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Paper short abstract

Edo-period anecdotes often portrayed female Kabuki audiences as enthusiastic yet ignorant of the art’s depth. By analyzing real and fictional images of female theatregoers, this paper traces how this long-standing prejudices arose and how women marginalized within Kabuki criticism.

Paper long abstract

Aoyagi Yūbi, a pastor and journalist, one of the collaborators of Jogaku Zasshi, Japan’s first women’s magazine, contributed an essay entitled “An Anatomy of the Psychology behind Women’s Obsession with Theatre” to Engei Gahō in 1916. In this essay, the notion that “women love theatre” is taken for granted.

This perception dates back to the Edo period and women are not portrayed merely as enthusiastic theatregoers; they are also depicted as audiences who lack a proper understanding of the artistic depth of theatrical performance. Such a perspective, for example, can be seen in Haiyū Hyakumensō (1901), a collection of anecdotes about Kabuki actors. One episode introduces a young female spectator who shouts, “Only for you, Kinokuniya-san! As long as you’re here, Danzō isn’t necessary,” while watching a performance in 1839 featuring two Kabuki stars: Sawamura Sōjurō V (Kinokuniya) and Ichikawa Danzō V. This anecdote is clearly intended to ridicule the female spectator for not realizing the appeal of Danzō, an actor known for his modest stage presence yet outstanding technical skill, earning him the nickname shibudan (“sober Danzō”).

This portrayal reflects the historically imposed role of “ignorance” assigned to female audiences, who were largely deprived of access to critical language and discourse on theatre. Yakusha hyōbanki (actor critiques), which were published continuously from the mid-17th to the late 19th century, typically depict imaginary theatre enthusiasts discussing the performances of Kabuki actors. Contrary to the widespread belief that women were avid Kabuki fans, fictional female characters were underrepresented in hyōbanki, and their comments tend to not be critical, but to be mere cheering. This tendency survived later and female critics remained marginal in the modern criticism of Kabuki in the 20th century.

This paper examines both the historical reality of female audiences in the Edo period and the images of them constructed in fictional and semi-fictional sources from the Edo period to the 20th century, including hyōbanki, novels, nishikie prints and films. By comparing these representations, it clarifies how stereotypical images of female Kabuki audiences were formed, disseminated, and sustained over time.