歌舞伎D-13
日本語

GLOSSARY

Kabuki Glossary: Instant Answers

Aragoto, mie, kumadori, hanamichi — every term opens with a one-sentence instant answer. Grasp the meaning at a glance, then go deeper whenever a word pulls you in. The stage diagram below is another good way in.

101 TERMS

THE STAGE, AT A GLANCE

The stage, at a glance

Before the words, one picture. Tap any number to open that term's guide.

STAGEHANAMICHIAUDIENCEŌMUKŌ — the upper rear seats1234567
  1. 1HanamichiThe walkway through the audience
  2. 2SupponA small lift for apparitions
  3. 3Revolving stageTurns to change the scene
  4. 4Seri liftsRaises actors and sets
  5. 5Jōshiki-makuThe three-colour draw curtain (as hung at the Kabukiza)
  6. 6KuromisuThe offstage music room
  7. 7ŌmukōWhere the shouts come from
A simplified plan of a typical kabuki theatre; proportions and the curtain's colour order differ from house to house. Tap a number to open the guide for that term.
YAGURAFRONT OF HOUSESTAGENARAKUAUDIENCE12345
  1. 1Yagura — the licence tower
  2. 2Naraku — beneath stage and hanamichi
  3. 3Seri — the lifts
  4. 4Suppon — the hanamichi lift
  5. 5Hanamichi — the walkway
A simplified side-view sketch — actual structures differ from theatre to theatre.

Beni-guma (red)

Justice, youth, overflowing strength

Ai-guma (indigo)

Villainy, vengeful spirits, cold power

Cha-guma (brown)

Demons and creatures beyond the human

The colour tells you what kind of being you are watching — kumadori is kabuki's language of the face. There are many varieties; the swatches here are approximations.More on kumadori →
01THE ESSENTIALS

Start with these thirteen

The essentials — enough to transform your first visit to the theatre.

荒事あらごとaragotoPICTUREAragoto is the bold, larger-than-life acting style—said to have been created by Ichikawa Danjūrō I—in which heroes express superhuman power through striking makeup, oversized costumes, and dramatic poses.
押隈おしぐまoshigumaAn oshiguma is a print made by pressing an actor's kumadori makeup onto silk or paper after a performance—a keepsake of that day's role.
押戻しおしもどしoshimodoshiPICTUREOshimodoshi is the set-piece—and hero role—in which an aragoto champion pushes a raging spirit back down the hanamichi; it is also counted among the Kabuki Jūhachiban.
女方おんながたonnagataPICTUREAn onnagata is a male actor who specializes in female roles, creating an idealized femininity through stylized movement, voice, and costume rather than realistic imitation.
傾くかぶくkabukuKabuku means to "lean" away from convention and live boldly in one's own colours—the word from which kabuki itself is said to derive.
隈取くまどりkumadoriDIAGRAMPICTUREKumadori is kabuki's distinctive makeup of bold colored lines that reveals a character's nature—red for heroic passion, blue for villainy or the supernatural.
十八番じゅうはちばん(おはこ)jūhachiban / ohakoVIDEOThe Jūhachiban are the eighteen plays chosen by the Ichikawa Sōke as its signature repertoire—the origin of the everyday word ohako, meaning "one's speciality."
襲名しゅうめいshūmeiShūmei is the succession to a historic stage name—not a mere renaming, but the acceptance of an artistic lineage, its history, and its responsibilities.
定式幕じょうしきまくjōshikimakuThe jōshikimaku is kabuki's iconic striped draw curtain of black, persimmon, and green, pulled open and closed to frame each performance.
ツケつけtsukeDIAGRAMTsuke are the sharp beats of wooden clappers struck against a board at the side of the stage, accenting footsteps and landing exactly on the frozen mie poses.
花道はなみちhanamichiPICTUREThe hanamichi is a raised runway through the audience that turns an actor's entrances and exits into dramatic highlights of their own.
見得みえmiePICTUREVIDEOA mie is the stylized pose in which an actor freezes at a moment of peak emotion, punctuated by the sharp crack of wooden clappers.
屋号やごうyagōDIAGRAMA yagō is the hereditary "house name" of a kabuki acting family—Naritaya for the Ichikawa Danjūrō line—often shouted from the audience in appreciation.
02STYLE & ACTING

Style & Acting

Aragoto and wagoto, history plays and domestic plays — the words of how kabuki is performed. Nirami and kata carry Danjūrō's own video guides.

