“Kabuki”, a traditional Japanese performing art, is very popular among foreign tourists.
The colorful costumes and striking unique makeup are charming, and even if you don’t understand Japanese, you can understand things like anger, joy, and who is the villain and who is the hero just by watching.
However, many people, regardless of nationality, can be confused when watching Kabuki for the first time without knowledge of Kabuki’s unique calls.
While watching Kabuki, you may hear some calls coming from the rear! For first-time theater-goers, it may be surprising to suddenly hear some people in the back shouting loudly.
Kabuki has unique calls
“O-muko (a call) ” refers to the people who shout from the audience to enliven the Kabuki performance, such as “Naritaya!”, “Nakamuraya!”, and “Mattemashita!”. Generally, they call out from the front seats of the theater facing the stage, such as the third floor seats and the “Makumi-seki” (seats on the fourth floor where only one act can be seen).
It is considered rude to call out the actor’s real name, so they use the actor’s stage name or the name of the actor’s “ya” (guild or family) instead. Among regular customers or Kabuki enthusiasts, it is preferred to use these names to refer to the actors.
In the West, there is a curtain call, but there are no calls during the performance, so it is especially surprising. It may be similar to the Italian “Bravo!” in foreign countries.
However, “O-muko (a call) ” is not just about shouting loudly. You have to shout so that your voice reaches the stage from the farthest seat in the theater.
They call out at the perfect timing when the actor strikes a pose. This further enlivens the performance.
If you miss the timing, the excitement will undoubtedly decrease. Therefore, it is easy for an amateur to make a mistake and cause inconvenience by shouting at the wrong time.
They join a “voice supporters club” and train for many years. In other words, they are professionals in calling out.
It is different from cheering for idols or rockers at concerts.
However, the calls have also become impossible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the case for Kabuki’s “O-muko”. It is not difficult to imagine how sad it was for performers and fans alike when there were no calls in concerts or Kabuki performances.
In the case of Kabuki’s succession performance, it was unbearable without “O-muko”, so they restarted it from the “Thirteenth Ichikawa Danjuro Hakuen Succession Memorial Kabuki-za Special Performance” in late October 2022, limited to designated people. According to Shizuo Yamakawa, a former NHK announcer who has been in the “O-muko no Kai” (Voice Supporters Club) since his student days, he shouted “O-muko” from a special room enclosed in acrylic boards while wearing a mask. He stood for two hours and, at the age of 90, it was truly admirable.
After a long absence, they were quite nervous for the “O-muko”. Matsuda Mikio, the chairman of the “Voice Supporters Club,” also looked back and said, “I thought we might lose the ‘O-muko’ altogether,” and expressed his deep emotions by saying that he was nervous like when he proposed to his wife.
“O-muko” is indispensable for Kabuki. Why not start by trying a reasonably priced “Makumi-seki” to see the sense of unity? However, be careful not to be too surprised by the “O-muko” that can be
