Kido
木戸 きど
総合
歌舞伎
"Wooden door." Entrance gates in Edo-period theatres. While the term could refer to an on-stage free-standing gate dividing interior and exterior scenic spaces (kido guchi), or the theatre entry gate for production personnel (ura kido), it most often referred to the theatre entrance for ticket-holders. In this latter sense, it was also called nezumi kido (mouse door), due to the fact that its small size and low placement required spectators to bend over to enter the theatre, presumably to prevent non-paying spectators from slipping in. Tickets for those seated in the more expensive seating areas were typically arranged by the adjoining teahouses (shibaijaya), whose personnel escorted patrons to their seats along corridors connecting teahouses to the theatre, thus avoiding the kido entrance. (KSL)