Page "Kabuki" Paragraph 12

The modern all-male kabuki, known as yarō-kabuki ( young man kabuki ), was established during these decades.

After women were banned from performing, cross-dressed male actors, known as onnagata (" female-role ") or oyama, took over.

Young ( adolescent ) men were preferred for women's roles due to their less masculine appearance and the higher pitch of their voices compared to adult men.

In addition, wakashū ( adolescent male ) roles, played by young men often selected for attractiveness, became common, and were often presented in an erotic context.

Along with the change in the performer's gender came a change in the emphasis of the performance: increased stress was placed on drama rather than dance.

Performances were equally ribald, and the male actors too were available for prostitution ( to both female and male customers ).

Audiences frequently became rowdy, and brawls occasionally broke out, sometimes over the favors of a particularly handsome young actor, leading the shogunate to ban first onnagata and then wakashū roles.

Both bans were rescinded by 1652.