Drag has become a highly-loved
performance art over the past few years, especially with the recent release of
television programs such as RuPaul’s Drag
Race and the increase in public drag performances. Just as its popularity
has grown in the Western world, drag’s popularity in Eastern countries,
including Japan, has also increased. Drag has many historical roots, and can be
connected back to Shakespearean times, when male actors were required to play
female roles in order to prevent female actors. As such, drag, like many styles
of performance art, has a long-running history that establishes its role in
today’s society. Drag in Japan, in particular, is intriguing, with the
development from Westernized drag culture into what can be witnessed today.
As mentioned previously, drag has a
long, colorful history. While most people are at least familiar with the idea
of Shakespearean actors being exclusively male, this phenomenon can actually be
seen as early as ancient Greece (Rimalower) .
Because theater was highly-respected in Greek society, women were not allowed
to act on-stage. Even so, many philosophers, including both Plato and Socrates,
expressed concern about the mental health of the men who played female
characters regularly (Rimalower) .
The switching of roles for both male and female characters can be seen
throughout history, most notably with Shakespearean theater and even with
opera, where roles are determined more through voice part than by gender. The
term “drag” itself was coined “during the Victorian era…as the long and heavy
skirts of the day (particularly in the exaggerated fashion worn by men in
female roles) literally dragged along the stage” (Rimalower) .
While the term and the style is largely Western, drag also has history in the
East.
In Japan, kabuki emerged as an art-form in the early sixteen hundreds. While
it was originally a female-only art in which women played both genders, it
expanded to include men as its popularity increased among the Japanese people (Rimalower) . Onna kabuki, or female kabuki performers, lost their chance to
perform on-stage following the 1629 ban on female actors (Morinaga) . The ban stated, “The
twenty-third day of the tenth month [in 1629]. A notification issued from the
Honorable Shimada [of the Edo Police Department]. Those activities of onna kabuki and the like performed these
days at Edo are strictly prohibited. Thus, stop doing these [activities]
hereafter” (Morinaga) . The “activities” as
stated in the ban referred to prostitution, a common role that onna kabuki played along with singing
and dancing. In order to continue having female roles in kabuki, a new type of actor needed to step up and replace the onna kabuki.
Wakashu
kabuki, or pre-pubescent male actors,
were quick to fill the gap left by onna
kabuki (Morinaga) . Since wakashu kabuki had existed on the stage
long before onna kabuki were banned
from performing, they were already well-equipped to take over the position. The
main trait of wakashu kabuki was the
softness of their features and their high voices. However, wakashu kabuki also ended up banned from performing in 1652, also
to prevent prostitution. With the loss of both female actors and the young
males who replaced them, Japan was finally in a position to develop the role of
onnagata. Onnagata are male actors who play female roles in kabuki performances, and in fact “are
regarded as having played the role of the ‘paragons’ of womanhood in
seventeenth- through nineteenth-century Japan, not only theatrically but also
socially” (Morinaga) .
One of the most famous onnagata, who had a heavy influence on
the development of the art, was Yoshizawa Ayame I (1673–1729) (Morinaga) . Ayame, like many onnagata of his time, used highly vigorous
training in order to develop the type of woman he portrayed on-stage. As the
main goal of onnagata like Ayame was
to separate themselves from the performance style of wakashu kabuki, they had to develop an entirely new way of acting
in female roles. Ayame wrote a treatise, “Ayamegusa,” that has been regarded as
“one of the two most important and influential onnagata treatises” (Morinaga) . The gender training
that is detailed in both Ayamegusa and the other piece, “Onnagata Hiden,”
helped to determine the methods onnagata
use to present themselves as female characters when they are on-stage. In
seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Japan, onnagata
were considered to be the epitome of femininity.
The most-popular actor currently
performing as an onnagata is Bandō
Tamasaburō, to the point where he has recently received many titles from both
Japan and around the world to honor his dedication to kabuki. In Japan, he has been named a Living National Treasure,
which means he is recognized as part of a group of “individuals who are
guardians of an important cultural asset” (Lhuillery and Hasegawa) . In France, he was
recognized as Commander of the Order of Arts and Literature for his dedication
to the art. While his focus is primarily on-stage, he has also performed in a
few films, allowing him to share kabuki
with a wider range of viewers. He recognizes that, while he is performing the
role of a woman during shows, he will never truly understand what it means to
be a woman. In an interview with the Japan Times, he stated, “The frontier is
not clear. I am a man, I have never been a woman. The same concept of onnagata is based on a man’s imagining
of a woman. It goes a lot further than a simple physical transformation” (Lhuillery and Hasegawa) , which calls back to
the original onnagata, who worked to
represent femininity while recognizing that they were also male actors. The
attempt of onnagata to act feminine
without creating a caricature of femininity is one of the main aspects of the
art that separates it from modern drag performances.
