Shite-bashira

Shite pillar. The upstage right pillar holding up the roof over the main nō stage. Marking the junction between the main stage (honbutai), the rear area (ato za) and the bridgeway (hashigakari), the shite bashira designates the arrival spot where an actor will pause on first entering the stage proper. The area close to it is known as the “beginning spot” (jōza) or “naming spot” (nanoriza), and it is here that the waki and the shite generally give their opening monologues. The name of the pillar probably derives from shite standing near the shite bashira when conversing with the waki.