Kabuki

This is not a geisha. This is a Kabuki performer. Orginally the word "kabuki" meant something "off-beat" or not quite moral and began with colorfully dressed swaggering ex-samurai, coutesans and other street people in the early Edo period (1600-1868).

Today, Nishikawa Masako demonstrated the song and dance of the kabuki. Here she demonstrated how she gets dressed for the performance. She paints her face with a very heavy white cosmetics.

The wig is a steel cap with human hair glued to the frame.

Nishikawa paints her hands last so that she does not get white on her kimono.

Kiyomoto plays the music for Nishikawa's performance.

Kabuki is not popular in Japan. It is considered as just "old stuff" by most people, perhaps like square dancing is not enjoyed by most people in the U.S.