Seri is the trap-door lift stage mechanism for raising and lowering cut-out portions of the stage floor.
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Present-day Kabuki theaters have Seri of various sizes: the Seri which makes the entire stage set move up and down as shown in the picture is called Ozeri (large Seri); the Seri on which the dramatis personae are raised and lowered is called Kozeri (small Seri), and the Seri on the Hanamichi near where it meets the main stage is called Suppon.
In particular, the Ozeri is used for dynamic stage changes. The picture shows the 'Gokurakuji sammon' scene of "Aotozoshi hana no nishikie." At first the stage set shows only the second floor part of the sammon (temple gate), but when the set is raised by the Ozeri, the first floor appears. When this is done, the cherry tree branches ["Tsuri-eda"] hanging from the top of the stage are simultaneously pulled up a little and become shorter, and the stage set on which mist is drawn is removed, making the stage set change more effective. |
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The first Ozeri in Kabuki was said to have been contrived and used in 1753 by Namiki Shoza, a Kyogen-sakusha. At present, the Ozeri is moved by electric power, but in the Edo period Ozeri were moved by human power.
<Major repertoire items in which Ozeri is used>
| > "Meiboku sendaihagi" 'Yukashita' scene | |
| The entire palace rises up, and the scene changes to the yukashita (area under the palace floor). | |
| > "Gion sairei shinkoki" | |
| [Common name: "Kinkakuji"] | |
| The Kinkakuji temple building sinks down, and the scene changes from the first floor to the second floor. | |
| • "Sammon gosan no kiri" 'Nanzenji sammon' scene | |
| The 'Nanzenji sammon' scene of "Sammon gosan no kiri" was the model for the 'Gokurakuji sammon' scene of "Aotozoshi hana no nishikie." The second floor of the sammon rises up in the same way, and the first floor appears. | |
