Leiter S.L. Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre

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SOGA MONO • 371

SHU

TANBA. ‘‘Heartbreaking scenes,’’ as in the jidai mono ‘‘Morit-

suna Jinya’’ (O

mi Genji Senjin Yakata), when, following the kubi jik-

ken, Moritsuna, his wife, his mother, and Koshiro

’s mother gather

around the boy’s body and lament his passing. Scenes of par ting

(wakare) are especially poignant. In the sewa mono, ‘‘Sakaya’’

(Hade Sugata Onna Maiginu), Hanshichi’s wife, Osono, his father,

and her parents read his farewell letter, in which he says he is going

to commit lovers’ suicide (shinju

; see SHINJU MONO) with San-

katsu, a scene made even more heartrending because it is eavesdrop-

ped on by Hanshichi and Sankatsu. In some cases, the principals have

been united after a long separations; circumstances, however, force

them to hide their true identities from their loved ones, and they must

par t again, this time forever. See also KOWAKARE; KUDOKI;

SAWARI.

SHU

TO. A ‘‘father-in-law’’ puppet head used in bunraku sewa mono

for older men. It mingles stubbornness with softer qualities. See also

TO.

BAN. A gong used in the bunraku and kabuki geza. It is a metal disk

with a rough surface, suspended b y ropes within a large wooden

frame and struck with a wooden hammer. There is also a somber

musical passage called so

ban. It uses the o

daiko and the so

ban gong,

and is heard mainly at the start of temple scenes. See also NARI

MONO.

SOGA MONO. Plays and dances about the Soga brothers, the legend-

ary Soga Juˆro

Sukenari and Soga Goro

Tokimune, who, in 1193, per-

formed one of Japan’s most famous revenges, when, after biding

their time for 18 years, they killed Kudo

no Suketsune, the man

responsible for their father’s death. Eventually, their spirits were wor-

shiped as deities. The story has been dramatized in no

, bunraku, and

kabuki, where perhaps 300 pieces have treated it. The main source is

the Soga

onogatari (see LITERARY SOURCES), dating from the

late Kamakura period.

The ﬁrst Soga puppet play was a ko jo

ruri. Before long, the subject

had been treated a dozen times by Chikamatsu Monzaemon.

Kabuki ﬁrst dramatized the material in 1675. The early tradition of

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372 • SOGIMEN

playing both brothers as aragoto heroes was revised in 1682 when

Nakamura Shichisaburo

I acted Juˆro

in wagoto style, which

became standard.

By the 1730s, it was customary for the edo sanza to include a Soga

mono on the annual hatsuharu kyo

gen because of its auspicious

associations, a tradition maintained into the 19th century. Today, the

classic example is Kotobuki Soga no Taimen, often produced in Janu-

ary. As in that play, it was the custom to include the name Soga in

the title of such plays, and a large number of other conventions asso-

ciated with the story became familiar.

A major development in the mid-18th century was the telling of

the story in two halves, one in jidai mono style, the other in sewa

mono style. The townsman hero of the latter, set in contemporary

times, would turn out to be Soga Goro

in disguise (see MITATE),

the best example being Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura. See also

GYO

SOGIMEN. Acomicalkabuki mask worn in the tachimawari of

‘‘Suzugamori’’ (Ukiyozuka Hiyoku no Inazuma). When its wearer’s

face is struck with a sword, the front falls forward as if the face has

been sliced off, revealing a stylized image of the inside of the head.

SOKU MIE. All kabuki mie in which the actor stands erect, with his

heels touching. One variant is the fudo

no mie, performed by Benkei

in Kanjincho

, where the pose is modeled on the god Fudo

SOKUTAI. A bunraku and kabuki costume worn by high-ranking court

nobles, and based on clothing worn by imperial court ofﬁcials in the

Heian era. It is worn by Lord O

kura in Kiichi Ho

gen Sanryaku no

Maki, and Sadato

in Act 3 of O

shu

Adachigahara.

