Gender and Kabuki: Onnagata and Takarazuka

Kyle Granzow

This lecture will examine how the history of kabuki theater – particularly the influence of the Tokugawa-era government in its early days – gave rise to the gender-subverting onnagata, or men who play female roles, and a comparison of them against the modern-day otokoyaku – women who act the parts of men in the Takarazuka Revue performance group.

Kyle is a graduate student at KU who is pursuing a master’s degree in East Asian Studies. He has spent 2 years living in Japan and has recently returned to the United States to pursue research in kabuki, gender studies, and Japanese language.