Niwaka

• Japanese: 俄 or 仁和嘉 (niwaka)

Niwaka were amateur farcical plays popular from the early 18th century onwards; closely based on professional kabuki plays of the time, niwaka performed by courtesans of the Yoshiwara were particularly popular, and sometimes depicted in ukiyo-e prints.

In Edo, niwaka performances by courtesans came to be a regular annual event in the Yoshiwara; similar performances, called Gion nerimono, also took place annually in Kyoto, in conjunction with Gion Matsuri. Niwaka prints produced in Kyoto included not only those made in the standard woodblock manner, but also kappazuri (stencil) prints.

References

• Matsuba Ryoko, "Niwaka prints: a window into the relationship between publishers, patrons, courtesans and kabuki in Edo and Kyoto," Kabuki Symposium, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 13 November 2010.