The Nagoya Noh Theater (名古屋能楽堂) is a

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 ' ...

drama theatre building located in the city of

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, central

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

The history of Noh in

Owari Province was a province of Japan in the area that today forms the western half of Aichi Prefecture, including the modern city of Nagoya. The province was created in 646. Owari bordered on Mikawa, Mino, and Ise Provinces. Owari and Mino provinces were ...

dates back to the heyday of feudal rule, when performances were shown at the Ninomaru Palace of

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

. The palace had two stages for performances of Noh: the ''omote-butai'', or front stage, and ''oku-butai'', the rear stage. Noh was performed to commemorate a lord's succession to a fiefdom and to celebrate the birth of an heir. The

Owari branch The is a branch of the Tokugawa clan, and it is the seniormost house of the '' Gosanke'' ("three honourable houses of the Tokugawa").Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

were patrons of many Noh actors. A reconstruction of one of the Noh stages of the Ninomaru can be seen in the

Tokugawa Art Museum The is a private art museum, located on the former '' Ōzone Shimoyashiki'' compound in Nagoya, central Japan. Its collection contains more than 12,000 items, including swords, armor, Noh costumes and masks, lacquer furniture, Chinese and Japane ...

. The city also has an association for Noh and for mask makers. The modern Nagoya Noh Theatre was commissioned by the city government and opened in April 1997 and is situated just south of today's visitors' main gate of Nagoya Castle in the outer San-no-maru

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. For ...

Architecture

Its outer architecture evokes the traditional roofs and structures of the Noh theatre, the interior is equipped with modern technology, but features a traditional wooden stage constructed out of

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 ...

cypress from the Kiso area. The structure is steel-reinforced concrete and has one storey with a basement. The total floor space excluding the mezzanine area is 5,200 m2. The main stage (''hon butai'') measures 34.93 meter square (5.91m x5.91m) within the pillars, the angle between the stage passage (''hashigakari'') and main stage is 102.5 degrees, the length is 11.89 metres and the width within the pillars 2.7 metres. The theatre has 630 seats. It is a prominent feature in the cultural life of Nagoya and the Noh, as well as

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 ...

performances are played monthly. The building also houses artefacts of Noh theatre. Access by public transport is

Shiyakusho Station is an underground metro station located in Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan operated by the Nagoya Municipal Subway. It is located 4.3 rail kilometers from the terminus of the Meijō Line at Kanayama Station. This station provides acc ...

on the Meijo Line, or

Sengen-chō Station is a railway station in Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. History It was opened on . It was the first railway station in Japan to allow homosexual men to kiss and hold hands. Location Located nearby the station ...

References

External links

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Nagoya Noh Theater

Nagoya Noh Promotive Association

Nagoya Meieki Takigi Noh

Nohmen Kohgeikai
mask makers association {{coord, 35, 11, 25.88, N, 136, 54, 13.35, E, type:landmark_region:JP, display=title Theatres in Nagoya Museums in Nagoya Arts centres in Japan Noh Nagoya Castle