generally considered, for it has made possible to a great extent the preservation of the kabuki art. There was a time when it was customary for an actor to play only the role in which he excelled. This stimulated an exclusive study of the character of definition of various types of men and women. Today, such specialization of action is much less practiced, because the actors generally quite versatile. There is an exception, however, in the onnagata. The secret of the onnagata's beauty as presented on the stage lies perhaps in the fact that it is a feminine beauty which has been created not naturally but artificially through the eyes of men objectively looking at the behavior and psychology of the opposite sex (Bowers, 320). In feudal times, kabuki actors, while popular among the general masses, held a very low social status. Today, however, their status has risen to such an extent that some of the distinguished actors have been elected to membership in the Academy of Art of Japan, the highest possible honor to be conferred on an artist. Every kabuki actor has a special house identification, called yago, in addition to his regular name. One of the traditional functions of these special names is quite unique. Enthusiastic members of the audience cheer their favorite actor upon his entrance or at certain timely moments during his performance by calling out his house name. In a kabuki performance, certain persons appear on the stage who are not actors. Especially during the early moments following the opening of the curtain, the audience will notice several strange looking figures, clad and hooded all in black, taking their places immediately behind the actors. Known as kurogo (man in black), they handle properties on the stage while the curtain is open and serve also as prompters. They are not characters in the play and the audience is supposed to disregard them. “A review of theatrical history of the world shows that an ancient dra...
