Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo performs nirami at Tokyo Skytree

Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ebizo XIEbizo XI performed his famed nirami glare on a stage specially created above Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo's Sumida Ward on May 22, the 10th anniversary of the opening of the popular landmark.

Nirami is a signature technique of the Naritaya, one of the Kabuki's acting guilds of which Ebizo is a member.

Nirami is done by moving each eye in different directions. The act depicts Acala, a Buddhist deity with the power to ward off evil and bad luck.

There is a belief that people can spend the next year illness-free if the glare falls on them.

The event, called Ichikawa Ebizo Nirami at the sky, was held on a 70 centimeter-high stage that was set up at the top of the tower, 634 meters above the ground.

He removed part of the outer attire covering his right shoulder after delivering a prologue. Then he looked into the wide areas of the Kanto region, seen from the tower, with a sanpo wooden stand used to put food offerings in his left hand.

Naritaya was named after the Naritasan Shinshoji temple dedicated to Acala in Chiba Prefecture.

Ichikawa Danjuro began using the name Naritaya after he had a son, Ichikawa Danjuro II, following his visit to the temple and praying there.

The public can visit the top of Tokyo Skytree for the first time. It is a flat, dodecagon shape with a diameter of about 15 meters.