List of Living National Treasures of Japan (performing arts)
List of Current Designated Individuals ( Performing Arts ) -- Noh
Table:
Name

Born

Category

Subcategory

Year Designated

Akiyo Tomoeda (友枝昭世)

1940

Noh

Shite

2008

Genshō Umewaka (梅若玄祥)

1948

Noh

Shite

2014

Tatsuo Yasufuku (安福建雄)

1938

Noh

Ōtsuzumi

1998

Tadao Kamei (亀井忠雄)

1941

Noh

Ōtsuzumi

2002

Gentarō Mishima (三島元太郎)

1936

Noh

Taiko

2014

Tarō Nomura (野村太良), alias Man Nomura (野村萬)

1930

Noh

Kyōgen

1997

Jirō Nomura (野村二朗), alias Mansaku Nomura II (二世野村万作)

1931

Noh

Kyōgen

2007

Tōjirō Yamamoto (山本東次郎)

1937

Noh

Kyōgen

2012

Hisayuki Issō (一噌仙幸)

1940

Noh

Fue

2009

From the accompanying table and the textual context listed.

Answer the following question: What kind of furnace keeps the subcategory dry that is of the category that includes five Noh plays ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

Noh ( 能 , Nō , derived from the Sino-Japanese word for skill or talent ) , 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 nōgaku are sometimes used interchangeably , nōgaku encompasses both Noh and kyōgen . Traditionally , a full nōgaku program includes five Noh plays with comedic kyōgen plays in between ; an abbreviated program of two Noh plays with one kyōgen piece has become common today . Optionally , an okina play 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 , children , and the elderly . Written in late middle Japanese , the text vividly describes the ordinary people of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries . [ attribution needed ] Having a strong emphasis on tradition rather than innovation , Noh is extremely codified and regulated by the iemoto system .
The Ōtsuzumi ( 大鼓 ) , also known as the Ōkawa ( 大皮 ) , 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 the sound produced is vastly different from any of the four sounds the kotsuzumi produces . Whereas the kotsuzumi is smaller and has a more ornate drum head , the ōkawa is larger , and its head takes on a more plain , leathery appearance . The sound is also higher and sharper in pitch , resembling more of a dry , almost metallic crack than the tsuzumi 's softer pon sound . The hourglass structure is slightly bigger , and has a prominent protruding knob at the middle , unlike that of the kotsuzumi , which has a smoothened-out middle section . The heads of the drum are taut very tightly , leaving no room for further tension , and acoustic , adjustments . The ōkawa is played on the left thigh of the player , possibly due to its larger , heavy size , whereas the tsuzumi is played upon the right shoulder . The drum heads are made of thick , stiff horsehide taken from grown horses , and care for the drum heads of the ōkawa is peculiar in that they must be kept dry at all times . In contrast , the heads of the smaller kotsuzumi must always be moist . Since the sound of the ōkawa is supposed to be higher in pitch , the player must ensure that the skin of the drum-heads remains as constricted as possible , and this is best realized when the drum heads are kept dry . To keep the drum heads dry , they are often heated near a kind of old style of Japanese furnace called a hibachi no less than an hour before the performance .
The origin of the instruments is unclear , though there have been many suggestions . Historical accounts , of which the earliest date from 588 CE , note that young Japanese men traveled to Korea to study the kakko , a drum that originated in South China . This study and appropriation of Chinese instruments may have influenced the emergence of taiko . Certain court music styles , especially gigaku and gagaku , arrived in Japan through both Korea and China . In both traditions , dancers were accompanied by several instruments that included drums similar to taiko . Certain percussive patterns and terminology in togaku , an early dance and music style in Japan , in addition to physical features of the kakko , also reflect influence from both China and India on drum use in gagaku performance . Archaeological evidence shows that taiko were used in Japan as early as the 6th century CE , during the latter part of the Kofun period , and were likely used for communication , in festivals , and in other rituals . This evidence was substantiated by the discovery of haniwa statues in the Sawa District of Gunma Prefecture . Two of these figures are depicted playing drums ; one of them , wearing skins , is equipped with a barrel-shaped drum hung from his shoulder and uses a stick to play the drum at hip height . This statue is titled Man Beating the Taiko and is considered the oldest evidence of taiko performance in Japan . Similarities between the playing style demonstrated by this haniwa and known music traditions in Korea and China further suggest influences from these regions . The Nihon Shoki , the second oldest book of Japanese classical history , contains a mythological story describing the origin of taiko .
Kyōgen ( 狂言 , mad words or wild speech ) 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 ; therefore , it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen . Its contents are nevertheless not at all similar to the formal , symbolic , and solemn Noh theater ; kyōgen is a comic form , and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh . Kyōgen together with Noh is part of Nōgaku theatre . Kyōgen is sometimes compared to the Italian comic form of commedia dell'arte , which developed around the same period ( 14th century ) and likewise features stock characters . It also has parallels with the Greek satyr play , a short , comical play performed between tragedies .
A hayashi ( 囃子 ) is a group of performers who provide musical accompaniment for Japanese Noh or kabuki theatre , yose ( 寄席 ) performances of rakugo , or a festival . In Noh , the hayashi sit along the rear of the stage , facing the audience and fully visible . A distinct and separate group of performers from the chorus , they are purely instrumentalists ; the type of instruments featured and the order in which they sit on stage follow established practices . The leftmost performer plays a small taiko , set on a stand before him , with two drumsticks . To his right is the ōtsuzumi hip drum , followed by the kotsuzumi shoulder drum , and the Noh flute ( nōkan or simply fue ) . In kabuki , a number of shamisen players are added , along with , depending on the play , taiko drums of various sizes , various types of flutes , and other instruments , including a myriad of devices for sound effects . The kabuki hayashi is generally located in a small room just off-stage , and is not visible to the audience , though a barred window in the walls of the stage set indicates its location . For matsubame plays and dances , those based on works from Noh and kyōgen , the hayashi will often be located along the rear of the stage , fully visible in imitation of Noh and kyōgen modes . As with kabuki actors , and other performers in traditional arts , instrumentalists in the traditions of Noh hayashi , kabuki hayashi , and nagauta shamisen ( the shamisen style used in kabuki and bunraku ) , are members of a number of traditional lineages , following the iemoto system . Performers traditionally take on the name of their school as an art-name ( i.e . stage name ) . Notable hayashi lineages include the Tōsha school , Mochizuki school , and Tanaka school .