There, the rustic aspects soon began to fade. Costumes became more elaborate, and the language of the songs acquired increasingly poetic overtones. The major influence on the development and refinement of Noh was the playwright Zeami Motokiyo, who lived from 1363 to 1443 and authored several treatises on its philosophy and presentation, and by the late 16th century it had begun the process of standardization into the stylized theater form it is today. A walkway to the stage's left rear corner provides dramatic entrances and occasionally the setting for some of the limited action. Along the rear wall sits the ensemble of musicians, playing a flute and three drums, that accompanies and sets the pace for the drama, while to the right are the two rows of singers who compose the Noh chorus, somewhat reminiscent of the traditional Greek theater.
Props are rare and abbreviated, mere hints at the existence of the objects they represent.
In essence, the physical setting merely provides an overall ambience, a cue to the audience that the conventions of Noh are in sway, while attention is focussed on the actors. The central characters and sometimes others wear masks, felt by many to be the lifeblood of the Noh drama. Carved of wood and painted in the subtlest of expressive variations, they represent men, women ane children, old and young, demons and other figures. Elaborate robes and under-robes are the Noh's most visual spectacle designed with painstaking attention to every aspect of color, shape, pattern and layering. Traditionally, Noh plays have been of five categories, concerned with gods, warriors, women, assorted contemporary themes and supernatural beings.