Meet the Woman Who Invented Kabuki
Discovering Izumo no Okuni through travel and reading
The image of a kabuki dancer sporting an exaggerated facial expression in heavy makeup is perhaps one of the most widely-known icons of Japan. As is the fact that most roles in kabuki performances, including those of female characters, are performed by men.
Ironically, however, the founder of kabuki was a woman called Izumo no Okuni 出雲阿国 (Okuni of Izumo). Few concrete historical records detail her life, but those that do exist create a compelling story.
Okuni and kabuki
It is said that Izumo no Okuni was a shrine maiden of Izumo Taisha Shrine sometime in the late 16th century. To earn alms for the shrine, she traveled to Kyoto in the early 17th century and performed dances for money.
As Okuni performed, she began modifying her style of dancing, creating a new performing art that captured the attention of common people and nobles alike. Some records indicate that she even danced at Edo Castle.
Soon, other troupes of female dancers started imitating Okuni’s style, and this evolved into kabuki.
However, in 1629 an official decree from the shogunate banned women from participating in this new performing art. The reason cited for this ban was a corruption of public morality — it was believed that female kabuki dancers were using the art to promote prostitution.
Whether this corruption of morality was actually a problem or not, the decree succeeded in barring female performers. From then, kabuki became a man’s world.
Even though the ban on women performing kabuki was technically lifted in the 19th century, the established norm of male-only performances has been difficult to change, and today it is still mostly men who perform kabuki professionally.
As for Okuni, it is said that she returned to Izumo later in life and became a Buddhist nun.
Okuni according to Sawako Ariyoshi
In short, the story of Izumo no Okuni is usually summarized as such: she invented kabuki, but then women were banned from performing it.
Little else is known for certain about Okuni due to the aforementioned lack of historical records concerning her. Okuni’s birth date, death date, and even whether she was really a shrine maiden or not is debatable.
To know more about who Okuni might have been, artists such as the novelist Sawako Ariyoshi have attempted to imagine Okuni’s life based on what information does exist.
Sawako Ariyoshi’s novel Kabuki Dancer is a fictional account that follows Okuni from her arrival in Kyoto to the end of her life.
Throughout the novel, readers can glimpse why kabuki was such a revolution in the arts when it first came to be. Not only was it radically different from other performing styles such as noh, but Okuni and her troupe of dancers were also able to transcend strict social class codes by making a living through performing.
Additionally, this novel details areas of Shimane Prefecture that are still visible today such as the Hiikawa River of Izumo and the Tatara Ironworks of Okuizumo. Visitors to Shimane may particularly be interested in Ariyoshi’s novel because of Okuni’s descriptions of her hometown.
Visiting Okuni in Izumo
Even though Okuni’s date of death is not known, a cemetery near Izumo Taisha houses her grave. Anyone visiting Izumo Taisha only needs to walk a short way to pay their respects to the founder of kabuki.
Near this grave is a temple where personal belongings of Okuni are said to be kept.
Further away, at the bottom of the street leading to Izumo Taisha is a statue of Okuni, complete with an explanation about what is believed to be true about her life in Izumo.
Even though kabuki today looks different from what Okuni created, her hometown remembers her story and preserves her memory.