SONOHA

CHI

BUSHI. Also miyazono bushi, a style of kabuki music

created in Kyoto by Miyakoji Sonohachi I (ﬂ. 1735), a disciple of

Miyakoji Bungonojo

(see BUNGO BUSHI), and perfected by Miya-

koji Sonohachi II (?–1785) in the mid-18th century. Its popularity

waned after 1811 but, because of its romantic pathos, it is still played

in shinju

mono, such as Meido no Hikyaku and Toribeyama Shinju

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STAGE: KABUKI • 373

STAGE: BUNRAKU. The bunraku stage resembles the kabuki stage—

especially in its being rather wide and low, but it has certain impor-

tant differences. It is smaller, being around 36 feet wide by 25 feet

deep and 15 feet high. A striped, three-color—black, persimmon, and

green—draw curtain (jo

shikimaku), similar to kabuki’s, hides the set

before the play begins. It does not have a mawari butai but it does

have elevator traps (less used than in kabuki) and a hanamichi. The

large trap (seri) was ﬁrst seen in 1757 at the Toyotake-za in ‘‘Kin-

kaku-ji’’ (Gion Sairei Shinko

ki). The hanamichi has b een r eintro-

duced into bunraku in recent times after falling out of use for many

years. It runs in a trough-like depression with borders at its sides to

maintain the illusion of ﬂooring for the puppets’ feet. The three

unique bunraku stage elements are the tesuri, funazoko, and yuka.

All these architectural innovations, developed over many years, are

designed to make it possible for the feet of the puppets, which are

ﬂoating in the air, to seem as if they are treading terra ﬁrma, while

also making the crouching of the ashizukai more comfortable.

STAGE: KABUKI. The earliest kabuki stages, which were erected in

the dry bed of Kyoto’s Kamo River at the turn of the 17th century,

were based on the gable-roofed no

stages, equipped with hashiga-

kari, used in kanjin no

performances. Spectators sat in the unroofed

doma, and, when provided, in sajiki on either side of the stage

proper. The theatre space was surrounded by a bamboo palisade with

a yagura (‘‘drum tower’’) over the main entrance. Spectators entered

by bending over to pass through the low entrance door (nezumi kido

)

so that only one at a time could enter. In 1624, the Saruwaka-za (see

NAKAMURA-ZA), the ﬁrst permanent theatre, was built in Edo.

In the second half of the 17th century, a traveler curtain (hikimaku

or jo

shiki maku) was introduced, as was scenery, the hashigakari

(which was horizontal, not on an angle) was shortened, and a fore-

stage (tsuke butai) was added. Early versions of the hanamichi

appeared, but were not yet permanent architectural features. The

early 18th century saw theatres grow in size, and an elaborate system

of kanban created to advertise the productions being shown. In the

1720s, the theatres were roofed, forming a uniﬁed structure. The ha-

shigakari widened

nd became indistinguishable from the stage

proper (hon butai), the hanamichi gradually became permanent, and

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374 • STAGE: NO

the backstage (gakuya) area was built in three stories. The main act-

ing area still resembled a no

stage, with its pillars (see DAIJIN

BASHIRA) and gable-roof. At one point, there was a nanoridai situ-

ated in the doma, attached to the hanamichi, but it was soon dis-

carded. The century also saw the addition of a secondary hanamichi

(higashi no ayayumi or kari hanamichi), and a crossover connecting

the two runways at the rear of the house. Kamigata theatres of the

early 19th century introduced the karaido, a well-like opening at the

junction of the main hanamichi and the stage, for cer tain unusual

entrances.

Technical stage devices made strides in the mid-18th century,

among them the mawari butai, seri, suppon, and such special tech-

niques as gando

gaeshi, hikiwari, etc. By the end of the century, the-

atres began to remove the old no

-style pillars and roof from the stage.

Additional changes were constantly being made whenever a theatre

was reconstructed after a ﬁre, a very frequent occurrence when all

theatres were made of wood. During the ﬁrst third of the 19th cen-

tury, kabuki theatres achieved their classic form, although their size

continued to increase, eventually losing the intimacy that was inte-

grally par t of premodern kabuki. One important new a rch itect ur al

revision was the move of the geza music room from stage left to stage

right.

In 1872, during the early Meiji period, the Morita-za (later Shin-

tomi-za) began to introduce Western features, including the elimina-

tion of a forestage, the use of a proscenium, a tin roof, chair seating,

etc. In 1911, the ﬁrst entirely Western-style theatre, the Teikoku

Gekijo

, was built. After the Great Kanto

Earthquake of 1923, the-

atres universally adopted Western-style seating, although a small

number retained tatami-mat seating in the sajiki galleries.

