女形

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
女	形
おんな Grade: 1	かた > がた Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Compound of 女 (onna, “woman”) +‎ 形 (kata, “form”). The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Alternative forms

• 女方

Noun

女(おんな)形(がた) • (onnagata) ^{←をんながた (wonnagata)?}

1. male actor who plays female roles in kabuki theater: onnagata

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
女	形
Grade: 1	Grade: 2
irregular

Appears from the early Edo period, around the mid to late 1600s, originally in reference to doll figurines of courtesans made by Oyama Jirōsaburō (小山次郎三郎).

Alternative forms

• 御山, お山, 女方

Noun

女形(おやま) • (oyama) ^{←をやま (woyama)?}

1. male actor who plays female roles in kabuki theater: onnagata
2. in puppetry, a female puppet
3. (slang, possibly archaic, chiefly Kansai) a high-end prostitute