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Young Man Dressed as a Female Dancer
Not on view
The figure in this painting is engaged in a type of dance known as shirabyōshi, which first became popular in the twelfth century and was performed exclusively by women. In this case, however, the dancer is a male figure dressed as a shirabyōshi performer. More specifically, it is a type of male Kabuki actor (wakashū) who specialized in the performance of adolescent male and female roles. Here his elaborate costume suggests that he is specifically engaged in the “Narihira dance,” named after the Heian period (794–1185) courtier-poet Ariwara no Narihira (825–880). The inscription reflects the sexual ambiguity of a young male performing a dance previously associated with female performers:
Kundaru shimizu de kage mireba
waga mi nagara mo yoi onago
shiorashi ya
As I scoop and see my reflection in
the clear water,
What a charming woman I see, even
though I know it’s me.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
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