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is a major form of classical Japanese dance-
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by
Kan'ami was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by and . He is the father of the well-known playwright . Theater Kan'ami's career began in Obata, Nabari-shi, Mie when he fou ...
and his son
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 skill ...
, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ''
nōgaku ''Nōgaku'' (能楽) is one of the traditional styles of Japanese theater. It is composed of the lyric drama ''noh'', and the comic theater ''kyōgen'' (狂言). Traditionally, both types of theatre are performed together, the ''kyōgen'' being ...
'' are sometimes used interchangeably, ''nōgaku'' encompasses both Noh and ''
kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside ''Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; therefo ...
''. Traditionally, a full ''nōgaku'' program included several Noh plays with comedic ''kyōgen'' plays in between; an abbreviated program of two Noh plays with one ''kyōgen'' piece has become common today. Optionally, the ritual performance ''Okina'' may be presented in the very beginning of ''nōgaku'' presentation. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating a story. Noh integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance, requiring highly trained actors and musicians. Emotions are primarily conveyed by stylized conventional gestures while the iconic masks represent the roles such as ghosts, women, deities, and demons. Written in
late middle Japanese was a stage of the Japanese language following Early Middle Japanese and preceding Early Modern Japanese. It was a period of transition in which the language shed many of its archaic features and became closer to its modern form. The period s ...
, the text "vividly describes the ordinary people of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries". Having a strong emphasis on tradition rather than innovation, Noh is extremely codified and regulated by the ''
iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. Th ...
'' system.


History


Origins

The
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
for means "skill", "craft", or "talent", particularly in the field of performing arts in this context. The word Noh may be used alone or with ''gaku'' (; entertainment, music) to form the word ''nōgaku''. Noh is a classical tradition that is highly valued by many today. When used alone, Noh refers to the historical genre of theatre that originated from ''
sarugaku was a form of theatre popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries. One of its predecessors was a , a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day circus, consisting mostly of acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime, sometimes combined w ...
'' in the mid 14th century and continues to be performed today. One of the oldest forerunners of Noh and ''kyōgen'' is ', which was introduced to Japan from China in the 8th century. At the time, the term ''sangaku'' referred to various types of performance featuring acrobats, song and dance as well as comic sketches. Its subsequent adaptation to Japanese society led to its assimilation of other traditional art forms." Various performing art elements in ''sangaku'' as well as elements of ''
dengaku were rustic Japanese celebrations that can be classified into two types: that developed as a musical accompaniment to rice planting observances, and the dances that developed in conjunction with . The celebrated for rice planting was perform ...
'' (rural celebrations performed in connection with rice planting), ''
sarugaku was a form of theatre popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries. One of its predecessors was a , a form of entertainment reminiscent of the modern-day circus, consisting mostly of acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime, sometimes combined w ...
'' (popular entertainment including acrobatics, juggling, and pantomime), ''
shirabyōshi were Japanese female entertainers in the Heian and Kamakura periods who sang songs and performed dances. They danced dressed as men. The profession of became popular in the 12th century. They would perform for the nobility, and at celebrations ...
''(traditional dances performed by female dancers in the Imperial Court in the 12th century), ''
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 ...
'' (music and dance performed in the Imperial Court beginning in the 7th century), and ''
kagura is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...
'' (ancient ''
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
'' dances in folk tales) evolved into Noh and ''kyōgen''. Studies on the
genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of the Noh actors in 14th century indicate they were members of families specializing in the performing arts. According to legend, the Konparu School, which is considered to be the oldest tradition of Noh, was founded by
Hata no Kawakatsu , sometimes called Hada no Kōkatsu, was a legendary figure in Japanese folklore, who is believed to have introduced ritual Shinto dances to Japan in the sixth century. He is also considered the progenitor of a hereditary line which includes many ...
in the 6th century. However, the founder of the Konparu school, which is widely accepted among historians, was Bishaō Gon no Kami (Komparu Gonnokami) during
Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...
in the 14th century. According to the genealogical chart of the Konparu school, Bishaō Gon no Kami is a descendant after 53 generations of Hata no Kawakatsu. The Konparu school was descended from the ''sarugaku'' troupe which had played active roles in
Kasuga-taisha is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is the shrine of the Fujiwara family, established in 768 CE and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lan ...
and Kofuku-ji in
Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, the ...
.Shite-kata.
The Noh.com
Kotobank, Konparu school.
The Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
Another theory, by Shinhachirō Matsumoto, suggests Noh originated from outcastes struggling to claim higher social status by catering to those in power, namely the new ruling ''
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
'' class of the time. The transfer of the
shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
from
Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...
to
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
at the beginning of
Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
marked the increasing power of the samurai class and strengthened the relationship between the shogunate and the court. As Noh became the ''shōgun''s favorite art form, Noh was able to become a courtly art form through this newly formed relationship. In 14th century, with strong support and patronage from ''shōgun''
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu was ...
, Zeami was able to establish Noh as the most prominent theatre art form of the time.