While drag was definitely present
in Japan before the 1990s, it became more recognizable as a performance art in
1994 with the release of the Australian film “The Adventures of Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert” (Vice Tokyo) .
Prior to its release, most drag performers in Japan felt that they did not have
any source material to work with, so their drag performances were based largely
on traditional Japanese culture and stories. The film gave performers something
to base their shows on, which allowed drag culture to develop in Japan,
especially in the cities. Even today, many drag queens draw inspiration from
the film, some going so far as to use costumes and characterization directly
from the movie (Vice Tokyo) . Since then, drag
culture in Japan has developed past the Western style that most Americans are
familiar with to a Japanese variation of the art.
Japanese drag has divided into
different styles, which are largely dependent on the individual, the troupe,
and the region they are performing in. The performers refer to themselves as josou, which is a catch-all term for people
who dress as women, rather than as “drag queens” (Shimizu) . In an interview for
Time Out Tokyo, one josou specifically
said, “‘We don’t call ourselves drag queens. There are a lot of conditions
associated with that term, while josou simply refers to our appearance. I guess
it’s a bit of a cop out,” due to their attempt to separate themselves from
typical drag culture. The attempt to be set apart from Western drag queens isn’t
as evident in the stylization of josou,
but the performances have definitely taken a turn away from Western drag.
Many popular game shows in Japan always have
at least one host who is a man dressed in drag, and people are generally
unconcerned with it. Other styles of drag in Japan include people who emcee at
bars and clubs, or performers who do a more “Western-style” drag with their own
comedy show or lip-syncing performance. A unique performance style that has
emerged in Japan is “horror drag,” where performers style themselves in
grotesque ways and act out horrific scenes for audiences (Shimizu) . This is more common
in Tokyo, where josou can spread
themselves out in the city’s collection of gay and lesbian bars and spaces,
where in Kansai, specifically Kyoto, josou
resort to the more traditional, kabuki
types of drag (Shimizu) . Either way, drag performances
often draw large crowds, and the increase in their visibility through
television has equally increased people’s interest in drag and drag culture.
Drag culture in Japan is, as
previously mentioned, largely determined by the region that the troupe or
individual is located in. Horror drag and similar styles are seen in Tokyo, as
well as generally original drag styles. One development in Tokyo, specifically,
has been the increase in female members of drag troupes (Shimizu) . Like kabuki, drag has been a mostly
male-dominated performance art since its realization in Japan, and the
development of female drag performers has only occurred in the last few years. The
style of drag in big cities, like Tokyo, is dependent more on the members of
the troupe rather than the club or bar they perform at. Kyoto, on the other
hand, is more tradition because it has a higher influence from performing arts
like kabuki, which is still extremely
popular in Kyoto. As such, the performers who do drag in Kyoto are also more in
touch with the traditional side of Japanese culture.
Originally, drag culture was a
spin-off of queer culture, and drag queens today are still often associated
with queer societies. However, Japan has especially seen an increase in non-gay
josou, which has resulted from
various influences. One influence is the increase in popularity for cosplay and
other extreme fashions in Japan, especially in districts like Harajuku. There,
people are encouraged to dress however they want, and they often go to
different extremes to stand out from the crowd. Drag, in Japan, has become “a
hobby, as opposed to being an expression of gender identity or sexual
preference” (Shimizu) . This trend has been
seen in Western countries where drag is popular as well, but not nearly as
prevalently as in Japan. In fact, there are many straight men who are josou performers, as it is a fun
occupation for many and a great way to practice different personality types,
especially for actors.
There are, though, many queer men
who became interested in drag specifically as a way to express their gender or
sexual identity. For them, acting as a woman has allowed them to be in touch
with their femininity, as well as to interact with people in LGBT-friendly
spaces. One man who was interviewed for Vice Tokyo’s mini-documentary on drag
queens said that he was treated strangely for his femininity, and that he wasn’t
well-liked among LGBT or straight people until he began to present himself in
drag. At that moment, he was able to identify himself in a different light, and
he was no longer required to meet Japan’s standards of masculinity. In this
way, LGBT members of Japanese society have been able to make themselves known
in safe spaces, which allows them to interact with other LGBT individuals.
