Customers of the wall - Customers of the wall

…On the other hand, even those middle-class customers who entered through the kido without passing through the teahouse and were guided to the exit and watched the show on the flat floor would order sweets, bento boxes, and sushi from the teahouse, even if they didn't buy any snacks or drinks. The first letters of these three items were combined to say "kabesu," and they were used to derogatorily describe simple customers, such as "watching from a kabesu" (wall-viewing) or "kabesu no yaku" (a customer at a kabesu). On one hand, the teahouses played an important role in supporting the success of theaters. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Kabesu no Kyaku" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…一方，茶屋を通らずに木戸から入って出方に案内され，平土間で見物する中等の客も，酒肴は取らないまでも菓子，弁当，寿司だけは茶屋から取り寄せた。この三つの品の頭文字をいっしょにして〈かべす〉といい，〈かべすで見る〉〈かべすの客〉などと，質素な客を侮蔑的に表現した。　芝居茶屋は一面で，劇場の興行を支える重要な役割を担っていた。…

※「かべすの客」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報