is a concept of modulation and movement applied in a wide variety of traditional Japanese arts. Roughly translated to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly. This concept is applied to elements of the

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or ) is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . While in the West it is known as "tea ceremony", it is se ...

, to the samurai sword art of

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms of ...

, to the bamboo sword training art of

kendō is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords (shinai) as well as protective armor (bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spread ...

, and to other martial arts, to

dramatic structure Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and scholar ...

in the traditional theatre, and to the traditional collaborative linked verse forms

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. ...

and

renku , or , is a Japanese form of popular collaborative linked verse poetry. It is a development of the older Japanese poetic tradition of ''ushin'' renga, or orthodox collaborative linked verse. At renku gatherings participating poets take turns provi ...

(haikai no renga). The concept originated in ''

gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that was historically used for imperial court music and dances. was developed as court music of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, and its near-current form was established in the Heian period (794-1185) around t ...

'' court music, specifically in the ways in which elements of the music could be distinguished and described. Though eventually incorporated into a number of disciplines, it was most famously adapted, and thoroughly analysed and discussed by the great

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

playwright

Zeami (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skil ...

, who viewed it as a universal concept applying to the patterns of movement of all things.

Theatre

It is perhaps in the theatre that ''jo-ha-kyū'' is used the most extensively, on the most levels. Following the writings of Zeami, all major forms of Japanese traditional drama (

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

, and '' jōruri'') utilize the concept of ''jo-ha-kyū'', from the choice and arrangement of plays across a day, to the composition and pacing of acts within a play, down to the individual actions of the actors. Zeami, in his work "''

Sandō A in Japanese architecture is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version. Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto ''torii'', in t ...

''" (The Three Paths), originally described a five-part (five ''dan'') Noh play as the ideal form. It begins slowly and auspiciously in the first part (''jo''), building up the drama and tension in the second, third, and fourth parts (''ha''), with the greatest climax in the third ''dan'', and rapidly concluding with a return to peace and auspiciousness in the fifth ''dan'' (''kyū''). This same concept was later adapted into ''jōruri'' and kabuki, where the plays are often arranged into five acts with ''jo-ha-kyū'' in mind.

Takemoto Gidayū was a '' jōruri''Though Japan's puppet theatre is more commonly known as "bunraku" in English, that term refers to a specific school of performance established nearly 200 years after Gidayū's time. chanter and the creator of a style of chanted ...

, the great ''jōruri'' chanter, was the first to describe the patterns or logic behind the five acts, which parallel as well the five categories of Noh which would be performed across a day.Gerstle, Drew (2001). ''Chikamatsu: Five Late Plays''. New York: Columbia University Press. pp16-17. He described the first act as "Love"; the play opens auspiciously, using gentle themes and pleasant music to draw in the attention of the audience. The second act is described as "Warriors and Battles" (''

shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

''). Though it need not contain actual battle, it is generally typified by heightened tempo and intensity of plot. The third act, the climax of the entire play, is typified by pathos and tragedy. The plot achieves its dramatic climax. Takemoto describes the fourth act as a '' michiyuki'' (journey), which eases out of the intense drama of the climactic act, and often consists primarily of song and dance rather than dialogue and plot. The fifth act, then, is a rapid conclusion. All loose ends are tied up, and the play returns to an auspicious setting.

Poetry

In 1356, it was

Nijō Yoshimoto , son of regent Nijō Michihira, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble), waka poet, and renga master of the early Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392). Yoshimoto's wife gave birth to Nijō Moroyoshi. With another woman, he had sons Nijō Morots ...

who established the sequential pattern of

haikai ''Haikai'' (Japanese 俳諧 ''comic, unorthodox'') may refer in both Japanese and English to ''haikai no renga'' (renku), a popular genre of Japanese linked verse, which developed in the sixteenth century out of the earlier aristocratic renga. I ...

and

noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

by requiring jo-ha-kyū for renga in his Miner, Earl. ''Japanese Linked Poetry''. Princeton University Press, 1980. p21

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jo-Ha-Kyu Japanese aesthetics Theatre in Japan Chadō Japanese literary terminology Japanese martial arts terminology Kendo Words and phrases with no direct English translation

Theatre

Poetry

See also

References