大向う

Ōmukō originally named the seats farthest from the stage; the word came to mean the connoisseurs who watched from there, and then the calls they send down to the stage. The classic shout is an actor's house name—"Naritaya!"—though a generation number may be called as well.

Calls land at the peaks of the play's breathing—the instant a mie locks into place, or an entrance or exit along the hanamichi—timed to a pause so as never to cover a line. That timing is a craft in itself, and dedicated ōmukō societies keep the tradition alive.

Ōmukō became an idiom in its own right: to 'make the ōmukō groan' (ōmukō o unaraseru) is to achieve something fine enough to impress even the most discerning connoisseurs. The theatre's old truth—that the sharpest eyes watch from the cheapest seats—survives in modern Japanese as a term of praise far beyond the playhouse.

"Naritaya," the house name of the Ichikawa Sōke, is among the best known of all ōmukō calls. When it rings through the theatre, it is applause at once for the actor on stage and for the generations of artistry behind the name.