The mie pose a powerful and emotional pose struck by an actor, who then freezes for a moment, is a distinctive element of aragoto

Aragoto

, or rough style, is a style of kabuki acting that uses exaggerated, dynamic kata and speech. Often, aragoto actors wear bold red or blue makeup , and have costumes that are padded and enlarged...

Kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 performance. Mie means 'appearance' or 'visible' in Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

, and one of the primary purposes of this convention is to draw attention to a particularly important or powerful portion of the performance. It is meant to show a character's emotions at their peak, and can often be a very powerful pose. The actor's eyes are opened as wide as possible; if the character is meant to seem agitated or angry, the actor will cross his eyes. In Japanese, the mie pose is said to be "cut" by the actor (見得を切る, mie wo kiru). Audience members will shout out (kakegoe

Kakegoe

Kakegoe can be literally translated as "hung voice" or "a voice you hang." The "hanging" part is probably meant to be taken in an abstract sense to mean "ornament" or "decoration," as it is the same Japanese verb used when talk about kakemono. Kakegoe, therefore, refers to an auxiliary pitched or...

) words of praise and the actor's name at specific times before and after the pose is struck.

The practice of mie is said to have originated with Ichikawa Danjūrō I

Ichikawa Danjūrō I

Ichikawa Danjūrō I was an early kabuki actor in Japan. He remains today one of the most famous of all kabuki actors and is considered one of the most influential...

 in the Genroku

Genroku

was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative...

 era, along with the aragoto style itself. There are a great many mie, each of which has a name describing it, and many of which are associated with particular lines of actors.

In the Genroku mie, one of the most famous or well-known, the actor's right hand is held flat, perpendicular to the ground, while his left hand is pointed upwards, elbow bent. At the same time, the actor stamps the floor powerfully with his left foot. This mie is most strongly associated with the character Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa

Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa

Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa was a samurai descended from the Taira clan, who fought for the Minamoto clan in the Gosannen War of Japan's Heian period. He is famous for having continued to fight after losing an eye in battle during that war...

, the hero of the play Shibaraku

Shibaraku

Shibaraku is among the most popular pieces in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated Kabuki Jūhachiban . The flamboyantly dramatic costume and makeup used in this scene is famous and widely associated by the average Westerner with Kabuki in general...

, and is said to have been invented by Ichikawa Danjūrō I.

Two mie cut by the priest Narukami, in Narukami Fudō Kitayama Zakura, are the "post-wrapping pose" (柱巻きの見得, Hashimaki no mie), in which the actor wraps his arms and legs around a post, column, or long weapon such as a naginata

Naginata

The naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class in feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru and sōhei .-Description:A naginata consists of a wooden shaft with a curved...

, and the Fudō no mie (不動の見得), which is meant to resemble the Buddhist figure Fudō Myoō

Acala

In Vajrayana Buddhism, Ācala is the best known of the Five Wisdom Kings of the Womb Realm. He is also known as Ācalanātha, Āryācalanātha, Ācala-vidyā-rāja and . The Sanskrit term ācala means "immovable"; Ācala is also the name of the eighth of the ten completion stages of the Bodhisattva path...

, is a very strong pose, meant to invoke anger and power.

In Kanjinchō

Kanjincho

Kanjinchō is a Japanese kabuki play by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play Ataka. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory....

, the monk Benkei cuts the Fudō no mie while holding a scroll (the play's titular "subscription list" or kanjinchō) in one hand and Buddhist prayer beads

Buddhist prayer beads

Buddhist prayer beads are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantra is recited whilst meditating. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions; thus some call this tool the Buddhist rosary.-Mala:...

in the other. Another pose taken by Benkei in this play is the so-called "rock-throwing pose" (石投げの見得, Ishinage no mie), which is meant to look like its namesake.

The term tenchi no mie (天地の見得), or "heaven and earth pose," is used when two actors, one low on the stage and one high above, on a rooftop or other set-piece, strike a pose simultaneously.