型かたkataVIDEOKata are the refined "forms" of acting and staging, polished over centuries and handed down within families of actors—the foundation on which kabuki is built.
時代物じだいものjidaimonoJidaimono are kabuki's history plays, set in the worlds of samurai and nobles, staged with grand, highly stylized acting.
所作事しょさごとshosagotoPICTUREShosagoto are kabuki's dance pieces performed to live music—an art that began with onnagata and blossomed into a rich repertoire.
世話物せわものsewamonoSewamono are plays of ordinary townspeople in the Edo period—dramas of love, duty, and scandal drawn close to real life.
だんまりだんまりdanmariDanmari is a stylized scene in which characters grope silently through pitch darkness—fully visible, by convention, to the audience.
宙乗りちゅうのりchūnoriChūnori is kabuki's flying effect: suspended on wires, an actor soars over the audience—usually as a spirit, demon, or magical fox.
睨みにらみniramiVIDEOThe nirami is a ceremonial glare said to be reserved for the Ichikawa Danjūrō line—and to grant a year of good health to all who receive it.
早替わりはやがわりhayagawariHayagawari is the quick-change art in which one actor plays two or more roles in a single scene, transforming in moments.
引抜ひきぬきhikinukiHikinuki is the on-stage quick change: basting threads are pulled away to transform a costume in an instant, before the audience's eyes.
ぶっ返りぶっかえりbukkaeriBukkaeri is the costume trick in which the upper garment drops and folds down at the waist, instantly revealing a character's true identity.
松羽目物まつばめものmatsubamemonoMatsubamemono are dignified pieces adapted from Noh and Kyōgen, performed before a pine-panel set modeled on the Noh stage—a genre said to begin with Kanjinchō.
道行みちゆきmichiyukiA michiyuki is a poetic travel scene, usually danced, that follows two figures—most often lovers—on their journey.
六方ろっぽうroppōDIAGRAMPICTURERoppō is a bravura stylized walk with sweeping arms and stamping feet—most famous as Benkei's "flying roppō" exit down the hanamichi in Kanjinchō.
和事わごとwagotoWagoto is the soft, graceful acting style born in the Kyoto–Osaka region, portraying tender-hearted lovers—the gentle counterpart to Edo's bold aragoto.
03STAGECRAFT & GENRES

Stagecraft & Genres

From the thrill of fight scenes and stage tricks to the great families of stories — words that help you choose what to see.

怪談物かいだんものkaidan-monoPICTUREKaidan-mono are kabuki's ghost plays, traditionally staged in summer; Tsuruya Nanboku's Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan stands as the genre's masterpiece.
生世話物きぜわものkizewamonoPICTUREKizewamono are the most sharply realistic of kabuki's domestic plays, depicting the raw life and lower depths of the Edo townsman's world.
義太夫狂言ぎだゆうきょうげんgidayū kyōgenGidayū kyōgen are kabuki plays adapted from works written for the puppet theatre, driven by takemoto narrative music; they are also called maruhon-mono.
クドキくどきkudokiKudoki is the lyrical passage in which a female character pours out her sorrow—an emotional and musical high point centered on the onnagata.
ケレンけれんkerenKeren is the umbrella term for kabuki's spectacular tricks—flying entrances, lightning costume changes, real water—prizing speed, thrill, and surprise.
白浪物しらなみものshiranami-monoPICTUREShiranami-mono are kabuki's "thief plays"—dramas with charismatic robbers as their heroes, which flourished at the end of the Edo period, above all in the work of Kawatake Mokuami.
新歌舞伎しんかぶきshin-kabukiShin-kabuki ("new kabuki") names the plays written for the kabuki stage by independent literary authors from late Meiji to early Shōwa, joining modern drama to kabuki technique.
立廻りたちまわりtachimawariPICTURETachimawari are kabuki's stylized fight scenes—group combat choreographed like dance to offstage music, punctuated by mie poses.
通し狂言とおしきょうげんtōshi kyōgenTōshi kyōgen is the staging of a single play in full, from opening act to finale—the counterpart of midori programs assembled from highlight scenes.
トンボとんぼtonboTonbo is the somersault turned by a fighter who is "cut down" or thrown in a kabuki fight scene—a fundamental acrobatic skill of the actor's craft.
人形振りにんぎょうぶりningyōburiNingyōburi is a stage device in which an actor performs as if a bunraku puppet, moved by onstage "puppeteers," most often at a heroine's emotional peak.
花四天はなよてんhanayotenHanayoten are the flower-costumed constables and soldiers who swarm the hero in kabuki's most decorative fight scenes, bearing blossoming branches or flowered spears.
04THE STAGE

