The origins of Kabuki date back to 1603, when Okuni Izumo, a Shinto priestess, performed along the Kamo River in Kyoto (Edwin Wilson and Alvin Goldfarb). Izumo's shows were very popular and she was able to form an all-female troupe. Unfortunately, these all-female troops met with disapproval from government officials and were forced to disband. Since the beginning of Kabuki, the only major changes that Kabuki has faced have been changes in which the genre would be allowed to occur. Originally, when Kabuki was founded by Okuni, the performers were all women. Women in Kabuki troupes played male and female roles. Female Kabuki artists not only sold their performances, but also their bodies (“Kabuki”). If a member of the public wished and had enough money, they could obtain sexual services from the performers. Eventually, fights broke out over the sexual aspects provided by these performers. In order to put an end to these fighting, the government has decided to act. In 1629, female performances of Kabuki were banned (Wilson and Goldfarb 257). Young boys then become the stars of Kabuki. Their Kabuki performances followed the same guild lines that female performers faced: they played both gender roles, their makeup and costumes were the same, they danced, and could also be lured into sexual services. The men who came to attend these shows did not hesitate to engage in homosexual acts with these boys (“Portrait of an Onnagata”). Soon conflicts arose as quarrels arose between the men who wanted to obtain sexual services from these boys. The authorities intervened and in 1652 Kabuki for boys was banned (Faith Bach). After these reforms, older men began to play the roles of...... middle of paper ......anese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Kabuki.” Web-japan.org. Np, and Web. May 8, 2014. “Kabuki.” START Japanology. Prescription. Adam Fulford and Kazutada Komine. Real. Mamoru Abe. Kei Ichinoseki. NHK World. April 5, 2012. YouTube. Internet. May 9, 2014. “Portrait of an Onnagata. » Dir. Tineke Hulsbergen. Cinema Media Group. 1990. Movies on Demand. Internet. May 9, 2014. Tran, Lan. “Art, theater/performance. » Encyclopedia of sex and gender: history of cultural society. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Flight. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 92-96. Global issues in context. Internet. May 9, 2014.Royce, Anya. "Dance." Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: History of Cultural Society. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Flight. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 365-369. Global issues in context. Internet. May 9, 2014. Wilson, Edwin and Alvin, Goldfarb. Theater L’Art Vivant. 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012. Print