Kurogo

Actor surrounded by three kuroko (engraving by Utagawa Kuniyoshi )

Kurogo ^{[1] [2] [3]} ( Japanese 黒 衣 , black clothes) or Kuroko ( Japanese 黒 子 “black people” / “black clothes” ) ^[4] - “invisible” working scenes in traditional Japanese theater that dress in all black. In kabuki, kuroko moves the scenery and stage props , helps in changing costumes. They also often play the role of animals, wear flashlights or perform other roles for which actors in full costumes are not needed, but you need to keep props. Kuroko wear black from head to toe, so as not to stand out on stage, they are considered conditionally invisible to the audience.

There is a theory that the stereotyped image of a ninja dressed in all black came from the theater, since the ninja are masters of stealth, and the characters on the stage wore black ^[5] . Real ninjas could dress in black at night, but did not wear black clothes all the time.

Wearing black clothes implies that the kuroko will be invisible on a black background, so the kuroko can wear white or blue if the action takes place on snow or by the sea, in which case they are called yukigo ( 雪 子 “snow man” ) or namigo ( yap. 波 子 "wave man" ), respectively.

In the theater, but the same function is performed by the koken .