How the Stage Works

The revolving stage, the lifts, the music room — read alongside the diagram above and the theatre comes into focus.

大道具おおどうぐōdōguŌdōgu are kabuki's large-scale stage settings—backdrops, buildings, trees, and rocks—including machinery such as the revolving stage and traps.
鬘かつらkatsuraKatsura are kabuki's wigs, whose fixed styles signal a character's status, age, and occupation at a glance.
仮花道かりはなみちkari-hanamichiA kari-hanamichi is a temporary second runway built on the right side of the auditorium, used with the main hanamichi to turn the whole theatre into the stage.
柝き(ひょうしぎ)ki / hyōshigiThe ki—commonly called hyōshigi—are two hardwood clappers whose crisp beats govern the entire flow of a kabuki performance.
黒衣くろごkurogoKurogo are the black-clad assistants who work on stage in full view, rendered "invisible" by kabuki's convention that black is not seen.
黒御簾くろみすkuromisuThe kuromisu is the black-latticed room at the side of the kabuki stage where unseen musicians perform geza music live, in step with the drama.
後見こうけんkōkenA kōken is the onstage attendant who supports an actor—managing props and costume changes—usually performed by the actor's own disciples.
小道具こどうぐkodōguKodōgu are kabuki's props—items actors carry or wear, and objects set on stage—from swords and umbrellas to hanging scrolls.
すっぽんすっぽんsupponDIAGRAMThe suppon is the small trap in the hanamichi reserved, by convention, for sorcerers, spirits, and other beings beyond the human.
セリせりseriDIAGRAMSeri are kabuki's stage elevators—sections of the floor that rise and sink with actors or entire sets aboard.
床山とこやまtokoyamaTokoyama are the craftspeople who dress, style, and maintain kabuki wigs, giving each role its finished head of hair.
緞帳どんちょうdonchōA donchō is a curtain that rises and falls—unlike kabuki's traditional draw curtain—used mainly for dance pieces and newly written works.
廻り舞台まわりぶたいmawari-butaiThe mawari-butai is kabuki's revolving stage: while one scene plays out front, the next is prepared behind, and a single rotation changes the world in moments.
05MUSIC, WORDS & THEATRE-GOING

Music, Words & Theatre-going

From nagauta music and the shouts of ōmukō to kabuki words that crossed into everyday Japanese.

