Okuni Kabuki, mid 17th century, Unknown Japanese, 21 ¡Ñ 76 15/16 in. (53.34 ¡Ñ 195.42 cm) (image)25 1/2 ¡Ñ 81 13/16 ¡Ñ 1/2 in. (64.77 ¡Ñ 207.8 ¡Ñ 1.27 cm) (mount), Ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan, Nikuhitsu ukiyo-e, The screen shows a raucous street scene in the entertainment quarter of Kyoto and a performance by Izumo no Okuni, the shrine priestess credited as the founder of the Kabuki theater. Okuni, dressed as a samurai, is performing one of her most famous skits, 'Teahouse Entertainments' ('Chaya asobi'). She and her 'male' attendant (who is played by a woman) perform a dance directed toward the owner of a teahouse. This screen could be by the hand of an artist from the school of Iwasa Matabei.