Stage props

A term used in theatrical performances. Large-scale objects such as backgrounds, houses, trees, and rocks are used to decorate the stage during a play. It is a counter term to the "small props" held by the characters. The term originated in Kabuki, but is now widely used in all theater genres, and is sometimes simply called "props." The professions responsible for making props, decorating, and changing the props are called "prop makers," "prop kata," or "dogukata." Early Kabuki plays were staged to closely resemble Noh stages, and the plays were simple one-act plays, so the props were simple. However, as multi-act plays developed and the actors' performances became more complex, the carpenters who had been in charge of similar stage equipment became independent, and specialized prop makers were born, which led to a remarkable advancement in technology and mechanisms. The founder of prop makers is said to be Hasegawa Kanbei I (?-1659), the son of a palace carpenter in Nihonbashi, Edo.

As Kabuki developed and the basic forms of acting were established, the stage structure also took on a certain style, and the props also had a certain height, length, width, color, etc., and "standard props" that could be used for anything were devised and kept in theaters. For example, the shosa stage used for dance dramas and stylized classical dramas, as well as the two-tiered stage, wooden door, transom, balustrade, three-tiered stage, and shoji screen, etc., assembled together, are called standard props.

Usually, stage props are made through an assembly line process, with the tasks divided among the "kiji" (or "daiku"), who makes the framework, the "harikata" (stretching), who covers the paper and cloth, the "nurikata" (painting), who paints the fences, roofs, walls, etc., and the "eshi" (painter), who paints the scenery, standing trees, sliding doors, and other pictorial images. Generally, stage props are thought of as synonymous with stage sets, but in Kabuki the scope is broader and includes the revolving stage, stage props, and curtains, and stage props are also responsible for striking the stage, pulling the curtains, and making snow and flowers fall from the ceiling.

[Toshiaki Matsui]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

演劇舞台用語。劇中、舞台に飾る諸物のうち、背景、家屋、樹木、岩石など大掛りなもの。登場人物が手に持つ「小(こ)道具」に対する語。歌舞伎(かぶき)から出た語だが、今日では広く各演劇ジャンルで使われ、単に「道具」とよぶこともある。大道具の作製、飾り付け、転換などを受け持つ職業を「大道具師」「大道具方(かた)」、または「道具方」という。初期の歌舞伎は能舞台をそっくり模したような舞台で、演目も単純な一幕物ばかりだったから、大道具も簡単だったが、多幕物が発達し、俳優の演技が複雑になるにつれ、それまで舞台装置に類するものを担当していた大工職が独立し、専門の大道具師が生まれたことにより、技術と機構が著しく進歩した。大道具師の祖といわれるのは、江戸・日本橋の宮大工の子、初世長谷川(はせがわ)勘兵衛（？―1659）である。

　歌舞伎では、発達につれて演技に基本的な型ができてくると、舞台の構造も一定の様式を備えるようになり、大道具でも一定の高さ、長さ、幅、色彩などをもち、何にでも活用できる「定式(じょうしき)大道具」をくふうし、劇場に常備するようになった。たとえば、舞踊劇や様式的な古典劇に使う所作(しょさ)舞台をはじめ、二重(にじゅう)、木戸(きど)、欄間(らんま)、勾欄(こうらん)、三段、障子などで、これらを組み立てて構成される屋体を定式屋体とよんでいる。

　普通、大道具は、骨組をつくる「生地(きじ)」（または「大工(だいく)」）、紙や布を張る「張方(はりかた)」、塀、屋根、壁などを描く「塗方(ぬりかた)」、景色、立ち木、襖絵(ふすまえ)など絵画的な絵を描く「画師(えし)」などの職分に分業され、その流れ作業によって製作される。一般に大道具は舞台装置と同義語のように思われているが、歌舞伎では範囲が広く、回り舞台、せり、引幕なども含まれ、ツケ打ち、幕引きや、天井から雪や花などを降らせることも、大道具方の受け持ちになっている。

［松井俊諭］

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