Kabuki

Izumo no Okuni, a woman connected to the Izumo shrine and versed in shamanistic rituals and Noh theater, founded kabuki around 1603 by establishing a makeshift stage on the dry bed of the Kamo River in Kyoto. The term originally suggested the unorthodox character of this art form; in modern Japanese, it combines ka (song), bu (dance), and ki (skill). After women were banned from performing in 1629, kabuki evolved into its present all-male theatrical form. It reached its zenith in the mid-18th century and was proclaimed a UNESCO intangible heritage in 2005.