Kabuki
Kabuki theater started during the Edo period (16031868). Kabuki was started by a woman, Izumo no Okuni, who performed in the dry river bed in Kyoto in 1603. It was very popular, especially because many of the stories and dance moves were about sex. Many of the women performers were probably prostitutes, and it was thought that kabuki disturbed discipline. This caused women to be banned from performing in kabuki plays in 1629. Beautiful young men replaced women in female roles, but in 1652 they were also banned, for the same reason. Kabuki was allowed to continue with adult men playing all the roles, and this style is the one today.