STAGE: NO

. This is built entir ely o f Japanes e cyp ress (hinoki)and

bears a unique conﬁguration comprising a number of elements with

speciﬁc technical names. It is a beautiful open space in and of itself

and requires no scenic investiture to be appreciated. Viewing it in

action, it is easy to understand why it is often referred to as a sacred

space joining the phenomenal world to that of the spirits. When sce-

nery is used, it appears mainly in the form of skeletal or symbolic

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STAGE: NO

• 375

structures (tsukuri mono; see PROPERTIES: NO

) that only suggest

the real object they are intended to represent.

The main acting area is the butai (‘‘stage’’) or hon butai (‘‘main

stage’’). It is very slightly raked from its rear (atoza; see below)to

its front. Adorning the rear wall (kagami ita) of this acting area is a

painting of a pine tree; these paintings range from the traditional ones

done in the Kano

style to more formalized examples. The pine tree

is generally considered to be a symbol of an ancient one at the

Kasuga Shrine in Nara, an important site in early no

histor y (see

TAKIGI NO

). The no

stage has been theorized in various theoretical

ways, most commonly in terms of the jo-ha-kyu

rhythmic progres-

sion.

There are about 70 no

stages in Japan, the oldest, built in 1568,

being situated at Itsukushima Shrine just off the island of Miyajima

in the Inland Sea, in such a way that when the tide comes in it sepa-

rates the audience on the shore from the stage itself. The other, dating

from around 1595 (sources differ on the year), was built for warlord

Toyotomi Hideyoshi on his castle grounds at Momoyama; it was

moved to the Nishi Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto in 1626.

In premodern times, the auditorium seating (kenjo or kensho) sur-

rounded the main acting area, which is approximately 18 feet square,

on three sides, but nowadays—because of space limitations—most

stages are viewed from only two sides. Contemporary no

indoor

theatres (no

gakudo

)—the pioneer of which opened in Tokyo’s Shiba

Park in 1881—hold 500 to 800 spectators. The effect is like that of a

Western thrust stage. In looking directly at the front of the main act-

ing area, the audience sees the raised stage and two square pillars at

either side downstage; these are the metsuke bashira, on the audi-

ences’ left, and the waki bashira, on the right. Two more pillars are

at either side about two thirds of the distance upstage; these are the

shite bashira , on the audience’s left, and the fue bashira,onthe

right. On special occasions, ritual paper pendants (gohei) are hung

between the pillars.

The position taken by the shite when he enters the main stage from

the hashigakari bridgeway and stands next to the shite bashira is the

za (nanoriza in kyo

gen). He completes his performance here before

departing on the hashigakari.

The

space between the shite bashira

and metsuke bashira is the waki sho

men (‘‘waki frontage’’) because,

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376 • STAGE: NO

to the waki, who sits at the wakiza position facing sideways, this area

is a kind of frontage. The actual frontage, seen by the audience facing

the metsuke bashira and waki bashira is the sho

men, while the

above-mentioned waki sho

men also applies to the frontage as seen by

the audience on the side facing the shite bashira and metsuke bashi-

ra. A wedge-shaped group of seats between the waki sho

men and

sho

men is the chu

sho

men (‘‘middle frontage’’).

The four pillars, which have speciﬁc performance functions, sup-

port the gabled roof, resembling shrine architecture, over the stage.

Such stages were originally built out of doors, usually on the grounds

of temples or shrines, but sometimes at private residences. While

some continue to exist in outdoor settings, the vast majority are found

indoors, where the roofed stage is retained.

In the upstage area beyond the shite bashira and fue bashira is the

atoza, a rear space about nine feet wide occupied by the three or four

musicians (hayashikata), who sit facing front. Behind them is the

kagami ita. In the upstage right corner is the ko

kenza,wherethe

ken for the shite sits. The highly polished ﬂoorboards of the main

stage run upstage, but the boards of the atoza run sideways.

Adjoining the main acting area at stage left is the jiutaiza, a space

about three feet wide for the jiutai members (jiutaikata), who kneel

there in two rows of four members (or more) each facing the main

acting space. A low railing is behind them. In the upstage left wall of

the atoza is the low doorway called kirido guchi for use by the

chorus and ko

ken.

The down center portion of the main stage is the sho

saki, the cen-

tral area is the sho

chu

, and the rear area is the daisho

mae, which cor-

responds

o the place just below where the o

tsuzumi (dai)and

kotsuzumi (sho) players sit (see KOTSUZUMI AND O

TSUZUMI).

The space before the jiutai is the jiutai-mae, and that before the fue

player is the fueza-mae.

