www.argument-journal.eu Published online: 21.12.2015 * Curator of the Far Eastern Art Department of the National Museum in Krakow, Poland. E ‐mail: beor@wp.pl. ArguMENt Vol. 5 (1/2015) pp. 127–133 e ‐ISSN 2084 –1043 ISSN 2083 –6635 Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender in woodblock prints of the Edo Period Beata rOMANOWICZ* ABStrACt the connection between Kabuki theatre and Japanese woodblock prints of the Edo period (1603 –1868), especially in their portraits of actors called yakusha-‐e, offers an exceptional op‐ portunity to analyse perceptions of the sex of the actor: as the hero of the drama, as well as the character performed on the stage. Both phenomena flourished in the Edo period and had a crucial impact on the visual art of the time, inspiring pictures of the Floating World (Jap. Ukiyo-‐e). the images on Ukiyo-‐e woodblock prints serve as a pretext for approaching the matter of whether to portray an actor as a performer (a man) or as the character performed by him (which could also be a woman, as in the case of the onnagata-actor). the author focuses on the actors' identification with their own sex (only men appeared on the Kabuki stage) and on cases of breaking the convention between the real actor and his stage emploi. In the first part, the paper discusses the historical background of Kabuki theatre, which was invented by a wom‐ an (Izumo ‐no Okuni) and then after a few government edicts, was allowed to be performed on the stage only by adult men. Since the Kabuki tradition has successfully continued until today, apart from surveys of theatrical archives, the author supports her arguments by also referring to contemporary phenomena, especially the Kabuki performances she has watched in Japan (in such theatres as: Kabuki ‐za, Minami ‐za, the National theatre in tokyo, and Zenshin ‐za), and through interviews with actors and people of the theatre. In parallel, Ukiyo-‐e images of the Edo period are studied, with core research from the National Museum in Kraków, Poland, and its collection of Japanese woodblock prints (including over 4600 original works from the Edo Period), and with special attention paid to the yakusha-‐e portrait by utagawa Kuniyoshi. KEYWOrDS Japanese art; Japanese aesthetics; Kabuki theatre; gender; the Edo period 128 Beata ROMANOWICZ In the early seventeenth century, after hundreds of years of civil war between the eminent clans, tokugawa Ieasu (1543 –1616) unified Japan and for nearly 300 years, the shogunate controlled the whole country. the isolation of Japan in the comparatively peaceful time of the Edo Period (1603 –1868) saw such changes as the transfer of the capital of the new military government from Kyoto to Edo (nowadays tokyo), and facilitated the introduction of new eco‐ nomic structures and a new social hierarchy. For the purpose of our discussion, we should mention the decline of tradi‐ tional values and the samurai class, which led to the emergence of a new strong economic class: the-chōnin, or the townspeople. the frailty of human fate they had experienced during the long wars influenced a new hedonistic approach to life. It also led to them taking pleasure in simple entertainment that fulfilled the expectations of the townspeople, who in previous eras had stood at the bottom of the social hierarchy. their increasing economic position enabled them to dictate tastes in entertainment, and to sculpt the overall form of cul‐ ture in the Edo period. thus, new cultural values emerged and two extremely important cultural phenomena were born: the Kabuki theatre and the Ukiyo-‐e- woodblock prints. the idea of 'seizing the moment' is reflected in the literature of the period and was insightfully described by Asai ryoi (1612 –1691) in his Tales- of- the- Floating-World (Ukiyo-Monogatari) published in 1661: Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossom and the maple leaves, singing songs and drinking wine, diverting ourselves in just floating, floating; caring not a whit for the pauperism staring us in the face, refusing to be disheartened like a gourd floating along with the river cur‐ rent: this is what we call Ukiyo-‐e-(romanowicz, 2011: 24; cited after Lane, 1978: 11). the connection between the Kabuki theatre and Japanese woodblock prints in the Edo period, and especially portraits of the actors called yakusha-‐e, pro‐ vides an exceptional opportunity to analyse the popular perceptions