イヤホンガイドいやほんがいどiyahon gaidoThe Earphone Guide is an in-theatre audio service that explains the story, stage conventions, and music of kabuki in real time as the play unfolds.
大向うおおむこうōmukōDIAGRAMŌmukō are the well-timed shouts of an actor's house name—"Naritaya!"—from the back of the theatre, and the aficionados who make them.
口上こうじょうkōjōPICTUREKōjō is the formal address delivered from the stage to the audience—most famously the ceremonial scene in which actors in formal dress announce a name succession.
三味線しゃみせんshamisenPICTUREThe shamisen is the three-stringed, plectrum-struck instrument at the heart of kabuki music, built in thin-, middle-, and thick-necked types for different musical styles.
守破離しゅはりshuhariVIDEOShuhari names the three stages of mastering a traditional art: faithfully keep the master's form, then break from it, and finally transcend it.
正念場しょうねんばshōnenbaVIDEOShōnenba—Japanese for a make-or-break moment—is said to come from kabuki: the scene in which a character's true nature must be fully revealed.
千穐楽せんしゅうらくsenshūrakuSenshūraku is the closing day of a theatrical run; in kabuki it is traditionally written with a character that avoids the element for "fire."
竹本たけもとtakemotoPICTURETakemoto is gidayū narrative music as performed in kabuki: a chanter and thick-necked shamisen carry the story in plays adapted from the puppet theatre.
長唄ながうたnagautaNagauta is the lyrical school of shamisen music that grew up with Edo kabuki, accompanying dance and coloring scenes throughout the play.
名題なだいnadaiNadai is the senior rank of kabuki actors, attained through a qualifying examination and a formal promotion; other actors are called nadai-shita.
番付・筋書ばんづけ・すじがきbanzuke / sujigakiPICTUREBanzuke are kabuki's traditional playbills; their descendants are today's theatre programs, called sujigaki in Tokyo.
一幕見席ひとまくみせき(まくみ)hitomakumi-seki / makumiThe single-act gallery on the fourth floor of the Kabukiza lets you watch just one act at a modest price—kabuki's most casual point of entry.
梨園りえんrienRien, "the pear garden," is an elegant name for the world of kabuki, derived from the Tang emperor Xuanzong, who taught music and drama in a pear orchard.
06ROLES & FAMILY ARTS

Roles & Family Arts

Heroes and villains, great names and their succession — the words of what the Ichikawa family hands down.

お家芸おいえげいoiegeiOiegei is the art a family has excelled at and handed down for generations—in kabuki, most famously the Ichikawa Sōke's aragoto style.
顔見世かおみせkaomiseKaomise is the annual "face-showing" production that introduced a theatre's newly assembled troupe—once the most important event of the kabuki year.
敵役かたきやくkatakiyakuKatakiyaku are kabuki's villain roles—from scheming court nobles to realistic evildoers—whose menace makes the heroes shine all the brighter.
隈取の色くまどりのいろkumadori no iroDIAGRAMThe colours of kumadori makeup tell you who a character is: red for heroic justice, indigo blue for villains and vengeful spirits, brown for demons and the supernatural.
傾城けいせいkeiseiKeisei—literally "castle-toppler"—is the name for a courtesan of the highest rank, portrayed in kabuki as a figure of supreme beauty, dignity, and spirit.
石橋物しゃっきょうものshakkyōmonoShakkyōmono are the lion-dance pieces derived from the noh play Shakkyō, in which a lion spirit dances majestically, whirling its long mane.
曽我物そがものsoga-monoSoga-mono are plays based on the Soga brothers' vendetta—a story so beloved that Edo theatres staged a Soga play every New Year.
立役たちやくtachiyakuTachiyaku are the male roles of kabuki—and the actors who specialize in them—forming the counterpart to the onnagata female-role specialists.
初舞台はつぶたいhatsubutaiHatsubutai is an actor's formal stage debut—in kabuki, the moment a young actor first performs under a professional stage name.
名跡みょうせきmyōsekiA myōseki is a historic stage name handed down through generations—in kabuki, the name itself is a vessel of artistry and history.
07THE ICHIKAWA HOUSE & THE THEATRE WORLD

The Ichikawa House & the Theatre World

The mimasu crest, the Danjūrō persimmon, the name Hakuen — words of the Naritaya house, and of the Edo theatre business.

