num_pages: 184
description: For over five centuries the essays of Ze-Ami – considered, with his father Kan-Ami, to be the founder of Noh, the classical dance-drama of Japan – were kept secret. They were not shown to more than one Noh actor in each generation until recently. Though they contain a large number of paradoxes and contradictory statements as well as a great deal of repetition, they were regarded as a Bible by actors in the Noh technique. As repetition was a constant feature in training and in techniques in many arts in Japan, and as paradox had often been used in the search for the truth in Zen, so Ze-Ami's essays were accepted, despite their repetitions, paradoxes and contradictions. They were not. however, easily translatable, and they benefit from being edited. In this work therefore, Ze-Ami's ideas are dealt with in eight The History of Five Groups of Noh Writing a Public Tachiai Competitions and Grades of The and Hana. This arrangement presents Ze-Ami's ideas with some order and consistency. Relevant sections of eighteen essays by Ze-Ami are translated and discussed. This volume is a most useful introduction to an understanding of Noh history, practice, and technique, for all readers in the West, written as it is by a trained Noh actor.
language: English
title: Ze-Ami & his Theories of Noh Drama
titlecomplete: Ze-Ami & his Theories of Noh Drama
ratings_count: 2
publisher: Colin Smythe Ltd