Hyōbanki (評判記) were compilations of rankings and critiques of kabuki actors and courtesans published in Edo period Japan.
Along with ukiyo-e woodblock prints and other publications, hyōbanki were important elements in the urban popular culture of the period.
Actors were ranked according to a fairly simple scale: In print, variations were used to represent intermediate ranks between Jō-jō and Jō-jō-kichi.
Sometimes only parts of the kanji (character) for "kichi" (吉) would be written in, each stroke towards completing the character representing an intermediate rank.
Other times, strokes would be written in outline instead of ink-filled, to represent intermediate rankings not yet achieved.