Do riddle elements survive in particular seasons or plays today?

The layer of implication Edo audiences enjoyed survives on today's stage. Most visible is the calendar. Kaomise continues as the run that presents the year's company; the New Year programme sets pieces with a suitably festive brightness. The custom of Soga plays in January also comes down from Edo, resting on a long association between the brothers' story and New Year auspiciousness. The choice of plays is itself a nod to the season.

Inside the works, too, the layer holds. A crest dyed into a costume may declare the actor's house. Word-chains and puns are salted into the dialogue so that a second sense rides under the first. The details of the set quietly announce the season and the hour. None of this is explained, so it passes unnoticed if you do not catch it — and once you do, the same scene shows two faces at once.

Today's audiences also have help the Edo ones lacked. The programme sold in the theatre carries the cast and commentary; the earphone guide supplies background timed to the scene. These are, in effect, the official companions to the riddle. So it is not at all the case that knowledge is required to enjoy it. The story the first time, the devices the second — kabuki was designed for layered viewing from the beginning.