of the gen‐ der of the actor as the hero of the drama, as well as the of character played on the stage. Both the theatre and woodblock printing techniques flourished in the Edo period, and had a crucial impact on the visual arts of the time, as well as inspiring pictures of the Floating World (Ukiyo-‐e). the images on Ukiyo-‐e woodblock prints can therefore serve as a starting point for approaching the matter of whether an actor was principally portrayed as a performer (a man); or as the character performed by him (which could also be a woman, as in the case of the onnagata actor). I would like to emphasize the consciousness of the actor's own gender in these images (as only men performed on the Kabuki stage), and also pay special attention to the character of the dra‐ ma and the breaking of conventions between the real actor and his stage emploi. Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 129 After examining the above issues, one may conclude that, although Japanese culture recognises two genders, it is clearly aware of the diversity of gender problems which can be implied whenever an actor performs in accordance with his or her gender identity. Woodblock prints, very strongly connected with the Kabuki world, can serve as visual evidence of the social affairs that mattered in that particular time period.1 the earliest actor portraits should be examined in the context of their por‐ trayal of the characters in the drama, i.e. the fictional characters whose stories were shown on stage. An excellent example is the print by torii Kiyomasu II, presenting the actors Sanjo Kantaro and Ichimura takenojo as young lovers in the play Yaoya-O-‐Shichi-[Photo No. 1; MNK VI ‐4206]. Although both actors are known by their names, the scene depicts an encounter in a realistic street and does not feature the Kabuki stage. Another category if images consist of the classic yakusha-‐e - prints cre‐ ated as portraits of famous actors. this type of subject emerged alongside the development of 'portraits of beautiful people', or bijin-‐ga, a term which at first primarily included the famous beauties of the time: actors and courtesans, where only female beauties were included. What should be emphasised is that the kabuki- (bizarre) style of acting was created in 1601 by a woman, a shrine priestess called Izumo ‐no Okuni (1571? –1613). However, in 1629, women were banned from performing on stage, due to the inappropriate behaviour of some groups of women after the performances. their roles were taken on by young boys, who in 1652 were replaced - for the same reasons - by grown men. Pursuant to a special or‐ der, the men who portrayed female characters (onnagata) had to shave their hair from over their foreheads. Onstage, the bald spot was covered by a violet- yaroboshi cap. these actors became role models, eventually reaching the level of popularity attained by modern celebrities. therefore, it is no surprise that the demand for portraits was enormous, both for those actors playing the male roles (tachi‐ yaku) and those who played the female parts (onnagata). the images showed the audience's favourite moments from specific roles that they had portrayed in the course of their careers. the particular moment captured on the woodblock prints was the moment of stillness, emphasising the climax of a scene. this pose featured a special bending of the body and circular movements by the ac‐ tor, and was called the mie. this kind of portrait was created in the Katsukawa school, and was mastered by Shunshō, who became the author of many per‐ fectly captured poses and compositions [Photo No. 2; MNK VI ‐794]. 1 Ukiyo-‐e images of the Edo period were studied, with the core research being performed at the National Museum in Kraków with its collection of Japanese woodblock prints (including over 4600 original works from the Edo Period). All images of woodblock prints presented in this paper are the property of the National Museum in Kraków, Poland. 