skilled actor who is childlike offstage
Describes a talented actor whose real-life personality is innocent or naive, like a child. A set phrase from the Edo period, now rare.
He is exactly a yakusha kodomo—once offstage, he is innocence itself.
child kabuki actor
Original literal meaning from the Edo period, referring to a child performer in kabuki. Archaic.
In the Edo period, child kabuki actors gained popularity on stage.