The establishment of Noh by Kan'ami and Zeami

In the 14th century, during the
Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
(1336 to 1573), Kan'ami Kiyotsugu and his son
Zeami Motokiyo (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 skill ...
reinterpreted various traditional performing arts and completed Noh in a significantly different form from the traditional one, essentially bringing Noh to the present form. Kan'ami was a renowned actor with great versatility playing roles from graceful women and 12-year-old boys to strong men. When Kan'ami first presented his work to the 17-year-old
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu was ...
, Zeami was a child actor in his play, around age 12. Yoshimitsu fell in love with Zeami and his position of favor at court caused Noh to be performed frequently for Yoshimitsu thereafter.
Konparu Zenchiku was a skilled Japanese Noh actor, troupe leader, and playwright. His plays are particularly characterized by an intricate, allusive, and subtle style inherited from Zeami which convolved yūgen with influences from Zen Buddhism (his Zen master ...
, who was the great-grandson of Bishaō Gon no Kami, the founder of the Konparu school, and the husband of Zeami's daughter, incorporated elements of
waka (poetry) is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two differ ...
into Zeami's Noh and further developed it. By this period, among the five major schools of Noh, four were established: the Kanze school, established by Kan'ami and Zeami; the Hōshō school established by Kan'ami's eldest brother; the Konparu school; and the Kongō school. All of these schools were descendants of the ''sarugaku'' troupe from Yamato Province. The
Ashikaga Shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establ ...
supported only the Kanze school among the four schools.Noh schools.
Wagokoro.


Tokugawa era

During the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, Noh continued to be an aristocratic art form supported by the ''
shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
'', the feudal lords (''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
s''), as well as wealthy and sophisticated commoners. While ''
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 ''joruri'' popular to the middle class focused on new and experimental entertainment, Noh strived to preserve its established high standards and historic authenticity and remained mostly unchanged throughout the era. To capture the essence of performances given by great masters, every detail in movements and positions was reproduced by others, generally resulting in an increasingly slow, ceremonial tempo over time. In this era, the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
appointed Kanze school as the head of the four schools. Kita Shichidayū (Shichidayū Chōnō), a Noh actor of the Konparu school who served
Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...
, founded the Kita school, which was the last established of the five major schools.


Modern Noh after Meiji era

The fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 and the formation of a new, modernized government resulted in the end of financial support by the state, and the entire field of Noh experienced major financial crisis. Shortly after the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
both the number of Noh performers and Noh stages greatly diminished. The support from the imperial government was eventually regained partly due to Noh's appeal to foreign diplomats. The companies that remained active throughout the
Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
also significantly broadened Noh's reach by catering to the general public, performing at theatres in major cities such as Tokyo and
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
. In 1957 the Japanese Government designated ''nōgaku'' as an Important Intangible Cultural Property, which affords a degree of legal protection to the tradition as well as its most accomplished practitioners. The National Noh Theatre founded by the government in 1983 stages regular performances and organizes courses to train actors in the leading roles of ''nōgaku''. Noh was inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO as Nōgaku theatre. Although the terms ''nōgaku'' and Noh are sometimes used interchangeably, the Japanese government's definition of "''nōgaku''" theatre encompasses both Noh plays and ''kyōgen'' plays. ''Kyōgen'' is performed in between Noh plays in the same space. Compared to Noh, "''kyōgen'' relies less on the use of masks and is derived from the humorous plays of the ''sangaku'', as reflected in its comic dialogue."


Women in Noh

During the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, the guild system gradually tightened, which largely excluded women from Noh, except for some women (such as
courtesans Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...
) performing songs in marginal situations. Later, in the
Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
, Noh performers taught wealthy people and nobles, and this led to more opportunities for female performers because women insisted on female teachers. In the early 1900s, after women were allowed to join
Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...
, the rules forbidding women from joining various schools and associations in Noh were relaxed. In 1948, the first women joined the Nohgaku Performers' Association. In 2004, the first women joined the Association for Japanese Noh Plays. In 2007, the
National Noh Theatre The National Noh Theatre (国立能楽堂, ''Kokuritsu Nōgaku Dō'') opened in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan in September 1983. The auditorium seats 591 for performances of Noh and Kyōgen, and there is also a rehearsal stage, exhibition area ...
began to annually present regular programs by female performers. In 2009, there were about 1200 male and 200 female professional Noh performers.


''Jo-ha-kyū''

The concept of ''
jo-ha-kyū 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 swiftl ...
'' dictates virtually every element of Noh including compiling of a program of plays, structuring of each play, songs and dances within plays, and the basic rhythms within each Noh performance. ''Jo'' means beginning, ''ha'' means breaking, and ''kyū'' means rapid or urgent. The term 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 ...
'', ancient courtly music, to indicate gradually increasing tempo and was adopted in various Japanese traditions including Noh, tea ceremony, poetry, and flower arrangement. ''Jo-ha-kyū'' is incorporated in the traditional five-play program of Noh. The first play is ''jo'', the second, third, and fourth plays are ''ha'', and the fifth play is ''kyū''. In fact, the five categories discussed
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
were created so that the program would represent ''jo-ha-kyū'' when one play from each category is selected and performed in order. Each play can be broken into three parts, the introduction, the development, and the conclusion. A play starts out in a slow tempo at ''jo'', gets slightly faster at ''ha'', then culminates in ''kyū''.


Performers and roles

Actors begin their training as young children, traditionally at the age of three.