However, even with the increase in popularity of josou performers, there are no out gay celebrities who perform in
drag (Shimizu) .
In her book “Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan,” Jennifer Robertson analyzes the meaning of androgyny and its impact on Japanese performers. While her research specifically refers to kabuki actors, it can also be applied to performers today who place themselves in the roles of the opposite sex, such as drag queens. She notes that Ayame, one of the original onnagata, views onnagata as people who “blurred the boundaries between sex and gender, female and male, femininity and masculinity” (Robertson 55), something that LGBT drag queens especially try to accomplish. While Japan is still struggling to determine what makes a woman a woman, Japan of the seventeenth century seemed much more understanding that sex alone did not determine womanhood. Robertson writes that many onnagata were considered to be women, to the point where they would bathe in women’s baths rather than the men’s bath (53). With this knowledge, and the existence of drag queens, genderqueer, and other non-conforming people in Japan, what really is the definition of femininity and masculinity in Japan?
In her book “Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan,” Jennifer Robertson analyzes the meaning of androgyny and its impact on Japanese performers. While her research specifically refers to kabuki actors, it can also be applied to performers today who place themselves in the roles of the opposite sex, such as drag queens. She notes that Ayame, one of the original onnagata, views onnagata as people who “blurred the boundaries between sex and gender, female and male, femininity and masculinity” (Robertson 55), something that LGBT drag queens especially try to accomplish. While Japan is still struggling to determine what makes a woman a woman, Japan of the seventeenth century seemed much more understanding that sex alone did not determine womanhood. Robertson writes that many onnagata were considered to be women, to the point where they would bathe in women’s baths rather than the men’s bath (53). With this knowledge, and the existence of drag queens, genderqueer, and other non-conforming people in Japan, what really is the definition of femininity and masculinity in Japan?
One of the most commonly
called-upon images to describe a masculine role in Japan today is of the salaryman,
or businessman, who works long hours during the day and whose job is the
primary source of income for his family. In fact, according to James E. Roberson,
the salaryman has been the representative of Japanese society and masculinity
since Meiji-era Japan (James E. Roberson 7). His
argument is that, since the rise of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in
Japanese politics in the 1950s, the salaryman has become a representative of “correct
citizens” because they are “taxpayers and workers,” roles that were necessary
to the economic survival of Japan (7). As such, the constant representation of
the salaryman as the most efficient member of society led to the impression of
proper masculinity also being reflected in the salaryman. Roberson points out
the hegemonic values of men as providers and women as nurturers on page 8, and continues
to argue that the dichotomy between the two hasn’t changed much since it first
arose.
So,
where do drag queens fit in? The men who play them aren’t salarymen, they aren’t
portrayed in nurturing roles, and they definitely don’t fit into either end of
the gender dichotomy. Instead, they have created a category of their own, using
performance art to both re-establish what it means to be “feminine” and
bringing some of themselves into each performance in order to recreate
masculinity. Much like the kabuki
onnagata, they are redesigning the gender roles of their time. The constant
development of drag in Japan has also impacted how people--especially people
who make an effort to see drag shows—see masculinity and femininity. Josou, both publicly (as on game shows
and as emcees) and privately (as in drag shows, at bars, and at clubs) are
changing how gender is seen in Japan. Just as Tamasaburo said “The kabuki of
300 years ago was very different,” the drag of 300 years from now will also go
through significant changes (Lhuillery
and Hasegawa) .
Works Cited
James E. Roberson, Nobue Suzuki. Men and
Masculinities in Contemporary Japan: Dislocating the Salaryman Doxa. n.d.
Lhuillery, Jaques and Kyoko Hasegawa. "Living
National Treasure Keeps Kabuki Alive." The Japan Times 22 February
2013. Webpage.
Morinaga, Maki. "The Gender of Onnagata As the
Imitating Imitated: Its Historicity, Performativity, and Involvement in the
Circulation of Femininity." (n.d.).
Rimalower, Ben. "From Ancient Greece to Angry
Inch, Take a Look at the History of Drag in Theatre." 15 August 2015. Playbill.
Webpage. 5 May 2016.
Robertson, Jennifer. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics
and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. n.d.
Shimizu, Kosuke. "Being a Drag Queen in
Tokyo." 7 June 2015. Time Out Tokyo. Webpage. 28 April 2016.
ドラァグ・クイーンの素顔 - Drag Queen. Dir. Vice Tokyo. Perf. Various. 2013. YouTube.