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Paper short abstract:

The complex interweaving of war, warrior discourse, and female-centred performances (onna mono) is explored, focusing on three related topics: the connection between onna mono and wartime, kabuki plays featuring female relatives of famous samurai as protagonists, and onna kengeki "female swordplay."

Paper long abstract:

A trajectory of female-centred performances can be traced in the history of the male-dominated traditional performing arts in Japan: from the medieval onna kusemai, onna sarugaku, onna noh to the Edo-period onna gidayū and kabuki plays like Onna Shibaraku, to onna kengeki, onna bunraku, and many more, some of them still performed today. As is obvious, all these performances, which could be termed as onna mono, are named in an identical way, signifying that they are versions of the mainstream male genres and popular kabuki characters - the opening word always denotes female gender and is followed by the name of the male "original." Generally overlooked as a mere imitation or a twist of the latter, these female-centred performances acquire different meaning when analysed from the perspective of gender and power.

This presentation explores onna mono in terms of conference themes of war and time, concentrating on three aspects. The first is the connection between onna mono and wartime / military government: the medieval genres gained popularity during the Warring States period and disappeared with the Tokugawa shogunate's ban on women performers. The late-Edo period, however, saw a resurgence of onna mono both on the kabuki stage and as various genres, which continued well into the twentieth century but almost disappeared with the rise of militarism and during the WWII. The second aspect is the conception of plays in Edo-period kabuki that featured a central female character related to a famous male hero of samurai epics - his wife or sister, or mother. These female relatives were either intentionally conceived or given a more prominent part than the one they had in the traditional narratives. For example, in the play Onna Kagekiyo not the general Taira Kagekiyo but his wife Akoya attempts to kill Minamoto Yoritomo. The third aspect is onna kengeki "female swordplay," featuring actresses, often cross-dressed, fighting and defeating male enemies. Created in the 1930s, it continued to thrive during and after the WWII unlike most of the other onna mono. The presentation explores the way in which war, samurai discourse, and female-centred performance are interrelated.

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Paper short abstract:

The Taira-Minamoto Wars (1180-1185) is the background of the kabuki play Keisei mitsu'uroko gata, which was created during a peaceful time. This presentation analyzes how Benzaiten represented the wars as a snake woman for the new year season and the promotion of female-character actors.

Paper long abstract:

The Genpei Wars (1180-1185) between the Taira and Minamoto clans is one of Japan's most famous times of turbulence, which ushered Japan into an age of warrior government. Meanwhile, the Edo period (1603-1869) was peaceful. Without domestic wars, Edo citizens reproduced the excitement of battle on stage. This paper analyzes how the wars between the Taira and the Minamoto clans were treated in the script of the kabuki play Keisei mitsu'uroko gata 傾城三鱗形 (Gorgeous Women of the Family with Three-Scaled Crest), which was first enacted during the Genroku era (1688-1704). The tales of war are mixed with several episodes where snake women appear in the play. Unlike the evil snake women in the famous tale of the Dōjōji temple, these snake women are representations of Benzaiten, the goddess of war and art.

The kabuki play Keisei mitsu'uroko gata uses the snake character of Benzaiten because it was first enacted in the first month of 1701 (Genroku 14), the new year season of a zodiac snake year. Here the snake is a good seasonal omen. Moreover, the beautiful snake goddess is an appropriate character that helps promote onnagata (female-character) actors in kabuki. The play Keisei mitsu'uroko gata was first enacted in the Yamamura-za theater, and the theater chose Hayakawa Hatsuse 早川初瀬 and Ikushima Daikichi I 初代生島大吉 to perform the snake women. The two actors were commented as the top onnagata, praised especially for their dancing and sex appeal in the actors' reviews. This paper will investigate how the goddess of war and art appeared as a snake woman against the well-known background of the Genpei War to show the mechanism Kabuki theaters used to produce commercial entertainment during the peaceful Genroku era.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper is an attempt to clarify the relationship between a worldwide phenomenon—drag queens, that is, performed crossdressing—and Japanese performing arts. The analysis is based on a comparison with taishu engeki— the Japanese popular theater which brings together the sacred and the profane.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is an attempt to clarify the relationship between a worldwide phenomenon—drag queens, that is, performed crossdressing—and Japanese traditional performing arts. The 21st century is an age where the fluidization of gender has gained wider recognition and acceptance as a social aspect that requires changes not only in laws and regulations, but also in the way we look at the world, and the way we understand and teach culture. Many research projects focus on explaining gender and gender equality in contemporary society, but the current paper (based on extensive fieldwork) has a different goal. I intend to look at the drag queen phenomenon from the perspective of performance: what is specific to Japanese drag queen shows? How do they draw from the repository of Japanese myth and ritual to create something that combines universal patterns of thought with culture-specific elements? For a better understanding of the phenomenon, a parallel will be drawn with taishu engeki— the Japanese popular theater which centers almost exclusively on crossdressing, and which is known for creating collaborative performances with drag queens and kagura troupes, on a stage where the sacred and the profane come together.