Training

Zeami isolated nine levels or types of Noh acting from lower degrees which put emphasis on movement and violence to higher degrees which represent the opening of a flower and spiritual prowess. In 2012, there are five extant schools of Noh acting called Kanze (観世), Hōshō (宝生), Komparu (金春), Kongō (金剛), and Kita (喜多) schools that train ''shite'' actors. Each school has its own ''iemoto'' family that carries the name of the school and is considered the most important. The ''iemoto'' holds the power to create new plays or modify lyrics and performance modes. ''Waki'' actors are trained in the schools Takayasu (高安), Fukuou (福王), and Hōshō (宝生). There are two schools that train ''kyōgen'', Ōkura (大蔵) and Izumi (和泉). Eleven schools train instrumentalists, each school specializing in one to three instruments. The Nohgaku Performers' Association (''Nōgaku Kyōkai''), to which all professionals are registered, strictly protects the traditions passed down from their ancestors (see ''
iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. Th ...
''). However, several secret documents of the Kanze school written by Zeami, as well as materials by
Konparu Zenchiku was a skilled Japanese Noh actor, troupe leader, and playwright. His plays are particularly characterized by an intricate, allusive, and subtle style inherited from Zeami which convolved yūgen with influences from Zen Buddhism (his Zen master ...
, have been diffused throughout the community of scholars of Japanese theatre.


Roles

There are four major categories of Noh performers: ''shite'', ''waki'', ''kyōgen'', and ''hayashi''. # ''Shite'' (仕手, シテ). ''Shite'' is the main protagonist, or the leading role in plays. In plays where the ''shite'' appears first as a human and then as a ghost, the first role is known as the ''mae-shite'' and the later as the ''nochi-shite''. #* ''Shitetsure'' (仕手連れ, シテヅレ). The ''shite's'' companion. Sometimes ''shitetsure'' is abbreviated to ''tsure'' (連れ, ツレ), although this term refers to both the ''shitetsure'' and the ''wakitsure''. #* ''Kōken'' (後見) are stage hands, usually one to three people. #* ''Jiutai'' (地謡) is the chorus, usually comprising six to eight people. # ''Waki'' (脇, ワキ) performs the role that is the counterpart or foil of the ''shite''. #* ''Wakitsure'' (脇連れ, ワキヅレ) or ''Waki-tsure'' is the companion of the ''waki''. # ''
Kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside ''Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; therefo ...
'' (狂言) perform the ''aikyōgen'' (間狂言), which are interludes during plays. ''Kyōgen'' actors also perform in separate plays between individual Noh plays. # ''Hayashi'' (囃子) or ''hayashi-kata'' (囃子方) are the instrumentalists who play the four instruments used in Noh theatre: the transverse , or , the , and the . The flute used for Noh is specifically called . A typical Noh play always involves the chorus, the orchestra, and at least one ''shite'' and one ''waki'' actor.


Performance elements

Noh performance combines a variety of elements into a stylistic whole, with each particular element the product of generations of refinement according to the central Buddhist,
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
, and minimalist aspects of Noh's aesthetic principles.


Masks

Noh
mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...
s (能面 ''nō-men'' or 面 ''omote'') are carved from blocks of Japanese cypress (檜 "''
hinoki ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and orname ...
''"), and painted with natural pigments on a neutral base of glue and crunched seashell. There are approximately 450 different masks mostly based on sixty types, all of which have distinctive names. Some masks are representative and frequently used in many different plays, while some are very specific and may only be used in one or two plays. Noh masks signify the characters' gender, age, and social ranking, and by wearing masks the actors may portray youngsters, old men, female, or nonhuman (
divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine
,
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
ic, or
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
) characters. Only the ''shite'', the main actor, wears a mask in most plays, even though the ''tsure'' may also wear a mask in some plays to represent female characters. Even though the mask covers an actor's facial expressions, the use of the mask in Noh is not an abandonment of facial expressions altogether. Rather, its intent is to stylize and codify the facial expressions through the use of the mask and to stimulate the imagination of the audience. By using masks, actors are able to convey emotions in a more controlled manner through movements and body language. Some masks utilize lighting effect to convey different emotions through slight tilting of the head. Facing slightly upward, or "brightening" the mask, will let the mask to capture more light, revealing more features that appear laughing or smiling. Facing downward, or "clouding" it, will cause the mask to appear sad or mad. Noh masks are treasured by Noh families and institution, and the powerful Noh schools hold the oldest and most valuable Noh masks in their private collections, rarely seen by the public. The most ancient mask is supposedly kept as a hidden treasure by the oldest school, the Konparu. According to the current head of the Konparu school, the mask was carved by the legendary regent
Prince Shōtoku , also known as or , was a semi-legendary regent and a politician of the Asuka period in Japan who served under Empress Suiko. He was the son of Emperor Yōmei and his consort, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito, who was also Yōmei's younger half-s ...
(572–622) over a thousand years ago. While the historical accuracy of the legend of Prince Shōtoku's mask may be contested, the legend itself is ancient as it is first recorded in Zeami's ''Style and the Flower'' written in the 14th century. Some of the masks of the Konparu school belong to the
Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage ( :ja:国立文化財機構), is considered the oldest national museum in Japan, ...
, and are exhibited there frequently.


