Kuroko Explained

[1] are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black.

Lexical background

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 unvoiced mispronounciation 'kuroko' also started to be 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.") The two readings kuroko/kurogo are both available for the two spellings 黒衣/黒子.

Description

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.

Colour variation

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 or 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.

Examples from popular culture

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 歌舞伎への誘い | 黒衣 . 2008-09-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171113060247/http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/kabuki/jp/4/4_04_07.html . 2017-11-13 . dead .
  2. Book: Stephen, Turnbull. Ninja AD 1460-1650.. 2012. Osprey Publishing. 9781299582705. 17. 842879597. The earliest pictorial reference to a ninja in black is a book illustration of 1801, which shows a ninja climbing into a castle wearing what everyone would immediately recognise as a ninja costume. However, it could simply be that it is pictures like these that have given us our image of the ninja rather than vice-versa. It is a long-standing artistic convention in Japan, seen today in the Bunraku puppet theatre, that to dress a character in black is to indicate to the viewer that he cannot see that person. To depict a silent assassin in an identical way in a picture would therefore be perfectly natural and understandable to the contemporary Japanese viewer, and need not imply that the resulting illustration is in any way an actual portrait of a ninja..
  3. http://www.wearepopslags.com/2008/meg-precious-j-pop/ Precious