The Miko, Okuni

 

 

 

Kabuki was created in 1603, by Okuni, a "miko", young woman at the service of the Izumo Taisha Shrine, the oldest and second most important temple of Japan.

Okuni, gathered female dancers and singers, to perform dance drama in the dry bed of the river Kamo-gawa in Kyoto.

Kamo-Gawa River in Kyoto

At that very beginning, only women were on stage, playing both the male and female roles. This theater was inspired by sensual popular dances called Furyù-ô-odori and Nembu-odori.

This way of doing theatre was quite innovative, or at least considered as "to be out of the ordinary way" , in Japanese "Kabuki".

Kabuki became rapidly popular.

The actresses, were often available for prostitution, the Shogun decided in 1629 to ban the women from the theater stage. Young men took over the female roles, they were called wakashu, but some of these teenagers, were also involved in affairs, and they were banned in 1652. From that date, the kabuki is played by mature male coming from the Kyogen of the Nô theater and called the yaro-kabuki. The female characters (onnagata) were played by specialized male actors.

Art & Culture of Japan