Stage

The traditional Noh
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
(''butai'') has complete openness that provides a shared experience between the performers and the audience throughout the performance. Without any proscenium or curtains to obstruct the view, the audience sees each actor even during the moments before they enter (and after they exit) the central "stage" (''honbutai'', "main stage"). The theatre itself is considered symbolic and treated with reverence both by the performers and the audience. One of the most recognizable characteristic of Noh stage is its independent roof that hangs over the stage even in indoor theatres. Supported by four columns, the roof symbolizes the sanctity of the stage, with its architectural design derived from the worship
pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...
(''
haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...
'') or sacred dance pavilion (''
kagura-den The , also called or with reference to the bugaku traditional dance, is the building within a Shinto shrine where the sacred dance (''kagura'') and music are offered to the ''kami'' during ceremonies.
'') of
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
shrines. The roof also unifies the theatre space and defines the stage as an architectural entity. The pillars supporting the roof are named ''shitebashira'' (principal character's pillar), ''metsukebashira'' (gazing pillar), ''wakibashira'' (secondary character's pillar), and ''fuebashira'' (flute pillar), clockwise from upstage right respectively. Each pillar is associated with the performers and their actions. The stage is made entirely of unfinished ''
hinoki ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and orname ...
'', Japanese cypress, with almost no decorative elements. The poet and novelist
Tōson Shimazaki was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. Ea ...
writes that "on the stage of the Noh theatre there are no sets that change with each piece. Neither is there a curtain. There is only a simple panel (''kagami-ita'') with a painting of a green
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
tree. This creates the impression that anything that could provide any shading has been banished. To break such monotony and make something happen is no easy thing." Another unique feature of the stage is the ''hashigakari'', a narrow bridge at upstage right used by actors to enter the stage. ''Hashigakari'' means "suspension bridge", signifying something aerial that connects two separate worlds on a same level. The bridge symbolizes the mythic nature of Noh plays in which otherworldly ghosts and spirits frequently appear. In contrast, ''
hanamichi The is an extra stage section used in Japanese kabuki theater. It is a long, raised platform, running left of centre to the stage through the audience, connecting to the main stage. The is typically used for character entrances and exits, t ...
'' in
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 ...
theatres is literally a path (''michi'') that connects two spaces in a single world, thus has a completely different significance.


Costumes

Noh actors wear silk costumes called ''shozoku'' (robes) along with wigs, hats, and props such as the fan. With striking colors, elaborate texture, and intricate weave and embroidery, Noh robes are truly works of art in their own right. Costumes for the ''shite'' in particular are extravagant, shimmering silk brocades, but are progressively less sumptuous for the ''tsure,'' the ''wakizure,'' and the ''aikyōgen''. For centuries, in accordance with the vision of Zeami, Noh costumes emulated the clothing that the characters would genuinely wear, such as the formal robes for a courtier and the street clothing for a peasant or commoner. But in the late sixteenth century, the costumes became stylized with certain symbolic and stylistic conventions. During the Edo (Tokugawa) period, the elaborate robes given to actors by noblemen and ''samurai'' in the
Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
were developed as costumes. The musicians and chorus typically wear formal ''montsuki'' ''
kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
'' (black and adorned with five family crests) accompanied by either ''
hakama are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Originally stemming from (), the trousers worn by members of the Chinese imperial court in the Sui and Tang dynasties, this style was adopted by the Japanese in the form of in the 6th centur ...
'' (a skirt-like garment) or ''kami-shimo'', a combination of ''hakama'' and a waist-coat with exaggerated shoulders. Finally, the stage attendants are garbed in virtually unadorned black garments, much in the same way as stagehands in contemporary Western theatre.


Props

The use of props in Noh is minimalistic and stylized. The most commonly used prop in Noh is the fan, as it is carried by all performers regardless of role. Chorus singers and musicians may carry their fan in hand when entering the stage, or carry it tucked into the ''
obi #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...
''(the sash). The fan is usually placed at the performer's side when he or she takes position, and is often not taken up again until leaving the stage. During dance sequences, the fan is typically used to represent any and all hand-held props, such as a sword, wine jug, flute, or writing brush. The fan may represent various objects over the course of a single play. When hand props other than fans are used, they are usually introduced or retrieved by ''
kuroko are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black. Lexical background 黒衣 primarily read kurogo, differentiating from the other readings kokui/kokue/kuroginu "black clothes", the go/gi suffix underlining the wearing i ...
'' who fulfill a similar role to stage crew in contemporary theatre. Like their Western counterparts, stage attendants for Noh traditionally dress in black, but unlike in Western theatre they may appear on stage during a scene, or may remain on stage during an entire performance, in both cases in plain view of the audience. The all-black costume of ''kuroko'' implies they are not part of the action on stage and are effectively invisible. Set pieces in Noh such as the boats, wells, altars, and bells, are typically carried onto the stage before the beginning of the act in which they are needed. These props normally are only outlines to suggest actual objects, although the great bell, a perennial exception to most Noh rules for props, is designed to conceal the actor and to allow a costume change during the ''kyōgen'' interlude.


Chant and music

Noh theatre is accompanied by a chorus and a ''hayashi'' ensemble (''Noh-bayashi'' 能囃子). Noh is a chanted drama, and a few commentators have dubbed it "Japanese
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
". However, the singing in Noh involves a limited tonal range, with lengthy, repetitive passages in a narrow dynamic range. Texts are poetic, relying heavily on the Japanese seven-five rhythm common to nearly all forms of
Japanese poetry Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in t ...
, with an economy of expression, and an abundance of allusion. The singing parts of Noh are called "''Utai''" and the speaking parts "''Kataru''". The music has many blank spaces (''ma'') in between the actual sounds, and these negative blank spaces are in fact considered the heart of the music. In addition to ''utai'', Noh ''hayashi'' ensemble consists of four musicians, also known as the "hayashi-kata", including three drummers, which play the ''
shime-daiko The is a small Japanese drum. It has a short but wide body with animal skin drumheads on both its upper and bottom sides. The hide is first stretched on metal hops, then stretched over the body. Similar to the tsuzumi and to African talking d ...
'', ''
ōtsuzumi The , also known as the , is an hourglass-shaped Japanese drum. It is a larger version of the tsuzumi, or kotsuzumi and is used in traditional Japanese theater and folk music. Its appearance is slightly different from that of the tsuzumi, and th ...
'' (hip drum), and ''
kotsuzumi The or ''tsuzumi'' is a hand drum of Japanese origin. It consists of a wooden body shaped like an hourglass, and it is taut, with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads respec ...
'' (shoulder drum) respectively, and a ''
nohkan The is a high pitched, Japanese transverse bamboo flute, or . It is commonly used in traditional Imperial Noh and Kabuki theatre. The nohkan flute was created by Kan'ami and his son Zeami in the 15th century, during the time when the two were t ...
'' flutist. The chant is not always performed "in character"; that is, sometimes the actor will speak lines or describe events from the perspective of another character or even a disinterested narrator. Far from breaking the rhythm of the performance, this is actually in keeping with the otherworldly feel of many Noh plays, especially in those characterized as ''mugen''.


