小道具

Kodōgu fall into two broad groups: mochidōgu, the things an actor holds or wears, and okidōgu, the objects set on stage in advance. The range is wide—swords and armor, straw sandals and geta, furniture, hanging scrolls, even palanquins.

A tree makes the classic border case: the tree standing on stage is ōdōgu, but the branch an actor snaps off and holds becomes kodōgu. What divides the two crafts is not size, but whether a thing stays fixed or passes into an actor's hands.

Kabuki's props have long been sustained by specialist houses. Fujinami Kodōgu, founded in 1872, still makes and supplies the props of the kabuki stage, and its craft is said to be recognized as a selected conservation technique under Japan's cultural-property system. A single stage sword carries more than a century and a half of accumulated skill.

In Sukeroku, one of the Kabuki Jūhachiban, the snake-eye umbrella is the prop that captures the hero's style the moment he steps onto the hanamichi. The roles the Ichikawa Sōke has polished for generations are likewise supported by each of these objects in turn.