The Most Famous
DANCERS from Japan
Top 1
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Japanese Dancers of all time. This list of famous Japanese Dancers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Izumo no Okuni (1572 - )
With an HPI of 59.12, Izumo no Okuni is the most famous Japanese Dancer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.
Izumo no Okuni (出雲 阿国, born c. 1578; died c. 1613) was a Japanese entertainer and shrine maiden who is believed to have invented the theatrical art form of kabuki. She is thought to have begun performing her new art style of kabuki (lit. 'the art of singing and dancing') theatre in the dry riverbed of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Okuni's troupe quickly gained immense popularity, and were known for their performers, who were often lower-class women Okuni had recruited to act in her all-female theatre group. Few concrete details are known about her life; born near Izumo Province, Okuni worked as a miko (shrine maiden) for several years at the Izumo-taisha (the Grand Shrine of Izumo) until gaining popularity for her dramatised dance performances, which onlookers gave the name of kabuki. Okuni continued to perform kabuki with her troupe until her retirement and disappearance sometime around 1610. She is believed to have died sometime around 1613.
Pantheon has 1 people classified as dancers born between 1572 and 1572. Of these 1, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased dancers include Izumo no Okuni.
