What a Drag: Drag Culture in Ancient and Modern Japan

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.

 Drag is a style of performance art in which an individual dresses as the opposite gender and acts in a highly exaggerated caricature of that gender’s identity. The most popular type of drag—and the focus of this paper—is drag queens, male-identifying people who dress as women. Drag queens are the most visible type of drag performers, as they are regularly seen emceeing events or doing their own shows. However, drag queens are not the only drag performers. There are also drag kings, who are female-identifying people who dress and act in a stereotypically male role. Along with drag performers, there are also people who emulate drag style—exaggerated, stylized men and women—such as faux queens and faux kings. These people usually identify as the gender that they are dressing as, and admire the style of kings and queens to the point that they want to embody it themselves. While the other types of drag are becoming more visible, most people will think of queens when they hear the term “drag.”

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?

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.