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Kuroko (Japanese: 黒衣, lit. "black clad") [1] are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2019) |
Kuroko (Japanese: 黒衣, lit. "black clad") [1] are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black.
黒衣 is primarily read kurogo, differentiating from the other readings kokui/kokue/kuroginu "black clothes" – the go/gi suffix underlining the wearing intent. Another synonym for the stagehands was also 黒具 kurogo "black instrument" as they were meant to serve the performance. Over time the non voiced mispronounciation kuroko also started being popularly used, and needed its own spelling that took the simple 子 ko character as an ateji (sound only), making the 黒子 kuroko word. Originally though 黒子 was read hokuro and meant "beauty spot". By contamination nowadays the two readings kuroko/kurogo are both available for the two spellings 黒衣/黒子.
In kabuki, the kuroko serve many of the same purposes as running crew. They move scenery and props on stage, aiding in scene changes and costume changes. They will also often play the role of animals, will-o-the-wisps, or other roles which are played not by an actor in full costume, but by holding a prop. Kuroko wear all black, head to toe, in order to imply that they are invisible and not part of the action onstage.
The convention of wearing black to imply that the wearer is invisible on stage is a central element in bunraku puppet theatre as well. Kuroko will wear white or blue in order to blend in with the background in a scene set, for example, in a snowstorm, or at sea, in which case they are referred to as "Yukigo" (雪衣, snow clad) or "Namigo" (波衣, wave clad) respectively. As this convention was extended to kabuki actors depicting stealthy ninja, historian Stephen Turnbull suggested that the stereotypical image of a ninja dressed all in black derived from kabuki. The theatrical convention of dressing ninja characters as apparent stagehands to imply stealth and to surprise audiences contributed to this popular image, in contrast to the historical reality that real ninjas usually dressed like civilians. [2]
In Noh theatre, a kōken, wearing black but no mask, serves much the same purpose.
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