Kuroko
/kʊˈroʊkoʊ/noun
A stagehand in traditional Japanese theater who wears black clothing and is conventionally treated as invisible to the audience.
Did you know?Kuroko stagehands are not literally invisible; their black costumes create a theatrical convention that makes the audience mentally erase them from the scene.
Etymological Timeline
Old Japanese
Japanese
kuro
“Black or dark-colored”
Old Japanese
Japanese
ko
“Child or young person”
Medieval Japanese
Japanese
kuroko
“A person dressed in black, especially an unobtrusive assistant”
17th Century
Japanese
黒子
“A black-clad stage assistant in developing kabuki theater”
Modern English
English
kuroko
“A Japanese theater stagehand conventionally regarded as invisible”