particularly those involved in prostitution, Okuni gave them direction, teaching them acting, dancing and singing skills in order to form her troupe. Several theories exist as to the etymology of the word kabuki, one being that it is derived from those who, oddly dressed and swaggering on the street, had been dubbed (from , "to lean in a certain direction", and , "people"). Another possible origin is , which means "slanted" or "strongly-inclined." In either case, others labelled Okuni's troupe performances "kabuki" due to their eccentricity and social daring. The earliest performances of kabuki were dancing and song with no significant plot, often disdained as overly sexual and cacophonous, but equally lauded as colourful and beautiful. Okuni's troupe was exclusively female. Thus, she required her actresses to play both male and female roles. As her troupe gained fame, she was emulated by many others, particularly brothels, which offered such shows to amuse wealthy clients, as well as to gain prostitutes who had marketable acting and singing skills. This new style of exclusively female troupes became known by the alternative names of and , (from , the Japanese word for "woman" or "girl") and . Later years One of Okuni's most popular performances featured the romantic character of Nagoya Sansaburō, a real-life samurai who had died in 1603. Onstage, Okuni's beautiful voice lured Sansaburō's spirit back into the world of the living to dance with her. Despite historical speculation about the possible links between Okuni and Sansaburō, it remains uncertain whether the pair had ever been lovers during his lifetime, or whether she had simply incorporated him into her storytelling. Okuni retired around 1610, and after that time she disappeared. In 1629, due to outcry for moral reform and concern about fights breaking out between men trying to win the attention of the actresses, Tokugawa Iemitsu forbade women from performing in kabuki. They were quickly replaced by young men as actors and "actresses", though this was soon banned as well due to some of the same issues of prostitution and corruption of morals, restricting the performances to those by older men, which is a standing practice in the official theatres even today. There are several conflicting theories of Okuni's year of death; some say she died in 1610, others in 1613, or in 1640. Cultural impact and legacy In addition to her founding of kabuki, Okuni contributed to Japanese theatre as