Introduction

, "shows" or "exhibitions", were an important part of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese urban culture during the Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

 period. Many of the shows were put on hurriedly and were characterized by their crudeness. The term misemono dates from the Edo period, although plausible forerunners of the performances appear earlier. Among the likely antecedents of Edo-period shows were benefit performances undertaken to raise funds for shrines or temples

Buddhist temples in Japan

Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. In...

. The shows were unhampered by attempts to conform to a particular artistic tradition and thus provide a valuable index to evolving popular taste.