Plays

Of the roughly 2000 plays created for Noh that are known today, about 240 make up the current repertoire performed by the five existing Noh schools. The current repertoire is heavily influenced by the taste of aristocratic class in Tokugawa period and does not necessarily reflect popularity among the commoners. There are several ways to classify Noh plays.


Subject

All Noh
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...
s can be classified into three broad categories. * ''Genzai'' Noh (現在能, "present Noh") features human characters and events unfold according to a linear timeline within the play. * ''Mugen'' Noh (夢幻能, "supernatural Noh") involves supernatural worlds, featuring gods, spirits, ghosts, or phantasms in the ''shite'' role. Time is often depicted as passing in a
non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
fashion, and action may switch between two or more timeframes from moment to moment, including flashbacks. * ''Ryōkake'' Noh (両掛能, "mixed Noh"), though somewhat uncommon, is a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
of the above with the first act being ''Genzai'' Noh and the second act ''Mugen'' Noh. While ''Genzai'' Noh utilizes internal and external conflicts to drive storylines and bring out emotions, ''Mugen'' Noh focuses on utilizing flashbacks of the past and the deceased to invoke emotions.


Performance style

Additionally, all Noh plays may be categorized by their style. * ''Geki'' Noh (劇能) is a drama piece based around the advancement of plot and the narration of action. * ''Furyū'' Noh (風流能) is little more than a dance piece characterized by elaborate stage action, often involving acrobatics, stage properties, and multiple characters.


Theme

All Noh plays are divided by their themes into the following five categories. This classification is considered the most practical, and is still used in formal programming choices today. Traditionally, a formal 5-play program is composed of a selection from each of the groups. # ''Kami mono'' (神物, god plays) or ''waki Noh'' (脇能) typically feature the ''shite'' in the role of a deity to tell the mythic story of a shrine or praise a particular god. Many of them structured in two acts, the deity takes a human form in disguise in the first act and reveals the real self in the second act. (e.g. ''Takasago'', ''Chikubushima'') # ''Shura mono'' (修羅物, warrior plays) or ''ashura Noh'' (阿修羅能) takes its name from the Buddhist underworld. The protagonist appearing as a ghost of a famous ''samurai'' pleads to a monk for salvation and the drama culminates in a glorious re-enactment of the scene of his death in a full war costume. (e.g. ''Tamura'', ''Atsumori'') # ''Katsura mono'' (鬘物, wig plays) or ''onna mono'' (女物, woman plays) depict the ''shite'' in a female role and feature some of the most refined songs and dances in all of Noh, reflecting the smooth and flowing movements representing female characters. (e.g. ''Basho'', ''Matsukaze'') # There are about 94 "miscellaneous" plays traditionally performed in the fourth place in a five-play program. These plays include subcategories ''kyōran mono'' (狂乱物, madness plays), ''onryō mono'' (怨霊物,
vengeful ghost In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crema ...
plays), ''genzai mono'' (現在物, present plays), as well as others. (e.g. ''Aya no tsuzumi'', ''Kinuta'') # ''Kiri Noh'' (切り能, final plays) or ''oni mono'' (鬼物, demon plays) usually feature the ''shite'' in the role of monsters, goblins, or demons, and are often selected for their bright colors and fast-paced, tense finale movements. Kiri Noh is performed the last in a five-play program. There are roughly 30 plays in this category, most of which are shorter than the plays in the other categories. In addition to the above five, ''
Okina Okina may refer to: * ʻOkina, a letter used in some Polynesian languages, visually resembling a left single quotation mark * Okina () or , a character from the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' manga series * Okina, Spain, a village in the Basque Country * , ...
'' (翁) (or ''Kamiuta'') is frequently performed at the very beginning of the program, especially at New Year, holidays, and other special occasions. Combining dance with
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
ritual, it is considered the oldest type of Noh play.


Famous plays

The following categorization is that of the Kanze school.


Influence in the West

Many Western artists have been influenced by Noh.