Running at an oblique angle from the shite bashira at stage right

is the roofed no

hashigakari, used for entrances and exits, as well as

for acting sequences. It has a low railing, is 33 to 52 feet long and

six and a half feet wide, and leads into the kagami no ma, from

which the actors enter and into which they exit. Separating the

kagami no ma from the bridgeway is the agemaku curtain. A pebble

border, the shirasu, runs along the bridgeway and around the main

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SUGA SENSUKE (?–?) • 377

stage. In the portion that borders the bridgeway are three small pines,

called, respectively, from the position closest to the stage, ﬁrst pine

tree (ichi no matsu), second pine tree (ni no matsu), and third pine

tree ( san no matsu). Two more pine trees are often placed on the

upstage side of the bridgeway. The pine trees—each about the size

of a human being—are said to remind audiences of when actors tra-

versed a tree-lined space between dressing room and stage in no

’s

early days. A three-step unit (shirasu bashigo or kizahashi) is placed

at the front of the main acting area, although no longer used. Origi-

nally, actors stepped down from them to receive a lord’s instructions

or gifts.

Beneath many stages are 13 or so large jars, usually partially sunk

in holes and partially suspended from wires. They are intended to

enhance the sound of stamping (and chanting) in the plays. Directly

behind the stage is the dressing room (gakuya).

In the modern age, no

plays are often given in nontraditional ven-

ues, such as contemporary theatres, public halls, and department

stores; abroad, such venues as the Temple of Dendor at New York’s

Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza,

Italy, have proved suitable substitutes. In no’s early days, all that was

needed was an open space and a makeshift platform. The standard-

ization of the stage occurred during the Edo period when the stage at

Edo Castle became the model on which others were built.

SUAMI. A kabuki costume consisting of a round-necked shir t con-

structed of interwoven black, silk, and silver thread, designed to sug-

gest chain mail. It is seen on characters such as Nikki Danjo

Meiboku Sendai Hagi.

SUBAYASHI. A concert recital of no

in which a dance highlight uses

a musical accompaniment but no chanting (utai).

SUETE. Notation in a jo

ruri script to indicate a sad or highly emotional

passage. See also GIDAYU

BUSHI.

SUGA SENSUKE (?–?). Bunraku playwright who began his career

as apprentice to chanter Toyotake Konotayu

II at the Toyotake-za.

When his literary skills became apparent, he switched to playwriting,

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378 • SUJIGUMA

eventually creating 33 plays, some independent and others collabora-

tively (gassaku). His forte was writing sewa mono and revising old

ones, in contrast to the jidai mono of his great contemporary, Chika-

matsu Hanji. His chanter training made his writing comprehensible

and musically effective. Among his many popular plays are Some

Moyo

Imose no Kadomatsu, Sesshu

Gappo

ga Tsuji, Date Musume

Koi no Higanoko, and Katsuragawa Renri no Shigarami. In 1772, he

retired to Kyoto, but when Konotayu

II began producing in 1789 at

Osaka’s Kita Horie-za (Toyotake Konomo-za), Sensuke returned to

playwriting.

SUJIGUMA. An elaborate kabuki kumadori-style makeup devised by

Ichikawa Danju

II for aragoto. It uses four sets of sweeping red

lines. One set is drawn upward to the temples from the inner ends of

the eyebrows; another from the cheeks upward to the outer temples;

a third from the nostrils to the cheeks; and a fourth from the position

between the eyebrows toward the forelock of the wig. Wearers

include Gongoro

in Shibaraku and Umeo

in ‘‘Kuruma Biki’’

(Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami).

SUJO

RURI. Originally a reference to chanting a jo

ruri text without

shamisen accompaniment; today it means a concert recital of jo

ruri

with accompaniment but without puppets. This makes it imperative

for the performers to create the images of characters and action with-

out any visual references, much like a radio drama. It is considered

very difﬁcult to pull off successfully, but it is employed as a training

method for young performers.

An important Edo-period form of sujo

ruri featured women per-

formers, who performed in private venues. When laws allowing

women to perform publicly were passed in the Meiji period, it

enjoyed great success. Known then as onna gidayu

(‘‘women’s

gidayu

’’) or musume gidayu

(‘‘girls’ gidayu

’’), it is now commonly

known as joryu

gidayu

(‘‘actresses’ gidayu

’

’). At ﬁrst, its popularity

as linked to its attractive performers but it gradually gained artistic

acceptance and even produced a Living National Treasure in Take-

moto Tosahiro. See also KURUMA NINGYO.

