We have many layers of “self” in our daily lives. I wear many different masks in my life. I choose one of these masks depending on the occasion and context, much like in a card game. But the “self” that interacts with the world is only a small part of who I am. The attitudes and feelings I express to others hide many layers of emotions and thoughts.

I don’t think I fully grasp or understand the wide variety of personas that live within me. Some of them may be hidden by fear or deliberately ignored. The more I try to look deep within myself, the less certain I am of my own identity. I’m at a stage in my life where I’m beginning to allow myself to look at these layers, to accept them even if there are things I find horrible. I’m not a single, fixed character, but a collection of many characters.

KUROKO: In Kabuki theater, the “KUROKO” are dressed entirely in black and have no faces. These “characters” essentially serve as assistants or puppeteers.

I think that, like everyone else, I have KUROKO inside me; they’re “here without being here".

In Japanese, <KUROKO ni tessuru> means “to work for someone, to take care of their affairs, to solve their problems, without anyone knowing, always remaining in the background, in the shadows.” It’s an attitude that expects no reward. Normally, the KUROKO isn’t the focus of the story. He is there to serve someone else.

In this play, my efforts and the hidden fears that led me to be here are revealed by the appearance of KUROKO. I want to show the relationship between Me and KUROKO—how harsh we are on ourselves, how our thoughts and bodies are sometimes separated from one another, and how KUROKO has never abandoned me.