Theatre practitioners

*
Eugenio Barba Eugenio Barba (born 29 October 1936) is an Italian author and theatre director based in Denmark. He is the founder of the Odin Theatre and the International School of Theatre Anthropology, both located in Holstebro, Denmark. Biography Barba was ...
 – Between 1966 and 1972, Japanese Noh Masters
Hideo Kanze was a Japanese actor and director, who specialized in the Noh form of musical drama. He was the second son of Kanze Tetsunojō VII, a descendant of Kan'ami and Zeami, who founded the Noh movement in the 14th century. Trained alongside his brothers ...
and Hisao Kanze gave seminars on Noh at Barba's
Theater Laboratory of Holstebro Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. Barba primarily studied the physical aspects of Noh. *
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
 – Yoshihiko Ikegami considers Beckett's ''Waiting for Godot'' a parody of Noh, particularly ''Kami'' Noh, in which a god or a spirit appears before a secondary character as the protagonist. Ikegami argues that "the dramatic conflict which was much in evidence in Yeats is so completely discarded that Beckett's theatre (where 'nothing happens') comes to look even closer to Noh than Yeats's did." *
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
 – According to Maria P. Alter, Brecht began reading Japanese plays during the middle twenties and have read at least 20 Noh plays translated into German by 1929. Brecht's ''Der Jasager'' is an adaptation of a Noh play ''Taniko''. Brecht himself identified ''Die Massnahme'' as an adaptation of Noh play. *
Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...
 – Yoshi Oida, a Japanese actor with training in Noh, began working with Brook in their production of '' The Tempest'' in 1968. Oida later joined Brook's company. *
Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...
 – According to
John Willett John William Mills Willett, MBE (24 June 1917 – 20 August 2002) was a British translator and a scholar who is remembered for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English. Early life Willett was born in Hampstead and was educated ...
, Paul Claudel learned about Noh during the time he served as French Ambassador to Japan. Claudel's opera ''
Christophe Colomb (''Christopher Columbus'') is an opera in two parts by the French composer Darius Milhaud. The poet Paul Claudel wrote the libretto based on his own play about the life of Christopher Columbus, ''Le Livre de Christophe Colomb''. The opera was fi ...
'' shows an unmistakable influence of the Noh. *
Jacques Copeau Jacques Copeau (; 4 February 1879 – 20 October 1949) was a French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theatre reviews for several Parisian journals, work ...
 – In 1923, Copeau worked on a Noh play, ''Kantan,'' along with
Suzanne Bing Suzanne Bing (10 March 1885 – 22 November 1967) was a French actress. She was a founding member of Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris during the first season 1913-14. Later she worked with the troupe in New York from 1917 ...
at
Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier The Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau. Today it is one of the three theatres in Paris u ...
, without ever having seen a Noh play. Thomas Leabhart states that "Jacques Copeau was drawn instinctively by taste and tendency to a restrained theatre which was based in spirituality." Copeau praised Noh theatre in writing when he finally saw a production in 1930. *
Guillaume Gallienne Guillaume Gallienne (born 8 February 1972) is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He has received two Molière Awards for his stagework and has won two César Awards, one for writing and the other for his performance in his autobiogra ...
- ''Deguchinashi'' (Huis-Clos) by Jean-Paul Sartre, a Noh version of Sartre's play directed by Guillaume Gallienne at the Noh Tessenkai theatre, Tokyo in 2006. *
Jacques Lecoq Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 – 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. He was best known for his teaching methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime which he taught at the school he founded in Paris known as ...
 –
Physical theatre Physical theatre is a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. Although several performance theatre disciplines are often described as "physical theatre," the genre's characteristic aspe ...
taught at
L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq is a school of physical theatre located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1956 by Jacques Lecoq, the school offers a professional and intensive two-ye ...
founded by Lecoq is influenced by Noh. *
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
 – O'Neill's plays ''
The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perfo ...
'', '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and ''
Hughie ''Hughie'' is a short two-character play by Eugene O'Neill set in the lobby of a small hotel on a West Side street in Midtown Manhattan, New York, during the summer of 1928. The play is essentially a long monologue delivered by a small-time hus ...
'' have various similarities to Noh plays. *
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...
 – Wilder himself expressed his interest in Noh in his "Preface” to ''Three Plays'' and his sister Isabel Wilder also confirmed his interests. Wilder's work ''Our Town'' incorporates various elements of Noh such as lack of plot, representative characters, and use of ghosts.


