Kidogeisha
きどげいしゃ 木戸芸者
総合
歌舞伎
A kind of a member of a theatre in Edo period. They also worked as Kidoban. Two or three of Kidogeisha stood in front of Kido, and instructed pedestrians into a theatre with reading aloud a titles of the plays in a singing tone, announcing a casting, or performing mimicry of actors. They can be regarded as a kind of admen. They usually didn't have a role, except for certain rituals such as Kaomise, and nothing but required rewords for their performances from actors and sponsors. The people disliked them even at that time. Their costume were gift from actors, and quite showy dress. This position was abolished when Morita-za theatre moved to Shintomi-cho in 1872(Meiji 5). By the end of Edo period, it became to be called Okuri, an attendance, because the role as admen was disappeared and their main occupation had become attending actors.