Mie

A term used in Kabuki acting and directing. During the play, an actor freezes his movements for a moment to create a fixed form. It is a technique that shares characteristics with close-ups in film, but its distinctive feature as a Kabuki performance is that it is designed to make the body look sculptural and beautiful, and always form a picture-like pattern, in order to emphasize the actor's charm. As it is a technique that shows dramatic climax and the character's emotional excitement, it is often accompanied by the action of glaring, and to intensify the effect, a "tsuke" is struck at a specific moment, and drums and other musical instruments are also added. It originated from Edo aragoto (rough acting), and its form may have been influenced by Niou and other Buddhist statues.

A particularly exaggerated and impressive mie is called o-mie, but generally speaking, there are two types: those performed by one person and those performed by two or more people, and in terms of form, there are those with the legs together (standing upright) and those with the legs apart. Many are given specific names based on the character of the role or what the form of the mie represents, and among the mie performed by individuals are Genroku mie, ishi-nage no mie, immovable mie, hashiramaki no mie, jigoku mie, and shiomi no mie, while among the mie performed by two or more people, Tenchi no mie, Tenchijin no mie, and the pictorially beautiful Emen no mie and Hikkuri no mie (a form that expresses the psychological connection between the characters) are well-known.

As a verb, the correct term is "mie wo wo suru" (to make a mie), but it can also be said as "mie wo kiru" (to make a mie), and in everyday language it is often used to refer to behavior that is particularly eye-catching.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歌舞伎(かぶき)の演技・演出用語。劇の進行中、俳優が動作を一時静止して、固定した像をつくること。映画のクローズアップと共通した性格をもつ技巧だが、俳優の魅力を印象づけるため、体を彫刻的に美しく見せ、つねに絵模様になるようくふうされているところに、歌舞伎としての特色がある。劇的な盛り上がりと役の感情の興奮を示す手法なので、多くは「にらむ」という動作を伴い、効果を強めるために、決まった瞬間「つけ」を打ち、太鼓その他の鳴物も加える。江戸の荒事(あらごと)から発生したもので、形態のうえでは仁王(におう)その他仏像の影響が考えられる。

　とくに誇張の大きい印象的な見得を大見得というが、一般に種類としては、1人で行うものと、2人以上で行うものに大別され、形態では束(そく)に立つ（両足をそろえて直立する）見得と、足を割った見得とに分かれる。役の性格や見得の形が何かを表していることにより、特定の名称がついているものが多く、個人の見得では、元禄(げんろく)見得、石投げの見得、不動の見得、柱巻きの見得、地獄見得、汐見(しおみ)の見得など、2人以上の見得では、天地の見得、天地人の見得などのほか、舞踊劇のせり出し、時代物の急所や幕切れに行われる絵画美豊かな絵面(えめん)の見得、引張りの見得（登場人物の心理的なつながりを形に込めたもの）などが有名である。

　動詞としては、「見得をする」が正しいが、「見得をきる」ともいい、日常語でも、とくに人目をひくような言動をすることをさして使われる場合が多い。

［松井俊諭］

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