The formal arrangement of the theatre, especially the relationship between the stage and the seating area, comes from the Greek outdoor theatre. The form of the theatre is a dodecagon ( polygon with 12 sides and 12 angles). It is structurally independent of the bridge which pierces the dodecagon volume. Ando thinks that a dodecagon represents the world. In Japan, there are twelve animals corresponding to the twelve year cycle of the calendar. In the West there are twelve months to a year and so forth.