Kagema

A man cavorts with a wakashū (probably a kagema) and a female prostitute. The wakashū (wearing headscarf) sneaks a kiss from the lady behind his patron's back. Nishikawa Sukenobu, ca. 1716–1735. Hand-colored shunga print.

Kagema (陰間) is a historical Japanese term for young male prostitutes. Kagema were often passed off as apprentice kabuki actors (who were themselves often prostitutes on the side) and catered to a mixed male and female clientele. For male clients, the preferred service was anal sex, with the client taking the penetrative role; homosexual fellatio is almost unmentioned in Tokugawa-era documents. The belief that the anus is a center of sexual energy that could be absorbed by the penetrative partner most likely originates within Chinese texts. Kagema who were not affiliated with an actual kabuki theatre could be hired through male brothels or those teahouses specializing in kagema. Such institutions were known as Kagemajaya (ja). Kagema typically charged more than female prostitutes of equivalent status, and did a healthy trade into the mid-19th century, despite increasing legal restrictions that attempted to contain prostitution (both male and female) in specified urban areas and to dissuade class-spanning relationships, which were viewed as potentially disruptive to traditional social organization.

Many such prostitutes, as well as many young kabuki actors, were indentured servants sold as children to the brothel or theatre, typically on a ten-year contract. Kagema could be presented as young men (yarō), wakashū (adolescent boys, about 10–18 years old) or as onnagata (female impersonators).

A kagema sits upon his elder patron's lap Miyagawa Isshō Spring Pastimes, 1750

This term also appears in modern Japanese homosexual slang.

See also

• Homosexuality in Ancient Japan
• Kagemajaya (ja)

References

• Bernard Faure "The Red Thread" 1998.