Unlined garments should never be worn in aragoto plays. To give them body, they should be lined with wadded cotton—never with silk, since silk, being soft, would not give the necessary fullness. The juban should always be red, for red is the color most successful in portraying a robust character.
5. One must not wear tabi with the kamishimo—that is, the combination of hakama and a jumper with winglike shoulders worn over the kimono. To be shod with tabi when wearing this costume makes a person appear weak. (Danjūrō learned this from his own experience in later years.)
6. White tabi make one appear frail.
7. The white base of kumadori make-up should be applied unevenly in order to make the kumadori appear less flat.
8. Before striking a mie (stylized cross-eyed pose), it is best to close the eyes, for when they are opened again they will appear larger. (At first the mie appears extremely ridiculous to the Western observer, but it is very much admired and appreciated by the true Kabuki fan.)
9. Portray the feelings and bravado of a child of seven when performing aragoto. Do not act in the manner of a good-for-nothing or a gambler, for this leaves only the impression of vulgarity.
10. Use beni (red coloring), not rouge or lipstick, on the face and around the eyes, but it must not be too bright. If it is too dark, however, it will look black from a distance. (Lighting for performances was provided by natural light during the day and by candlelight in the evening.)
11. For roles calling for seppuku (suicide by disembowelment) or the portrayal of illness, paint the lips white rather than blue, since white lips give a bluish tinge to the face. Also, purse or tighten the lips to make them look narrow, since this gives a person the appearance of suffering or the approach of death. (Seppuku is the formal word for hara-kiri: ritual suicide performed in order to the with honor. The samurai performed it by thrusting a short sword into the left side of his abdomen, pulling it across and then up; others by simply cutting from left to right across the abdomen. Danjūrō's advice regarding the portrayal of seppuku and illness is still followed today.)
12. For a role that calls for a lost or wounded eye, to keep the eye closed constantly would be difficult and would distort the muscles of the face; so the eye should be painted black, which makes it appear to be blind or wounded.
GENROKU THEATERS OF EDO
At the beginning of the Genro era (1688-1703) there were seven theaters in the city of Edo. Only four of these—the Morita-za, the Murayama-za, the Yamamura-za, and the Nakamura-za— were yagura: theaters licensed by the government. The remaining three—the Miyako-za, the Tamagawa-za, and the Kawarasaki-za, which were unlicensed—served alternately as hikae yagura (reserve or unlicensed managements) for the Nakamura-za which was in financial straits and could not afford a run. The hikae yagura had authority to sponsor stage performances for the yagura when they were financially unable to give a scheduled program.
In 1652, the Murayama-za sold its yagura rights to Ichimura Uzaemon, who changed the name of the theater to the Ichimura-za. The Murayama-za thereby forfeited its right to resume business under its original name, but subsequently it became a potential unlicensed or reserve management under the name of Kiri-za.
A scandalous love affair between Ikushima, an actor attached to the Yamamura-za, and a ranking lady-in-waiting by the name of Ejima resulted not only in their exile but also in the closing of all theaters in Edo on February 6, 1712. Later three of the previously licensed theaters were allowed to reopen, but the Yamamura-za was excluded. Two of the three hikae yagura were re-established, and the third, the Miyako-za, was replaced by the Kiri-za.
The three licensed theaters of Edo, known collectively as Edo San-za (the Three Theaters of Edo) were called Aon (main) yagura. The word yagura was used interchangeably to refer to the management and, in its literal sense, to the drum tower which was built on the roof over the main entrance of the theater and from which floated bunting emblazoned with the theater owner's crest. The right to fly his flag actually certified that the theater owner had official permission to give performances.
Friction was inevitable between the hon yagura (licensed theaters) and the hikae yagura (unlicensed managements), for the hikae yagura would refuse to close their theatrical performances when the hon yagura reached financial independence. Even though the managements of the theaters changed, actors usually remained with their respective theaters.
Generally performances were given during six alternate months each year: November, January, March, May, July, and September. The acting year began in November with the kaomise, the face-showing or formal introduction of a theatrical season, at which the actors were presented. The roles in which they would appear during the season were announced.
The intervening months were equally busy for the actors, who spent this time in intensive rehearsal. They took dancing, singing, and samisen lessons. The theater managers used these intervals to raise the money for the following month's performance. Since banks and moneylending establishments did not exist, management had to turn to prosperous chōnin to finance each season's runs. If a production proved popular, the chōnin received a percentage of the profits, plus interest on the original loan. For lack of attendance, plays would sometimes close after a week's run. On the other hand, programs that appealed to the public would run until the "beginning of the next season"—that is, a program begun in January might run until March, perhaps for sixty days.
THE JŌSHIKI MAKU, KABUKI'S STANDARD CURTAIN
Activities of the Edo San-za (the three licensed theaters of Edo) are only memories, but contemporary audiences have a constant reminder of these illustrious theaters in the three colors of the jōshiki maku, Kabuki's standard striped draw curtain, which represents these three never-to-be-forgotten playhouses that did so much to further the prestige of the Kabuki. The Ichimura-za, in 1664, was the first to use the three-colored striped cotton curtain of black, kaki (reddish brown), and moss green. These same colors are used today in all traditional Kabuki theaters. The Nakamura-za varied the colors, using stripes of black, kaki (reddish brown), and white. The Morita-za also used the classic striping but changed the order, using green, kaki (reddish brown), and black. It can be assumed that the inspiration for the three-colored curtain came from the five-colored agemaku, the entrance curtain of the Nō stage.
An exact replica of the Nō curtain could not be used: the aristocratic Nō actors would have felt it a reprehensible breach of ethics if the "river-bed beggars" had encroached upon their domain. The jōshiki maku is an unvarying feature of all pure Kabuki. The curtain is pulled by hand from one side of the stage to the other, from stage left to stage right at the beginning of the play, of an act, or of a scene, from stage right to stage left at the end—or vice versa. The types of plays are not identified by the direction in which the jōshiki maku is drawn, but the use of a drop curtain or donchō, which was introduced into Japan after 1868, signifies that the drama is not of classic Kabuki origin.
REGULATIONS GOVERNING COSTUMES
BEFORE AND DURING GENROKU
The government kept a wary eye on both costumes and properties of Kabuki from the days of the early Wakashu Kabuki throughout Genro. This was not unnatural, for the government often issued restrictive bans not only upon actors but also on all other classes of people, including the nobles. To stem the spread of excessive luxury in the spirited Genro era, the Tokugawa shōgunate repeatedly imposed limitations on the wearing of extravagant clothing, on the display of wealth, and on free indulgence in luxury. Such injunctions were often ignored, and this led to additional, more repressive bans.
In January 1662, one such follow-up order was posted to the effect that actors and dancers must refrain from extravagant living on and off the stage; stage properties could not be covered with gold or silver plating;
