Theatre | Tokiotours; your personal tour guide in Tokyo Tokiotours; your personal tour guide in Tokyo Book your personal guided tour today with an English/Dutch and Japanese speaking guide. Posts Tagged With: Theatre The splendor of Noh, fabulous costumes and frightening masks. Japan has, for centuries been a nation rightly proud of its theatrical heritage. From the very early days of puppet theatre known, eventually as Bunraku to the western world, through its human form descendants of Noh, and later Kabuki, classical forms of theatre in the archipelago have long formed the backbone of nationwide and regional stage based entertainment. Bunraku puppet theatre, true to its origins remains more popular in the Kansai area around Osaka and Kyoto than anywhere else, with Noh, also an offspring of the area in which Japan’s ruling elite once occupied their respective seats of power also popular to a degree. This popularity is tempered in the central Japanese region though, as, largely in order to survive, what is the slowest, and perhaps most regal form of theatre frequently performed today long since opted to up and move east – following the nation’s upper classes to Tokyo ; the modern day seat of both imperial and political power.

In Tokyo, Noh performances in the main schools of the art (Kanze, Komparu, Hosho, Kongo and Kita) can generally be seen every weekend as there are more than double the number of Noh theatres in the capital than any other form of traditional theatre form. There are also some shows put on during the week, in the early evenings for the most part, and at the National Noh Theatre in the Sendagaya area of the capital, special Summertime shows introducing Noh to beginners are always popular. Noh ( 能 Nō), or Nogaku (能楽 Nōgaku)—derived from the Sino-Japanese word for “skill” or “talent”—is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh “performance day” lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. However, present-day Noh performances often consist of two Noh plays with one Kyōgen play in between.

While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified, and regulated by the iemoto system, with an emphasis on tradition rather than innovation, some performers do compose new plays or revive historical ones that are not a part of the standard repertoire. Works blending Noh with other theatrical traditions have also been produced. Noh is far more about conceptualization than any of the other forms of theatre still being performed in Japan. Whereas Kabuki has long been labeled the theatre of the masses due to its ability to visually entertain those less aware of all but the most famous of Japan’s founding tales, and early-era mythology, Noh requires an awareness, often studied before, of the subject matter to be witnessed. Imagery and imagination reign in Noh with the comprehension and eventual enjoyment of a given play limited to the mind of each individual watching. Unlike many other forms of theatre around Japan and the world, Noh plays are not usually rehearsed. The actors themselves do study and practice their given roles of course, but not together before the play is actually put on in front of an audience. This in effect has its pros and cons, with long term fans well aware that the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Vivid and Powerful Noh masks.

Three pictures of the same nō ‘hawk mask’ showing how the expression changes with a tilting of the head. The mask was afixed to a wall with constant lighting and only the camera moved. The skills of individual actors tend to shine through when under pressure to get it right first time, and it is always the main actor – known as the shite – who will carry the play. As good as any supporting actors may be, their roles will be designed so as not to do anything to take away from the top dog. There is only one ‘shite’ in each play and, more often than not, no more than perhaps five to seven actors on stage at any one point in time; oftentimes fewer than five depending on which of the roughly 250 plays in the accepted repertoire of Noh is being shown.

Recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in May, 2001, Noh has safely preserved its status in Japanese and global society as both a theatrical and cultural treasure, although many Japanese, and fewer tourists never actually get near a theatre, claiming the archaic language in use, and slow speed at which things progress to be factors that prevent them from developing an interest in the art. Jo, Ha, Kyū One of the most subtle performance elements of Noh is that of Jo-ha-kyū , which originated as the three movements of courtly gagaku . However, rather than simply dividing a whole into three parts, within Noh the concept incorporates not only the play itself, but the songs and dances within the play, and even the individual steps, motions, and sounds that actors and musicians make.

Furthermore, from a higher perspective, the entire traditional Noh program of five plays also manifests this concept, with the first type play being the jo, the second, third, and fourth plays the ha (with the second play being referred to as the jo of the ha, the third as the ha of the ha, and the fourth as the kyū of the ha), and finally the fifth play the kyū. In general, the jo component is slow and evocative, the ha component or components detail transgression or the disordering of the natural way and the natural world, and the kyū resolves the element with haste or suddenness (note, however, that this only means kyū is fast in comparison with what came before it, and those unfamiliar with the concepts of Noh may not even realize the acceleration occurred). Want to experience this ancient form of Japanese culture ? If you are considering to spend an afternoon in the presence of what remains the oldest form of masked theatre (the use of a mask a privilege only bestowed upon the ‘shite’) anywhere in the world, however,remember many of the previous naysayers are captivated and repeat visits are soon planned.