Composers

*
William Henry Bell William Henry Bell, known largely by his initials, W H Bell (20 August 1873 – 13 April 1946), was an English composer, conductor and lecturer. Biography Bell was born in St Albans and was a chorister at St Albans Cathedral. He studied organ ...
 – An English composer Bell wrote music for modern presentation of several Noh plays, including ''Komachi'' (1925), ''Tsuneyo of the Three Trees'' (1926), ''Hatsuyuki'' (1934), ''The Pillow of Kantan'' (1935), and ''Kageyiko'' (1936). *
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
 – Britten visited Japan in 1956 and saw for the first time Japanese Noh plays, which he called "some of the most wonderful drama I have ever seen." The influences were seen and heard in his ballet ''
The Prince of the Pagodas ''The Prince of the Pagodas'' is a ballet created for The Royal Ballet by choreographer John Cranko with music commissioned from Benjamin Britten. Its premiere took place on 1 January 1957 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, conducted ...
'' (1957) and later in two of the three semi-operatic "Parables for Church Performance": ''
Curlew River ''Curlew River – A Parable for Church Performance'' (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. The first of Britten's three 'Parables for Church Performance', the work is based on the J ...
'' (1964) and ''
The Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a parable of Jesus from the Bible. The Prodigal Son or Prodigal Son may also refer to: Film * ''L'Enfant prodigue'' (1907 film) (The Prodigal Son), by Michel Carré, based on his play * , a short silent film b ...
'' (1968). *
David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
 – Byrne encountered Noh when he was on tour in Japan with
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
and he was inspired by the highly stylized practices of Noh, completely different from its Western counterparts that focus on naturalism. According to
Josh Kun Josh Kun is an American author, academic and music critic. Kun is Professor of Communication and Journalism and chair in Cross-Cultural Communication in the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. He also holds a joint appoint ...
, "Japanese Noh theatre inspired him to design the oversize business suit that became a visual staple of Talking Heads live shows." *
Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
 – 20th century philosopher, the liner notes from his third song off the 1962 album 'This is IT' state "Watts in a Japanese no-noh." *
Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...
 – Partch called his work ''Delusion of the Fury'' "a ritualistic web". Kate Molleson wrote for
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that "the narrative is a bleary mix of Japanese Noh theatre, Ethiopian folk mythology, Greek drama and his own wacky imagination". Will Salmon cites Partch himself writing, "Noh has been for centuries a fine art, one of the most sophisticated the world has known." ''Delusion of the Fury'' incorporates two Noh plays, ''Atsumori'' by Zeami and ''Ikuta'' by Zenbō Motoyasu, into its story. *
Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
 – The essentially plotless libretto of Stockhausen's grand operatic cycle ''
Licht file:Kürten - Waldfriedhof - Stockhausen 01 ies.jpg, 275px, Karlheinz Stockhausens grave with the score to LICHT . ''Licht'' (Light), subtitled "Die sieben Tage der Woche" (The Seven Days of the Week), is a cycle of seven operas composed by Kar ...
'' ("Light") is based on "a mythology drawing on multiple cultural traditions, from Japanese Noh theatre to German folklore". *
Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...
 – Xenakis "admired Noh, the venerable theatrical form known for its ritualistic formality and gestural complexity." Electronic Music Foundation presented ''Xenakis & Japan'' in March 2010, "a dance/music event highlighting Xenakis' lifelong interest in Japanese music and theatre". The event featured a female Noh performer, Ryoko Aoki.


Poets

*
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
 – Yeats wrote an essay on Noh titled "Certain Noble Plays of Japan" in 1916. As much as he tried to learn Noh, there were limited resources available in England at the time. The lack of complete understanding of Noh led him to create innovative works guided by his own imagination and what he fantasized Noh to be. Yeats wrote four plays heavily influenced by Noh, using ghosts or supernatural beings as the central ''
dramatis personae Dramatis personae (Latin: 'persons of the drama') are the main characters in a dramatic work written in a list. Such lists are commonly employed in various forms of theatre, and also on screen. Typically, off-stage characters are not considered ...
'' for the first time. The plays are ''
At the Hawk's Well ''At the Hawk's Well'' is a one-act play by William Butler Yeats, first performed in 1916 and published in 1917. It is one of five plays by Yeats which are loosely based on the stories of Cuchulain the mythological hero of ancient Ulster. It ...
'', ''The Dreaming of the Bones'', ''The Words upon the Window-Fane'', and ''Purgatory''.


Aesthetic terminology

Zeami and Zenchiku describe a number of distinct qualities that are thought to be essential to the proper understanding of Noh as an art form. * ''Hana'' (花, flower): In the ''Kadensho'' (Instructions on the Posture of the Flower), Zeami describes ''hana'' saying "after you master the secrets of all things and exhaust the possibilities of every device, the ''hana'' that never vanishes still remains." The true Noh performer seeks to cultivate a rarefied relationship with his audience similar to the way that one cultivates flowers. What is notable about ''hana'' is that, like a flower, it is meant to be appreciated by any audience, no matter how lofty or how coarse his upbringing. ''Hana'' comes in two forms. Individual ''hana'' is the beauty of the flower of youth, which passes with time, while "true ''hana''" is the flower of creating and sharing perfect beauty through performance. * ''Yūgen'' (幽玄, profound sublimity): ''Yūgen'' is a concept valued in various forms of art throughout Japanese culture. Originally used to mean elegance or grace representing the perfect beauty in ''
waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
'', ''yūgen'' is invisible beauty that is felt rather than seen in a work of art. The term is used specifically in relation to Noh to mean the profound beauty of the transcendental world, including mournful beauty involved in sadness and loss. * ''Rōjaku'' (老弱): ''Rō'' means old, and ''jaku'' means tranquil and quiet. Rōjaku is the final stage of performance development of the Noh actor, in which he eliminates all unnecessary action or sound in the performance, leaving only the true essence of the scene or action being imitated. * ''Kokoro'' or ''shin'' (both 心): Defined as "heart," "mind," or both. The kokoro of noh is that which Zeami speaks of in his teachings, and is more easily defined as "mind." To develop hana the actor must enter a state of no-mind, or mushin. * ''Myō'' (妙): the "charm" of an actor who performs flawlessly and without any sense of imitation; he effectively becomes his role. * ''Monomane'' (物真似, imitation or mimesis): the intent of a Noh actor to accurately depict the motions of his role, as opposed to purely aesthetic reasons for abstraction or embellishment. ''Monomane'' is sometimes contrasted with ''yūgen'', although the two represent endpoints of a continuum rather than being completely separate. * ''Kabu-isshin'' (歌舞一心, "song-dance-one heart"): the theory that the song (including poetry) and dance are two halves of the same whole, and that the Noh actor strives to perform both with total unity of heart and mind.


