Izumo no Okuni　出雲の阿国
CATEGORY:　art history / paintings
　
Purported founder of the *kabuki 歌舞伎 theatre and subject of 17c genre paintings (*fuuzokuga 風俗画). Said to be a shrine virgin (miko 巫子) of Izumo Taisha 出雲大社, she adapted the devotional dance, nembutsu odori 念仏踊り and came to Kyoto to solicit alms. In 1603 she led a troupe of women in dances and comic skits near Kitano 北野 Shrine. Her original and erotic style of dance became a huge success and was labeled "Kabuki," which derived from the late 16c colloquial expression "kabuku カブク" meaning "shocking" or "forward leaning". More specifically it was called Okuni kabuki 阿国歌舞伎. The erotic nature of this "women's kabuki" (onna kabuki 女歌舞伎), made it an easy front for prostitution. In 1629 the government banned women from performing and young men were substituted, but with the same result. The theme of Okuni kabuki appears in painting both as one element in Shijougawara-zu 四条河原図 and as the sole subject. Notable handscrolls of "Okuni kabuki" (Kyoto University, Shouchiku Ootani Library, Tokugawa Reimeikai, and Yamato Bunkakan) typically show Okuni in the clothes of a priestess (bikuni 比丘尼), wearing a bamboo hat and striking a gong suspended from her neck.
　
　

　
REFERENCES:
*kabuki-zu 歌舞伎図
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