女形

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

• 女方

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

女(おんな)形(がた) • (onnagata) ^{←をんながた (wonnagata)?}

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]

• 御山, お山, 女方

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

女形(おやま) • (oyama) ^{←をやま (woyama)?}

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