An 18th-century song composed for one of these events ends with the words “white snow” and opens with the words “black hair.” Two-headed drums play patterns for these events memorized with a mnemonic that uses the vowels /i/ (“ee”) and /u/ (“oo”) for the higher drum, and /a/ (“ah”) and /o/ (“oh”) for the lower one. At these events, musicians are hidden in side rooms with black shutters and play in ensembles led by a three-stringed, snakeskin, banjo-like instrument. At these events, audience members shout guild names, or yagō, to accentuate climactic mie (“MEE-yay”) poses, such as feigning reading a subscription scroll, or kanjinchō. Nagauta (“nah-gah-OOH-tah”) music centered on the shamisen can be played at these performances to accompany the entry of crossdressing actors on a hanamichi walkway. For 10 points, name these elaborate dance-drama performances whose actors wear kumadori makeup. ■END■
ANSWER: kabuki performances [accept synonyms like kabuki shows or kabuki productions; prompt on theatrical performances or plays by asking “In what genre?”] (The first clue is “Kurokami” by Koide Ichijūrō and the second clue is chirikara-style drumming.)
<Other Fine Arts>
= Average correct buzz position