page_title: Izumo no Okuni
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Izumo no Okuni / History / Early years
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 出雲阿国（京都国立博物館収蔵『阿國歌舞伎圖屏風』より）。 English: Izumo no Okuni (from Okuni Kabuki-zu Byōbu, a six-panel screen, a collection of Kyoto National Museum).
context_page_description: Okuni was a Japanese shrine maiden who is believed to have invented the theatrical art form of kabuki. Thought to have begun performing her new art style of "kabuki" theatre in the dry riverbed of the Kamo River in Kyoto, Okuni's performances gained immense popularity, and were known for their performances, who were often lower-class women Okuni had recruited to act in her all-female troupe.
  Few concrete details are known about her life; born around 1572 near Izumo province, Okuni worked as a miko for several years at the Izumo-taisha until gaining popularity for her dramatised dance performances, which onlookers gave the name of kabuki. Okuni continued to perform kabuki with her troupe until her retirement and disappearance sometime around 1610. She is believed to have died sometime around 1613.
context_section_description: Born c. 1572, Okuni grew up in the vicinity of the Izumo shrine, where her father, Nakamura Sanemon, worked as a blacksmith, and where several other family members served. Eventually Okuni joined as a miko (shrine maiden), where she was known for her skill in dancing and acting, as well as her beauty. As it was a custom of the time to send priests, miko and others to solicit contributions for the shrine, she was sent to Kyoto to perform sacred dances and songs.
  
  It was during her performances in Kyoto that she also became known for her performances of nembutsu odori (or nembutsu dance) in honor of the Amida Buddha. Though this dance traces its origins to Kūya, a tenth-century evangelist of Pure Land Buddhism, by Okuni's time it had become a largely secular folk dance, and her particular adaptation tended to be known for its sultriness and sexual innuendo. Other popular themes for Okuni's acts included humorous skits about lover's trysts at various public establishments and meetings between men and prostitutes. Between these and other dances and acts, she garnered much attention and began to draw large crowds wherever she performed. Eventually she was summoned to return to the shrine, a call she ignored, though she continued to send money back.
caption: Okuni, in an early depiction
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "797", "Image ImageLength": "1115", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2020:10:13 15:23:55", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "386", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5587", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "624", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "934"}