前まえジテ

noun

protagonist (first half of a Noh play)

In Noh theater, the main character who appears in the first half, often in a disguised or ordinary form before revealing their true nature in the second half. Contrasts with 後ジテ (のちじて), the protagonist in the second half.

See also: 後ジテ

• この曲きょくでは、前まえジテが旅たびの僧そうとして現あらわれる。

  In this piece, the protagonist appears as a traveling monk in the first half.

• 前まえジテと後のちジテは同おなじ役やく者しゃが演えんじることが多おおい。

  The same actor often plays both the first-half protagonist and the second-half protagonist.