Onnagata, Otokoyaku, and the Ambiguous Idol

Onnagata, Otokoyaku, and the Ambiguous Idol: Gender Performance on the Japanese Stage Vanessa Gabriella East The Kabuki Onnagata Abstract •Kabuki (歌舞伎)– “art of singing and In her analysis of Japanese concepts of identity, Takie Sugiyama Lebra suggests that social behavior dancing”/ “avant-garde”; all-male traditional genre in Japan is “characterized by linguistic, spatial, and bodily ‘wrapping’ of self—that is, presentation of Japanese theatre of an acceptable and appropriate ‘package’ to the outside world .” This “wrapping” is strongly 女方 •onnagata ( )– “female archetype”; reflected in the language and social rules of Japan, and has a particularly powerful effect on the male player of female roles in Kabuki expression of one’s gender identity. Kabuki was first performed in Japan by a band of women led by the shrine maiden Okuni. However, women were I suggest that the elements of gender play and gender crossing present in Kabuki, the Takarazuka banned from the stage only 26 years later due to the Revue, and visual kei performances acts as a dramatic reflection of the acts of self-wrapping ruckus it caused among audience members, including performed by average Japanese in the enacting of the gender identity they show the world each high-ranking samurai and holy men, and accusations of day, whether or not that identity is an exact reflection of how they perceive themselves. prostitution. As a result, it fell upon men to play both male and female roles, and the profession of onnagata, based on 17th century ideals for women’s behavior. Since I also propose that an important aspect of the appeal of these three performance forms is the then, all-male performances have become characteristic aesthetic of androgyny present in each, and that this androgyny gives audiences a vicarious of Kabuki as a traditional genre, and the training of opportunity to explore gender possibilities outside the ascribed societal binary. In this way, the onnagata has become formalized and specialized, onnagata, the otokoyaku, and the visual kei performer serve to affirm the presence of the feminine involving contortion-like methods to make the body look in the man, the masculine in the woman, and the fluid nature of both in each individual. small and elegant. The Takarazuka Otokoyaku •Takarazuka Kagekidan (宝塚歌劇団)-- “Takarazuka opera troupe”; all-female genre of Japanese musical theatre •otokoyaku (男役)– “male role”; female player of male “Most of us feel trapped within the limited roles that roles in the Takarazuka Revue the world expects us to play. We are instantly attracted The Takarazuka Revue was originally created as an all- female choir by the president of a railway company in to those who are more fluid than we are…. order to increase the number of passengers traveling from Osaka to the city of Takarazuka in 1913. Soon after, [Androgynous individuals] excite us because they the choir began to expand their repertoire to Western- style operetta, and over time training for the otokoyaku cannot be categorized, and hint at a freedom we want role was refined to include physical, vocal, and linguistic techniques to emulate male characters without entirely for ourselves. They play with masculinity and femininity; losing the performer’s femininity. This combination creates a degree of androgyny in the otokoyaku, both on they fashion their own physical image, which is always and off stage: when representing the Revue in public appearances and interviews, offstage otokoyaku combine startling.” – Robert Greene both masculine and feminine elements to simultaneously maintain their personas for the fans and uphold the wholesome and ladylike reputation of the Revue itself. Selected Bibliography The Visual Kei Performer Kawatake, Toshio. Japan on Stage: Japanese Concepts of Beauty as Shown in Traditional Japanese Theatre. Tokyo: 3A •Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系)– “visual style”; sub-genre of Corporation, 1990. Japanese rock music culture, often compared to Western Kominz, Laurence R. The Stars Who Created Kabuki: Their Lives, Loves, and Legacy. New York: Kodansha International, 1998. glam-rock, characterized by strong visual statements and Kondo, Dorinne K. Crafting Selves: Power, Gender, and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace. Chicago: University of an androgynous aesthetic, many groups including an Chicago Press, 1990. element of cross-dressing in performances Lebra, Takie Sugiyama. The Japanese Self in Cultural Logic. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2004. Mezur, Katherine. Beautiful Boys/Outlaw Bodies: Devising Kabuki Female-Likeness. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Visual kei is a very recent phenomenon, having first Nakamura, Karen and Matsuo, Hisako. "Female masculinity and fantasy spaces: transcending genders in the Takarazuka broken through from the indie world to the Japanese Theatre and Japanese popular culture." Men and Masculinities in Contemporary Japan: Dislocating the Salaryman mainstream in the 1980s, and then hitting its stride in the Doxa. Ed. James E. Roberson and Nobue Suzuki. New York: Routledge Publishing, 2002. mid-nineties. Over time, the genre has branched off into Ramet, Sabrina Petra. Gender Reversals and Gender Cultures: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives. London: various and distinct styles that appeal to different tastes, Routledge Publishing, 1996. such as Gothic, fashionable, Western, historical, and Robertson, Jennifer. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Berkeley: University of California extreme. In some cases, performers who engage in Press, 1998. gender-crossing on stage will opt to speak as little as Stickland, Leonie. Gender Gymnastics: Performing and Consuming Japan’s Takarazuka Revue. Victoria, Australia: Trans Pacific possible, so as not to break the illusion. The chief goal of Press, 2008. many visual kei groups is to create a fantasy world for Yun, Josephine. Jrock, Ink: A Concise Report on 40 of the Biggest Rock Acts in Japan. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 2005. their audiences and fans. A special thanks to Sonia Ryang for her help this semester. .

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