Onnagata

Male actors who impersonate women in Japanese kabuki theatre Sagimusume (Heron Maiden) dance performed by onnagata Akifusa Guraku in 2011 Onnagata (女形/女方, lit. 'female role'), also oyama (女形, lit. 'female form'), are male actors who play female roles in kabuki theatre. The practice originated in 1629 after women were banned from performing in kabuki performances. There are many specific techniques that actors must learn to master the role of onnagata. History Edo Period In the early 17th century, shortly after the emergence of the genre, many kabuki theaters had an all-female cast (onna kabuki, or kabukimono), with women playing men's roles as necessary. Wakashū kabuki ('adolescent-boy kabuki'), with a cast composed entirely of young men playing both male and female roles, and frequently dealing in erotic themes, originated circa 1612. The role of the onnagata was shaped during the Edo period as an expression of femininity that was meant to align with the femininity of real women in Edo society. Both onnagata and wakashū (or wakashū-gata), actors specializing in adolescent female roles (and usually adolescents themselves), were the subject of much appreciation by bot