Glossary
Ukiyo-e
浮世絵・うきよえ
A term that translates to Floating World Pictures. Originally a Buddhist term to describe the ephemerality of the material world, Ukiyo came to describe the world of entertainment and pleasure in the Edo period. Ukiyo-e was a class of images that depicted the urban culture of Edo and included pictures of beautiful women, popular sites, kabuki actors, legendary warriors, and erotic encounters.
Bijinga
美人画・びじんが
Translates to Beautiful woman pictures. One of the main subjects of Ukiyo-e works during the Edo period. Bijinga would continue to be an important subject in later art movements, like Nihonga, solidifying it as a foundational subject matter in Japanese art.
Iki
粋・いき
Translates to Chic or stylish. Describes an aesthetic movement originating in the eighteenth century based on the romantic tension between a sex worker and her client. A Sex worker would be described as Iki if she was flirtatious, straightforward, and socially savvy.
Tekomai
手古舞・てこまい
A costume worn by geisha at major festivals like yoshiwara's Niwaka and the Three great festivals of Edo (Kanda, Fukagawa, and Sanno.)The costume mimics the clothing worn by men who traditionally lead festival processions. Easily identified by its bright colors, Tatsukke hakama, and lantern accessory.
Geisha
芸者・げいしゃ
Originally a term that referred to male musicians and entertainers in the entertainment district, it eventually came to describe a class of professional women who were trained in various arts, including music, dance, and the art of conversation. It is often mistakenly thought Geisha have sex with clients, but this is not part of a geisha's job description.
Wakashu
若衆・わかしゅ
Translates to beautiful youth and refers to young men before their coming of age in the Edo period. Coming of age for men was marked by shaving the crown of their head. Before that they would keep their forelocks unshaven. Wakashu are understood by some scholars to have existed as a third gender in Edo, where they, like women, were the objects of male desire.
Otokoyaku
男役・おとこやく
The male role performers of the Takarazuka Revue Theater, identifiable by their short hair and masculine dress. Otokoyaku have a distinct performance style that requires the use of straight lines and hard angles in their movement on stage and the use of a technique called ground voice to play a male characters.
Musumeyaku
娘役・むすめやく
The female role performers of the Takarazuka Revue Theater, identifiable by their very traditionally feminine appearance. Musumeyaku performs a type of hyper-feminity in order to support the illusion of their Otokoyaku counterpart. They typically choose soft, curvilinear poses or movements and speak in high voice registers.
Shoujo Bunka
少女文化・しょうじょぶんか
Translates to Girl's Culture, specifically teenage girl's culture. This subculture began to form in the early twentieth century with the advent of girls' magazines. Girls became a new robust consumer demographic, so these magazines and other related entertainment developed a unique aesthetic to cater to them. This aesthetic was defined by purity, elegance, and sentimentality. It also focused heavily of female friendships and same-sex romance.
S-Relationship
エス
A term used in early twentieth-century Japan to describe the "passionate friendships" or romantic relationships between female students in newly opened all-girls schools. These relationships became a common subject in Girls' Culture fiction and typically featured a school setting with an older girl and a younger girl paired together. The stories were often melodramatic and focused on the intense pinning the girls felt for each other and the ephemerality of their relationship.