Women’s Kabuki

Women’s Kabuki

Kano Takanobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The focus of this composition is a young woman dressed as a gallant samurai, performing the Kabuki skit Chaya asobi, or “Teahouse Entertainments.” Her comic sidekick, the manservant Saruwaka (Young Monkey)—also played by a woman—holds a branch of maple leaves or flowers. In its earliest phase, Kabuki was performed by female dancers or courtesans playing both men and women in sexually provocative skits. Kabuki as we know it today—a respected form of classical theater with complex plots performed by male actors in men’s and women’s roles—did not emerge until the end of the seventeenth century. This recently rediscovered work is one of a pair; its mate depicts merrymaking in the Kitano district of Kyoto.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Women’s KabukiWomen’s KabukiWomen’s KabukiWomen’s KabukiWomen’s Kabuki

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.