Existing Noh theatres

Noh is still regularly performed today in public theatres as well as private theatres mostly located in major cities. There are more than 70 Noh theatres throughout Japan, presenting both professional and amateur productions. Public theatres include
National Noh Theatre The National Noh Theatre (国立能楽堂, ''Kokuritsu Nōgaku Dō'') opened in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan in September 1983. The auditorium seats 591 for performances of Noh and Kyōgen, and there is also a rehearsal stage, exhibition area ...
(Tokyo),
Nagoya Noh Theater The Nagoya Noh Theater (名古屋能楽堂) is a Noh drama theatre building located in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. History The history of Noh in Owari Province dates back to the heyday of feudal rule, when performances were shown at t ...
, and Osaka Noh Theater. Each Noh school has its own permanent theatre, such as Kanze Noh Theater (Tokyo), Hosho Noh Theater (Tokyo), Kongo Noh Theater (
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
), and Nara Komparu Noh Theater (
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
). Additionally, there are various prefectural and municipal theatres located throughout Japan that present touring professional companies and local amateur companies. In some regions, unique regional Noh such as
Ogisai Kurokawa Noh (or simply Kurokawa noh) is a noh festival in Kushibiki, Yamagata, Kushibiki in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It became an official Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan, Intangible Cultural Asset in 1976. Noh ...
have developed to form schools independent from five traditional schools.


Audience etiquette

Audience etiquette is generally similar to formal western theatre—the audience quietly watches.
Surtitles Surtitles, also known as supertitles, SurCaps, OpTrans, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera, theatre or other musical performances. The word "surtitle" comes from ...
are not used, but some audience members follow along in the
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
. Because there are no curtains on the stage, the performance begins with the actors entering the stage and ends with their leaving the stage. The house lights are usually kept on during the performances, creating an intimate feel that provides a shared experience between the performers and the audience. At the end of the play, the actors file out slowly (most important first, with gaps between actors), and while they are on the bridge (''hashigakari''), the audience claps restrainedly. Between actors, clapping ceases, then begins again as the next actor leaves. Unlike in western theatre, there is no bowing, nor do the actors return to the stage after having left. A play may end with the ''shite'' character leaving the stage as part of the story (as in ''Kokaji,'' for instance)—rather than ending with all characters on stage—in which case one claps as the character exits. During the interval,
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
,
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...
, and ''
wagashi are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' (azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients. History In Japan, the wor ...
'' (Japanese sweets) may be served in the lobby. In the Edo period, when Noh was a day-long affair, more substantial ''
makunouchi is a popular type of Japanese bento which consists of mostly rice along with fish, meat, pickles, eggs, vegetables, and an umeboshi (a salt pickled plum). There are also other kinds of food such as a chestnut-rice, sweetfish sushi, and meat-a ...
'
bentō A is the Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese, Korean, Singaporean cuisines and more, as r ...
'' (幕の内弁当, "between-acts lunchbox") were served. On special occasions, when the performance is over, お神酒 (''o-miki,'' ceremonial ''
sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
'') may be served in the lobby on the way out, as it happens in
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
rituals. The audience is seated in front of the stage, to the left side of the stage, and in the corner front-left of stage; these are in order of decreasing desirability. While the ''metsuke-bashira'' pillar obstructs the view of the stage, the actors are primarily at the corners, not the center, and thus the two aisles are located where the views of the two main actors would be obscured, ensuring a generally clear view regardless of seating.


See also

*
Theatre of Japan This article is an overview of traditional and modern Japanese theatre. Traditional Japanese theatre is among the oldest theatre traditions in the world. Traditional theatre includes Noh, a spiritual drama, and its comic accompaniment ; kabuki, a ...
*
Higashiyama culture The Higashiyama culture (東山文化 ''Higashiyama bunka'') is a segment of Japanese culture that includes innovations in architecture, the visual arts and theatre during the late Muromachi period. It originated and was promoted in the 15th ce ...
*
Shuhari Shuhari (Kanji: 守破離 Hiragana: しゅはり) is a Japanese martial art concept which describes the stages of learning to mastery. It is sometimes applied to other disciplines, such as Go. Etymology ''Shuhari'' roughly translates to "to ke ...


References


Further reading

* Brandon, James R. (ed.) (1997). ''Nō and kyōgen in the contemporary world.'' (Foreword by Ricardo D. Trimillos) Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. * Brazell, Karen (1998). ''Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays.'' New York: Columbia University Press. * Ortolani, Benito; Leiter, Samuel L. (eds) (1998). ''Zeami and the Nō Theatre in the World.'' New York: Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts, CUNY. * Tyler, Royall (ed. & trans.) (1992). ''Japanese Nō Dramas.'' London:
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Waley, Arthur (2009). ''Noh plays of Japan''. Tuttle Shokai Inc. , . * *
Zeami Motokiyo (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 skill ...
(1984). ''On the Art of the Nō Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami.'' Trans.
J. Thomas Rimer J. Thomas Rimer (born 2 March 1933) is an American scholar of Japanese literature and drama. He is a Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art at the University of Pittsburgh. He has served as the chief of the Asian Division of th ...
. Ed. Masakazu Yamazaki. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.


External links


THE NOHGAKU PERFORMERS' ASSOCIATION
THE NOHGAKU PERFORMERS' ASSOCIATION *

Ohtsuki Noh Theatre Foundation

Japanese Text Initiative, University of Virginia Library




Noh plays Photo Story and Story Paper
the-Noh.com: Comprehensive Site on Noh


nohmask.jp
Photos of Noh-masks carved by Ichyuu Terai in Kyoto Japan.
How to enjoy Noh

Momoyama, Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Noh

by
Royall Tyler Royall Tyler (June 18, 1757 – August 26, 1826) was an American jurist and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was ad ...
{{Authority control Dances of Japan History of theatre Japanese styles of music Japanese traditional music Theatre in Japan