Mastermind - Kuromaku

A kabuki term. One of the stage props. It is a curtain dyed entirely black and large enough to cover the entire stage. It is often hung at the back as a background. When a black curtain appears in the background, it symbolizes that the scene is at night. In the past, when expressing an outdoor scene at night, important props were simply lined up in front of the black curtain, but in recent years, the curtain has been shook off at the end of the act to reveal the background. Plays such as "Suzugamori" and "Danmari of Miyajima" use this method. Also, to erase a character who has died on stage, a small black curtain is sometimes used to hide him or her, and this is called "keshimaku." Like kurogo, the kuromaku is an agreement that the audience cannot see it, and by extension, it refers to a person who does not stand on the surface but manipulates people and events from the shadows.

[Yukio Hattori]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)用語。大道具の一つ。全体を黒色に染め、舞台一面に張ることのできる大きさの幕である。多くは背景として後ろに張る。背景に黒幕が現れたときは、場面が夜であることを象徴している。古くは夜の戸外の情景を表す場合には、黒幕を張った前に重要な道具を並べるだけのものだったが、近年は幕切れに黒幕を振り落として背景を見せる演出が行われる。『鈴ヶ森(すずがもり)』や『宮島のだんまり』などはこのやり方である。また、舞台で死んだ役を消すために小さい黒幕で隠して引っ込ませることがあるが、これを「消幕(けしまく)」とよぶ。黒幕は黒衣(くろご)と同様に観客には見えないという約束で、転じて、表面にたたず陰で人物や事件を操る人物のことをいう。

［服部幸雄］

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