130 Beata ROMANOWICZ the images of actors were captioned with the names they had been given by the guilds of actors. Apart from their name and surname they were also iden‐ tified by their emblem, or clan crest, which was a particular source of pride. One of the most popular clans was the Ichikawa clan, which still exists today.2 A characteristic sign of the clan was its mon (clan crest), consisting of three squares, which can be seen on many of the costumes [Photo No. 2; MNK VI ‐ ‐794]. Kabuki enthusiasts and fans of the actors were fluent in the language of the attributes characteristic of the plays. For example, a fragment of a bell and an eboshi-cap hanging on a branch were a simple way of identifying the story of Dōjōji.3 this tragedy tells of a woman in love who took revenge on the lover that had jilted her, who hid under a bell. She then changed into a serpent and coiled her hot body around the bell, melting it along with the man who had betrayed her [Photo No. 3; MNK VI ‐4101]. the dancing actor portrayed in the image No. 3 is Nakamura Noshiō in the role of the jilted lover. the key to examining the gender of the portrayed actor lies in remember‐ ing the viewer's awareness of the fact that all roles were played by men. Be‐ longing to a clan of actors meant the actor had completed years of hard work, and required their acceptance by the master of the clan. Actors often changed their names during their acting careers, and the name changing was also an opportunity to have a commemorative image made: a special woodblock print, emphasising the importance of the occasion. In the collection of the National Museum in Kraków you can find woodblock prints by the great artist utagawa toyokuni (1769 –1825). One of these is a portrait of an onnagata actor play‐ ing the role of a woman dressed as a man, which shows many themes [Photo No. 4; MNK VI ‐4104]. the extremely popular play Shibaraku,-telling the story of a stolen sword, was adapted (in a slightly modified version) in a play enti‐ tled Onna-Shibaraku (Female Shibaraku). the multilayered narrative and the construction of the play itself are not the only images suggesting change and transformation that we see in the woodblock print. the clearly marked attributes include: a woman's kimono covered by a man's outdoor robe with a visibly exposed mon-crest; a woman's hairstyle covered by a man's hat; and finally the main narrative trope - the sword sticking up. All of these serve to identify the heroine of the play. An observant viewer will also notice the attribute of the onnagata: a fragment of the yaroboshi cap, visible just above the actor's forehead. On the board of the woodblock print there are words that also clarify the interpretation of the image: Rono‐ suke-aratame-yon-dai-me-Segawa-Roko (ronosuke is transformed into Segawa roko IV). 2 Ichikawa Danjūrō XII, currently the last in the line of succession of that clan, died in 2013. 3 the Dōjōji exists in many versions; the image shows a scene from the play Hanagatami- Kazeori-Eboshi. Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 131 One of the eminent theorists of the Kabuki theatre, Yoshizawa Ayame (1673–1729), famously said that when an actor is driven by his ambition to play a woman as gracefully as possible, he becomes a man once more (romanowicz, 1994: 26). Another print, by torii Kiyonaga (1752 –1815), gives a great example of the interplay between an actor's portrait and a scene in a Kabuki drama. It shows two characters from a play - a woman and a man - who are clearly marked by gender indicators. At the same time, the theatre space is also shown. It is signalled by the characteristic manifestations of the onnagata actor, and also by a clearly visible dais on which the musicians who accompany the Kabuki performance (two singing narrators and a man playing the shamisen) are sitting [Photo No. 5; MNK VI ‐4220]. these examples all belong to the vast tendency to present actors as the pop‐ ular heroes of the period. On the occasion of presenting a unique woodblock print which exists in only three copies,4 I should mention the so ‐called 'close ‐ ‐ups of the large heads' (the okubi-‐e) style of portraits, developed by tōshūsai Sharaku (1794 –1795)5. As one of the most enigmatic artists of the Japanese Ukiyo-‐e genre, he possessed a keen sense of observation which manifested in the slightly caricatured portrayals of the actors' faces and poses in their characteristic roles [Photo No. 6; MNK VI ‐4464]. this type of presentation concentrated mainly on the distinctive features of the actor and his theatrical abilities, rather than on the characteristics of the hero or heroine of the drama. this style was used to make prints commemorating the actors' anniversa‐ ries, name changing ceremonies and prominent milestones in an actor's career, such as an outstanding, unforgettable role