Kagema

File:Nishikawa-Sukenobu.jpg

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

is a Japanese term for historical young male prostitutes. were often passed off as apprentice kabuki actors (who often engaged in prostitution themselves 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;Template:Rp homosexual fellatio is almost unmentioned in Edo period (1603–1867) documents.Template:Rp

who were not affiliated with an actual kabuki theatre could be hired through male brothels or teahouses specializing in .Template:Rp Such institutions were known as . typically charged more than female prostitutes of equivalent status,Template:Rp and experienced healthy trade into the mid-19th century, despite increasing legal restrictions that attempted to contain prostitutes (both male and female) in specified urban areas and to dissuade class-spanning relationships, which were viewed as potentially disruptive to traditional social organization.Template:Rp

Many such prostitutes, as well as many young kabuki actors, were indentured servants sold as children to the brothel or theater, typically on a ten-year contract.Template:Rp could be presented as (野郎, young men), (若衆, adolescent boys, about 10–18 years old) or as (女形, female impersonators).Template:Rp

This term also appears in modern Japanese homosexual slang.

Gallery

• A Script error: No such module "lang". sits upon his elder patron's lap. Miyagawa Isshō, Spring Pastimes, 1750
  A sits upon his elder patron's lap. Miyagawa Isshō, Spring Pastimes, 1750

See also

• Catamite
• Greek love
• History of human sexuality
• Homosexuality in pre-Meiji Japan
• (ja)
• Pederasty

Bibliography

• Bernard Faure "The Red Thread" 1998.