SUNOKO. The overhead ‘‘drain board’’ grid located beneath the ceiling

on a kabuki stage.InKamigata,itisbudo

dana (‘‘grape shelf’’). It

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SURIASHI • 379

assists in the hanging of overhead units, like the tsurieda, and is also

from whence snow and petals fall.

SUO

. A wide-sleeved outer robe worn as everyday wear by samurai and

ordinary men in no

and as ceremonial clothing by samurai in bun-

raku and kabuki jidai mono.Inno

, it has stencil-dyed designs and is

worn with trailing hakama (nagabakama)oro

guchi.Whenworn

with the former it is called suo

otoko; the latter is kake suo

The bunraku and kabuki version is called daimon and differs in

the way its accompanying hat is worn. Also, whereas the daimon is

always worn with nagabakama,thesuo

does not necessarily use

them. On the sleeves are oversized mon. An exaggerated example is

worn by the hero of Shibaraku. The plot of Suo

Otoshi focuses on a

suo

. See also COSTUMES: KABUKI; COSTUMES: NO

; RYU

JIN

MAKI.

SUPER KABUKI. The popular ‘‘Supaa’’ Kabuki created by Ichikawa

Ennosuke III, who thereby tried to move kabuki forward into the

21st century. Super kabuki stresses the ‘‘three S’s’’—speed, specta-

cle, and story. The ﬁrst example was 1986’s Yamato Takeru, a big hit

that was followed by a number of other examples, each more spectac-

ular than the last. Traditional kabuki conventions mingle with taped,

ampliﬁed music, ornate and fantastical costumes, scenery,

and light-

ing

, with numerous high-tech effects. The language is modern Japa-

nese but the plays derive from famous legends and are not especially

innovative.

SUPPON. The ‘‘snapping tur tle’’ ele vato r tra p ﬁtted i nto t he kabuki

hanamichi at shichisan, normally used for the appearances of magi-

cal or supernatural characters, including ghosts. Exceptions include

a scene in Hakata Kojo

Nami Makura, when someone is tossed off

a stage ship and vanishes into the water (suggested by ﬂoor cloths),

only to rise a moment later from the suppon, where he climbs into a

small boat that ﬂoats by.

SURIASHI. The d istinctive ‘‘sliding steps’’ used in no

walking

(hakobi), in which the tabi-clad actor glides across the polished

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380 • SURIHAKU

wooden ﬂoor, lifting his toes and setting them down but not lifting

his feet except for when leaps or stamping (hyo

shi) are required.

SURIHAKU. Women’s no

robes, which are white with gold and silver

foil designs printed on them; they fall into two categories. The ubagi-

haku is worn, for example, by the tsure in Takasago, and the uroko-

haku is worn by the nochijite (see SHITE)inAma. In some roles, an

embroidered nuihaku folded down at the waist (the koshimaki style)

is worn over the surihaku. Examples are the young male nochijite in

Atsumori and the female nochijite in Do

-ji.

The surihaku’s colors suggest the wearer’s age; thus, gold foil with

red is worn by young women, silver foil without red is for a woman

of middle age or older. A ﬁsh scale pattern suggests the wearer’s

demonic nature.

The style of wearing the outer kimono by simply tying it at the

waist with a sash, and draping the upper part to form a ‘‘V’’ at the

chest, is called kinagashi (‘‘worn ﬂowing’’), the dictionary meaning

of which is ‘‘not dressed up.’’ This style is also common to the kara-

ori. See also COSTUMES: NO

SUSOKARAGE. The informal male style of wearing a kimono in

kabuki by tucking its hem into the obi or carrying it in one hand.

Doing this protects the robe from dragging along the ground, and, by

exposing the legs, provides the wearer with considerable freedom of

movement. There is a host of hitching styles, each with a technical

name. See also COSTUMES: KABUKI.

SUTEZERIFU. ‘‘Ad-libbing’’ in kabuki.Earlykabuki was largely

improvised (kuchidate) but the dialogue (serifu) came to be written

down by playwrights. There are still, however, a number of

sequences where the actors are permitted to ad-lib their words,

moments audiences relish because of their spontaneity. It happens

more often in sewa mono than in jidai mono. Some examples were

retained and became set parts of the dialogue.

SU-UT

AI. A

type of ‘‘plain chant’’ concert recital of no

in which the

entire play is chanted (utai) by the shite, waki, tsure, and jiutai (and

the aikyo

gen when necessary) with the performers seated in place,

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