Stage Equipment and Effect

"O-edo shibai nenjiu gyo-ji" "Omemie"
Artist：吟光　　O-ban, Colour print
Ritsumeikan Art Research Center(no. arcUP2059)

The first performance for actors who transferred from a theatre in Kamigata(Osaka and Kyoto) to Edo is called Omemie. Although which performance would be presented differs depending on the actor's preference, usually they inserted those performances in a scene called Danmari.
Danmari is a scene that actors perform on a stage without lightning. Usually in Danmari, actors just dance in slow motion without line, however it's composed to show their pose in certain moments.
Also, Danmari can be a turning-point of a story. For example, characters scramble for an important object related to the plot of Kyogen, and the story develops by changing its possessor.
In this picture, one of the stage setting mechanisms of Kabuki called Seriage (stage elevator) was used, and entertained the audience by actors suddenly appearing on a stage. This stage effect also offered a suitable situation for Omemie.

[Glossary]
　Danmari、Seridashi、Tachimawari
【関連コーナー】
　「演技と演出」