About This Print
An untitled and undated print of a dance performance. The dancer on the left may be portraying the legendary Izumo no Okuni 出雲の阿国, the woman who founded kabuki in the early 17th century. On the right is her attendant.
Izumo no Okuni
Source: website Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (JAANUS) website http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/i/izumonookuni.htm
"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 in Shimane prefecture, she adapted the devotional dance, nenbutsu 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 Tenmanguu 北野天満宮. 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."
Detail from the "Okuni Kabuki Screen" an Important Cultural Property
held by the Kyoto National Museum and dating from the 17th century.
| IHL Catalog | #1973 |
| Title or Description | untitled Odori (dance) |
| Series | |
| Artist | Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972) |
| Signature |  |
| Seal | 紫 "shi" seal (see above) |
| Publication Date | unknown |
| Publisher | unknown |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | excellent |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Genre | shin hanga (new prints) |
| Format | oban |
| H x W Paper | 9 1/2 x 14 5/16 in. (24.1 x 36.4 cm) |
| H x W Image | |
| Collections This Print | |
| Reference Literature | |
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