Yaoya Oshichi

[1][3][5] The magistrate at her trial, though knowing she was sixteen years old, asked her, ”You must be fifteen years old, aren't you?” At the time, boys and girls under the age of sixteen were not subject to the death penalty, and since strict family registration systems were not yet widely implemented, confirmation of age by a bureaucrat was sufficient.

[citation needed] In 1773, three playwrights (Suga Sensuke, Matsuda Wakichi, and Wakatake Fuemi further revised Ki no Kaion's play to produce Date musume koi no higanoko.

In the puppet plays, the character of Oshichi is presented not as the seemingly impetuous, foolish girl of the historical record, but instead as a noble figure whose selfless devotion saves the man she loves.

Later playwrights developed Oshichi's story for the stage: Tamenaga Tarobei in Junshoku Edo Murasaki, and Tsuruya Nanboku in Katakiuchi Yagura daiko.

[citation needed] A kabuki play about her uses the technique called ningyo buri, where the actor moves around as if a puppet.