市川宗家いちかわそうけIchikawa SōkeIchikawa Sōke is the customary name for Naritaya, the head family of the Ichikawa Danjūrō lineage — the house that has inherited aragoto, the Kabuki Jūhachiban, and the Danjūrō name.
江戸三座えどさんざEdo sanzaPICTUREThe Edo sanza were the three officially licensed playhouses of Edo—the Nakamura-za, Ichimura-za, and Morita-za—the heart of Edo kabuki until the Meiji era.
楽屋がくやgakuyaPICTUREThe gakuya are the rooms behind the stage where performers prepare and rest—a word said to derive from the place where court musicians once played.
勘亭流かんていりゅうkanteiryūPICTUREKanteiryū is the thick, rounded lettering of kabuki signboards and programs, written without gaps in the auspicious hope of a packed house.
座頭ざがしらzagashiraThe zagashira is the actor at the head of a troupe—supreme in both artistry and standing, who in the Edo period wielded authority over the stage and the company alike.
桟敷さじきsajikiPICTURESajiki are the raised box seats along the sides of the auditorium, descended from ancient festival viewing stands and preserved at the Kabukiza today.
千両役者せんりょうやくしゃsenryō yakushaPICTUREA senryō yakusha is an actor whose popularity commanded a yearly salary of a thousand ryō—Ichikawa Danjūrō II is counted among the first to earn the title.
團十郎茶だんじゅうろうちゃdanjūrō-chaDIAGRAMDanjūrō-cha is the persimmon-brown traditional colour of the Ichikawa Sōke, said to have become fashionable when Danjūrō V wore a robe of this colour in Shibaraku.
白猿はくえんhakuenHakuen, "white monkey," is the literary name originated by Danjūrō V as an emblem of humility—still falling short of the masters—and borne today by Danjūrō XIII.
幕間まくあいmakuaiMakuai—properly read makuai, not makuma—is the intermission between acts, long enjoyed as part of the pleasure of a day at the theatre.
三升みますmimasuDIAGRAMMimasu, the crest of the Ichikawa Sōke (the head family of the Ichikawa Danjūrō lineage), depicts three nested measuring boxes—an auspicious design said to derive from three masu presented to Danjūrō I.
櫓やぐらyaguraDIAGRAMThe yagura is the tower structure raised above a playhouse entrance—once the exclusive mark of an officially licensed theatre and the symbol of its right to perform.
08KABUKI IN EVERYDAY JAPANESE

Kabuki in Everyday Japanese

Naraku, kuromaku, nimaime, kokera-otoshi — words born in the theatre that Japanese still uses every day.

板につくいたにつくita ni tsukuIta ni tsuku—"to settle onto the boards"—described an actor whose art had grown to fit the stage, and now describes anyone who has grown fully into a role or profession.
大詰おおづめōzumeŌzume is the final act of a kabuki program—said to have named the last act of a history play in Edo kabuki—and in daily Japanese any matter "reaching its ōzume" is entering its final stage.
黒幕くろまくkuromakuA kuromaku is the black stage curtain that signifies night and darkness—and in everyday Japanese the "black curtain" has come to mean a mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes.
こけら落としこけらおとしkokera-otoshiKokera-otoshi—"sweeping off the wood shavings," said to derive from clearing the roof at the end of construction—is the celebratory first performance in a newly built or renovated theatre.
差金さしがねsashiganeA sashigane is the slender black pole used to fly prop butterflies and birds on stage—or to work a puppet's arm—whence the everyday phrase for someone secretly pulling the strings.
三枚目さんまいめsanmaimeDIAGRAMSanmaime, "the third billboard"—the spot said to have been reserved for the comic actor's name—now means the funny one, the clown of any group.
修羅場しゅらばshurabaShuraba—"the battlefield of the ashura," a Buddhist image—came to name the scenes of fierce combat in the puppet theatre and kōdan storytelling, and today means any scene of turmoil.
捨て台詞すてぜりふsutezerifuA sutezerifu was originally an unscripted line improvised by a kabuki actor—today it means the parting shot flung out as someone storms off.
奈落ならくnarakuDIAGRAMNaraku—originally a Buddhist word for hell—names the space beneath the stage and hanamichi, and lives on in the everyday phrase naraku no soko, "the bottomless depths."
二枚目にまいめnimaimeDIAGRAMNimaime, "the second billboard"—where the handsome lover's name was posted outside Edo-period playhouses—is now everyday Japanese for a good-looking man.
花形はながたhanagataHanagata—said to derive from hanakata, the "flower side" of actors prized for brilliance and popularity—now names the star of any field.
檜舞台ひのきぶたいhinoki-butaiA hinoki-butai is a stage floored in cypress, once said to be reserved for the most prestigious theatres—hence the everyday phrase for a grand stage on which to prove oneself.
幕切れまくぎれmakugireMakugire is the closing of the curtain on an act—and, by extension, the way anything comes to an end.
幕の内まくのうちmakunouchiThe makunouchi bento, Japan's classic boxed meal of rice and assorted side dishes, is said to take its name from the intervals "within the curtains" of a day at the theatre.