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Revert. Wakashu is a type of Japanese poetry anthology. Please see Jeffrey Woodward "The Tanka Prose Anthology". |
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Wakashuu (also spelled "wakashu" or "waka-shū" or just "shu") is a type of [[tanka prose]]. |
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[[Image:Actors Nakamura Shichisaburô II and Sanogawa Ichimatsu, Toyonobu, 1740s, signed Meijôdô Ishikawa Shûha Toyonobu zu, MFA.jpg|thumb|alt=Woodblock print by Ishikawa Toyonobu of kabuki actors Nakamura Shichisaburō II and Sanogawa Ichimatsu, signed 'Meijōdō Ishikawa Shūha Toyonobu zu', 1740s.|Woodblock print by Ishikawa Toyonobu showing a wakashū (left) and an adult man (right). Note the difference in hairstyle.]] |
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Shu are poetry anthologies, often combining with prose passages describing the poems. |
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'''Wakashū''' ([[Japanese language|Japanese]]:若衆, literally "young person", although never used for girls), is a historical Japanese term indicating an adolescent boy; more specifically, a boy between the ages at which his head was partially shaven (''maegami'') (about 5–10 years of age), at which point a boy exited early childhood and could begin formal education, [[apprenticeship]], or employment outside the home, and the ''[[genpuku]]'' coming of age ceremony (mid teens through early 20s), which marked the transition to adulthood.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pflugfelder|first=Gregory M.|title=Cartographies of desire: male-male sexuality in Japanese discourse, 1600-1950|publisher=University of California Press|year=1999|pages=33|isbn=0-520-20909-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Leupp|first=Gary P.|title=Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|pages=125|isbn=0-520-20900-1}}</ref> During this period, the ''wakashū'' wore a distinctive hairstyle, with a small shaved portion at the crown of the head and long forelocks at front and sides, and typically wore [[kimono]] with open sleeves. After the coming of age ceremony, the forelocks would be shaved off, giving the adult male hairstyle (''[[chonmage]]''), and the boy would assume the adult male style of kimono with rounded sleeves. Although any given person would be clearly classified as a child, ''wakashū'' or adult, the timing of both boundaries of the ''wakashū'' period were relatively flexible, giving families and patrons the ability to accommodate the development and circumstances of the individual boy. |
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[[File:Styles de coiffure Wakashu.jpg|thumb|alt=Hairstyles of wakashū and adults, circa 1670.|Woodblock prints by [[Yoshida Hanbei]] showing hairstyles of ''wakashū'' and adults, circa 1670. Top row, left to right: two hairstyles of younger ''wakashū'', hairstyle of older ''wakashū'' with the forelocks cut into "corners". Bottom row, left to right: hairstyle of a young man (''yaro''), hairstyle of an adult man, hairstyle of a woman. All except the woman have the crown of the head shaved; ''wakashū'' (but not adult men) also wear forelocks.]] |
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The concept of ''wakashū'' contained several partially overlapping elements: an age category between childhood and adulthood; the social role of a pre-adult or adolescent boy, usually conceived of as a subordinate (student, apprentice or protégé); and the idea of the "beautiful youth", a suitable target for homosexual desire and the subject of ''[[shudo|wakashūdo]]'', "the way of youths". As boys were considered eligible for homosexual liaisons only when they were ''wakashū'', their patrons occasionally delayed their coming of age ceremony beyond socially acceptable limits, leading to legal efforts in 1685 to require all ''wakashū'' to undergo their coming of age ceremony by age 25.<ref>{{cite book|last=Leupp|first=Gary P.|title=Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|pages=34, note 24|isbn=0-520-20900-1}}</ref> |
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In the [[Meiji era]], the term became obsolete; the first meanings were replaced by the new term ''[[shōnen]]'', and the last by the related construction ''[[bishōnen]]'' ("beautiful boy").<ref>{{cite book|last=Pflugfelder|first=Gregory M.|title=Cartographies of desire: male-male sexuality in Japanese discourse, 1600-1950|publisher=University of California Press|year=1999|pages=221–234|isbn=0-520-20909-5}}</ref> |
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In [[kabuki]] theatre ''wakashū'' (or ''wakashū-gata'') referred to actors specializing in adolescent male roles (and who were usually ''wakashū'' themselves).<ref>{{cite book|last=Leupp|first=Gary P.|title=Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997|page=90|isbn=0-520-20900-1}}</ref> ''Wakashū'' often also performed as ''[[onnagata]]'' ("woman-role"; female impersonators). |
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==See also== |
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* [[Shōnen]] |
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* [[Bishōnen]] |
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* [[Shudō]] |
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* [[Homosexuality in Japan#Ancient Japan]] |
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==References== |
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<references/> |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakashu}} |
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[[Category:Japanese sex terms]] |
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[[Category:History of human sexuality]] |
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[[Category:LGBT history in Japan]] |
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[[Category:Shudo]] |
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[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]] |
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Revision as of 12:31, 22 May 2013
Wakashuu (also spelled "wakashu" or "waka-shū" or just "shu") is a type of tanka prose.
Shu are poetry anthologies, often combining with prose passages describing the poems.