The creator of
kabuki theatre; an attendant at the
Izumo shrine. In 1603 she assembled
shrine maidens in the dry
river-bed of the
Kamo, near
Kyoto, and created a new style as an offshoot of
noh theatre and
nembutsu odori temple dancing, but with freer dancing and singing: this was given the name of
kabuki 'strange,
unbalanced'.
This quickly became a popular lower- and middle-class entertainment, but was regarded with great suspicion by the shogunate. In 1608 the troupes were ordered out of the town of Kyoto, and they settled in the ukiyo, the "floating world". As the acting was accompanied by a great deal of prostitution, female performance was banned by the Shogun in 1629.