noun
Used for breaks in performances, especially sumo, plays, and other staged events.
大相撲の中入り後には、横綱の土俵入りがある。
After the intermission in grand sumo, there is the yokozuna ring-entering ceremony.
芝居の中入りに、観客はロビーで休憩した。
During the play's intermission, the audience took a break in the lobby.
noun
temporary departure of an actor
Specific to noh and kyogen: the actor leaves the stage between the first and second halves of a performance.
能の中入りでは、シテが一時的に舞台を去る。
In noh's temporary departure, the shite leaves the stage for a while.
Compound of 中 (naka, 'middle') and 入り (iri, 'entering'), literally 'entering the middle', referring to a break inserted into the middle of an event.