which raised the actor's name to the hall of fame. the end of the eighteenth century brought about more new ideas. Promi‐ nent examples of these are found in the works of Kitagawa utamaro (1754– 1806), an artist and an expert on feminine beauty. He claimed that he did not care for yakusha-‐e actor prints himself;6 however, due to the huge demand of the audience he created a few series portraying dramatic characters. Among them are the tragic lovers from the plays of Chikamatsu Monzaemon, such as 4 One of the three existing copies is kept in the National Museum in Kraków. In 1920, a Polish collector Feliks Jasieński (1861 –1929) gave the print along with his whole art collection to the museum. 5 In 2009, a groundbreaking discovery took place: a team of Japanese researchers managed to identify the artist who had hidden for over two centuries under the pseudonym of Sharaku. the artist was in fact Saitō Jūrobē, a Nō actor in the employ of the lord of Awa. For details of this discovery, see the essay by-Kobayashi tadashi 'the Ukiyo-‐e painting by Sharaku Discovered in greece' in:-Sharaku-and-other-hidden-Japanese-Masterworks-from-the-land-of-Nausicaa (2009). 6 Many artists earned their living painting portraits of actors. this is why utamaro, who emphasised his position of an artist, rejected the mainstream trend of yakusha-‐e portraits. 132 Beata ROMANOWICZ Osan and Mohei [MNK VI - Kitagawa utamaro; see: Photo No. 7; MNK VI‐ ‐723].7 this style of portrait marked a return to prints showing the characters of the play, and not the particular actors. Although the popularity of the play Koi-Hake-Hashiragoyomi (the Almanac of Love) was largely due to the theatri‐ cal performances, on the prints the characters remain in the fictional world.8 there are compositions that break the rules of these two styles, with charac‐ teristic opposition to the actors' portraits set strictly within the theatre [Photo No. 5; MNK VI‐4220] that significantly go beyond the fictional space [Photo No. 7; MNK VI‐723] and yet keep some inconsistencies. the marvellous artis‐ tic woodblock prints of utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 –1861) are great examples of this. Kuniyoshi possessed an exceptional artistic awareness, and was an erudite man with great sensitivity. His works show a baffling breaking from the es‐ tablished rules and often feature singular inconsistencies even within one print [Photo No. 8; MNK VI‐3739abc]. A great example of this is the image of a scene between three characters from a play: two men and a woman,9 set in a perfect winter landscape. this print goes beyond the theatrical conventions, yet at the same time it main‐ tains an exceptionally strong connection with the theatre, as the actor Iwai Kumesaburō is still featured as a stage actor in a yaroboshi-cap and with the attributes of the onnagata. Another example showing an even greater lack of consistency in its portray‐ al of actors/dramatic characters is another print by Kuniyoshi [Photo No. 9; MNK VI ‐3667ab]. While in the previous image only the onnagata keeps with the theatrical conventions, here - in a scene between two women - we see a completely different way of portraying two equal characters. the print is a portrait of two Kabuki actors in the popular play Kagamiya-Gonichi-no-Iwafu‐ ji.-this marvelous tension ‐filled composition, depicting a fight using naginata blades, in some ways keeps with the theatrical convention. this interpretation is due to the static nature of the decorations featuring a neutral ground, and also the yaroboshi-on the shaved forehead of the actor playing Ohatsu, the younger woman. However, the other actor who plays the part of the standing Iwafuji, does not have the inherent attributes of an onnagata; thus, his portray‐ al breaks the theatrical convention and moves the action into a literary reality. the shini-‐e, i.e. posthumous memorial prints, are proof of the great attatch‐ ment to seeing the actors through the tradition of their theatrical roles. An example,-Three-actors-from-the-Iwai-family [Photo No. 10; MNK VI ‐4851], is a part of the collection of the National Museum in Kraków. 7 the print entitled Osan-and-Mohei belongs to the series of prints: True-Feelings-Compared; originally created in 1798 –1799 (later impression). 8 this is the case for both the Kabuki and the Bunraku theatre. 