It refers to a Kabuki performance by courtesans or female performers. Soon after Izumo no Okuni gained popularity for the Kabuki dancing in 1603, many female performers started to imitate her. A stage was built at Shijogawara in Kyoto and at Yoshiwara in Edo, and Onna-Kabuki started to be performed.
50 to 60 courtesans in men’s attire performed a variety of dances on stage. A chief difference from Okuni’s Kabuki is that they used the Shamisen, the most advanced musical instrument at that time. Female Kabuki had reached its peak from 1615 to 1629, but it gradually faded away after being banned in 1629 for corrupting public morals.
