女形

Compound of 女 (onna, “woman”) +‎ 形 (kata, “form”).[1][2] The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) おんながた [òńnágátá] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [õ̞nːa̠ɡa̠ta̠]

• 女方

女形 (hiragana おんながた, rōmaji onnagata, historical hiragana をんながた)

1. male actor who plays female roles in kabuki theater: onnagata

Appears from the early Edo period, around the mid to late 1600s, originally in reference to doll figurines of courtesans made by Oyama Jirōsaburō (小山次郎三郎).[1][2]

• (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) お​やま [óꜜyàmà] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • (Tokyo) おや​ま [òyáꜜmà] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [o̞ja̠ma̠]

• 御山, お山, 女方

女形 (hiragana おやま, rōmaji oyama, historical hiragana をやま)

1. male actor who plays female roles in kabuki theater: onnagata
2. in puppetry, a female puppet
3. (slang, possibly archaic, chiefly Kansai) a high-end prostitute