9 the male roles were played by: Ichikawa Danjūrō and Bandō Mitsugoro; whereas the female part was played by the onnagata Iwai Kumesaburō. Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 133 this is an exceptional example of the posthumous memorial prints. Pub‐ lished in the year of the death of Iwai Hanshirō V (1776 –1847), the oldest of the three actors (depicted in the tondo), it also pays homage to the younger two actors, who died some time before. the tradition, cultivated by the families who provided the education of the onnagata, is reflected in the names given to them. Athough each portrait feautures an actor's name, they are also repre‐ sented with the name of one of the characters they played in the Kabuki theatre (romanowicz, 2011: 128 –129) [Photo No. 11; MNK VI‐3738abc]. the connection between the two worlds - the Kabuki theatre and the Ukiyo-‐e woodblock prints - within the visual arts of the Edo period in Japan, remains a great starting point for thinking about many issues, including: the real characters in a drama (based on the environments depicted); the actors as celebrities of the time (in occasional prints, portraits without backgrounds, the actor's clan crest, memorial prints, etc.); and the irregularity of depicting the Kabuki world and its heroes (in the context of the actors' awareness of a diver‐ sity of gender problems). I would like to emphasize the importance of the audi‐ ence's consciousness of the actor's roles (male tachiyaku, female onnagata) and pay special consideration to the characters of the dramas, and to the breaking of the conventions between the real actor and his stage emploi [Photo No. 12; MNK VI‐3738abc]. BIBLIOgrAPHY Lane, r. D. (1978). Images-from-the-floating-world: The-Japanese-print,-including-an-illustrated- dictionary-of-Ukiyo-‐e. New York: Putnam. romanowicz, B. (2011). Utagawa-Kuniyoshi:-In-the-realm-of-the-legend-and-fantasy. Exhibition-in- the-National-Museum-in-Kraków. Kraków: Muzeum Narodowe. romanowicz, B. et-al. (1994). Japanese-art-in-the-National-Museum-in-Cracow. Kraków: Muze‐ um Narodowe. Sharaku-and-other-hidden-Japanese-Masterworks-from-the-land-of-Nausicaa (2009). tokyo: Edo ‐ ‐tokyo Museum. (A catalogue of the temporary exhibition organised by the Museum of Asian Art in Corfu in Metropolitan tokyo Edo ‐tokyo Museum).

Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 1. Torii Kiyomasu II, Actors Sanjō Kantarō and Ichimura Takenojō as young lovers in the drama Yaoya Oshichi, Japan, circa 1750, MNK VI-4206 (National Museum in Kraków) 2. Katsukawa Shunkō, Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō V on the stage, Japan, circa 1790, MNK VI-794 (National Museum in Kraków) Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 3. Utagawa Toyokuni, The Actor Nakamura Noshiō as the shirabyōshi dancer Yokobue, Japan, 1799, MNK VI-4101 (National Museum in Kraków) 4. Utagawa Toyokuni, The Actor Segawa Rokō IV in the play Onna Shibaraku, Japan, 1807, MNK VI-4104 (National Museum in Kraków) Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 5. Torii Kiyonaga, Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II as Soga-no-Gorō and Segawa Kikunojō II as Tsukisayo, Japan, 1782, MNK VI-4220 (National Museum in Kraków) 6. Tōshūsai Sharaku, Kōraiya Kinshō (The Actor Ichikawa Komazō III), Japan, 1794, MNK VI-4464 (National Museum in Kraków) Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 7. Kitagawa Utamaro, Lovers Osan and Mohei from the series: True Feelings Compared: The Founts of Love, Japan, circa 1798–1799, MNK VI-723 (National Museum in Kraków) 8. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Actors Ichikawa Danjūrō, Bandō Mitsugoro and Iwai Kumesaburō, Japan, before 1843 MNK VI-3739abc (National Museum in Kraków) Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 9. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Two women in a duel, Japan, 1849, MNK VI-3667ab (National Museum in Kraków) 10. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Three actors from the Iwai family, Japan, 1847, MNK VI-4851 (National Museum in Kraków) Beata ROMANOWICZ, Manifestations of the Kabuki actors' gender... 11. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Actors performing in the drama Godairiki Koi no Fujime, Japan, 1847, MNK VI-3738abc (National Museum in Kraków) 12. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Actors performing in the drama Godairiki Koi no Fujime, Japan, 1847, MNK VI-3738abc (National Museum in Kraków)