All Kabuki actors, whether by direct descent or through close association, belong to one of several "acting houses." As well as their Kabuki stage names, all actors also possess an "acting house name." known as yagō. This term dates from the days when some actors adopted a name because of a business association or a particular connection with a place. The yagō of the Ichikawa Danjūrō line of actors, for example, is Narita-ya because of the first Danjūrō's association with the temple at Narita.

The origins of many yagō are very obscure, and there are numerous subbranches to these main families that employ different yagō. Yagō are most commonly heard in the theater as kakegoe.

Kakegoe is a form of encouragement and appreciation called out to the actors by knowledgeable members of the audience at carefully timed moments during the play. Most commonly called are an actor's yagō and his "generation number." Ichikawa Danjūrō XII, for example, would receive calls of "Narita-ya," his yagō, or "Jūni-dai-me!" ("The Twelfth!"), his generation number. The calling is usually timed to an actor's entrance, exit, or to the subtle and important pauses during a speech [ma, p. 94]. They can also be heard during dramatic mie poses [pp. 81-82]. The callers are almost exclusively male and, while they receive no official payment for their services, some gain a free pass to the theater in order to perform this service for the actors and to create a lively atmosphere in the auditorium. They are called ōmukō-san, "great distant people," because they traditionally call from the cheapest seats on the third or fourth floor furthest from the stage.