Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 6.djvu/137

 lines of blossoms, and thus received the name "flower path" (hana-michi). Another result of the al-fresco performance was that the environment of the stage had to be included in the scenic ensemble. The stage became merely a part of a general scheme of decoration in which not only the auditorium, but also the whole space within the range of the spectator's vision, was comprised. At first the dancers set up a dais wherever space was conveniently available; no special steps were taken to provide accommodation for the audience. But by and by a semi-circular platform was erected for the better classes of spectators. This innovation is perpetuated in the nomenclature of the theatre, for inasmuch as "dead heads" made a habit of peeping at the performance through the scaffolding that supported the platform, they received the name of uzura (quails), in allusion to their stooping posture, and by that name the portion of the auditorium immediately below the gallery continues to be called to-day. From the erection of this crescent of seats to the complete enclosure of the place of performance, and the building of a permanent hall, progress was natural and quick. The theatre assumed a form which has varied little during the past century. There is a pit, divided into a number of little cubicals with matted floors, where the people sit, more Japonico; there are tiers of boxes on either side; there is a broad corridor at the