage in 1629.
UNESCO proclaimed kabuki an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value in 2005 and inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity later that same year. Statues honoring founder Izumo no Okuni stand at bridges crossing the Kamo River in Kyoto since November 2002.
Three main categories define kabuki plays as jidaimono history dramas, sewamono domestic stories, and shosagoto dance pieces. Jidaimono often used historical events as metaphors for contemporary political issues while sewamono focused on commoners facing family drama or romantic tragedies and shosagoto emphasized pure dance with minimal dialogue.
Kabuki stages evolved significantly between 1716 and 1735 when the revolving stage developed to allow scenes to rotate smoothly beneath actors. Stagehands dressed entirely in black moved props quickly while remaining invisible to audiences and trap doors enabled actors to rise from below or descend into hidden compartments.
Tokyo's Kabuki-za began year-round performances in 1991 and started marketing cinema films in 2005. UNESCO proclaimed kabuki an intangible heritage possessing outstanding universal value in 2005 and inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity later that same year.