For those interested in attending a show in Tokyo, an Internet search of the aforementioned main school names should turn up more options to sample this treasure than could realistically be listed but will help in English. Otherwise, head on over to the National Noh Theatre site at to see what the nation’s main theatre has lined up in the weeks and months ahead. Do be prepared to splash out a tad as tickets are not cheap – but rest assured you will take away a memory as mystifying as it is impressing. Theatre - Japanese Culture | Inside Japan Tours Inside Japan Tours Magazine Kabuki Kabuki is one of three styles of traditional Japanese theatre that continue to be performed in Japan today. Kabuki is very stylised and performed entirely by male actors, who wear extravagant costumes and very elaborate make-up. This theatrical style is over 400 years old and remains popular, with shows performed regularly at Tokyo's newly restored Kabuki-za Theatre - amongst others. Noh The second of Japan's traditional styles of theatre, Noh has been performed since the fourteenth century. Traditionally, a Noh performance lasts all day - consisting of several Noh plays interspersed with shorter, comic pieces - but today you'll find that performances are much shorter!

Actors in Noh usually wear masks, and as with Kabuki all the parts are played by men. Bunraku Bunraku is a form of traditional puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in 1684. Bunraku performances feature wooden puppets and involve puppeteers, chanters, and shamisen musicians. The construction of the puppets and their costumes requires great skill, and various performers and puppet-makers have been designated Living National Treasures in Japan today. Order or download our brochure Find inspiration for your Japan holiday plans by exploring our latest brochure. Order a printed version A night at the theatre You're in Tokyo with InsideJapan Tours - why not take in the theatre? If you are shopping or just window-shopping in Ginza in the heart of Tokyo, you are only a few minutes' walk from the Shimbashi Embujo. Here you can arrive around 4pm, drink in the atmosphere of excited crowds of theatre-goers milling around the many stalls selling theatrical souvenirs, then sit in a comfortable seat watching the amazing performance on stage and listening to an English translation through an earphone. The long interval gives you time for a full meal at one of the theatre restaurants.

Most months of the year the theatre you will watch will be Kabuki, one of Japan's three main traditional theatre genres. Kabuki began in the seventeenth century and quickly developed a highly stylised type of acting that has been popular ever since. All parts in Kabuki are played by men and some of its greatest actors specialise in playing female characters. Kabuki stars are part of Japan's celebrity culture and you will often see their faces on advertising billboards or in TV commercials. Apart from Kabuki, the puppet theatre (Bunraku), with each puppet being manipulated by three puppeteers, also dates from the seventeenth century, and Noh, a more stately form of danced theatre in which many main actors wear wooden masks, can trace its history back to the fourteenth century. Bunraku is most regularly played in Osaka at the National Bunraku Theatre and earphone guides are also available there. Noh can be watched at the National Noh Theatre in Tokyo, and each seat has a personal subtitling system. Japan has preserved its traditional theatre forms, but it has a vibrant modern theatre as well.

The country was virtually cut off from the rest of the world for two centuries from the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s, but when it discovered what European theatre was like, it eagerly embraced the major European playwrights: Shakespeare, Ibsen etc. So in the late nineteenth century two great theatre cultures collided in Japan. Some thought Kabuki should be protected at all costs, others that it could modernise by adopting Western conventions, for example that female parts should be played by actresses. In the 1920s the idea grew strongly that traditional theatre should be rejected and an entirely new Japanese theatre, based on the European model, should be developed. All traditional Japanese theatre had been non-realistic - presentational rather than representational - so establishing realism in playwriting, acting and directing became a priority. Then in the 1960s realism itself was rejected and "underground" theatre - we might use the word "fringe" or "off-Broadway" - burst onto the scene. Radical politically and open to anything in its performance techniques, this heady mix of kaleidoscopic styles and raw emotions re-energised theatre in Japan.

It developed into the "little theatre" (shogekijo) movement, experimental theatre performed in small acting spaces. In the early twenty-first century much contemporary theatre has been going through a calmer and more contemplative phase. Over the past century while these new developments have been taking place almost nothing from the past has been lost. Japan's theatre is so extraordinarily rich that in a short stay there you could see everything mentioned here and a lot more. There are not many places in the world where you can see fourteenth-century theatre one day, realistic theatre the next, eighteenth-century puppets the next and an ultra-avant garde show the day after. So how do you go about planning your theatre-going in Japan and getting tickets? The easiest way is to leave this to InsideJapan Tours. However, you can do some preparation before you go by reading A Guide to the Japanese Stage, From Traditional to Cutting Edge by Ronald Cavaye, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda (Kodansha International 2004; Amazon refer to it wrongly as World of the Japanese Stage). There are good articles on traditional theatre in Wikipedia: Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh. There are many video clips of all three on YouTube.

Brian Powell Author of Japan's Modern Theatre, a Century of Continuity and Change Featured trips Kyoto Nara Spirit of Honshu is the ideal tour for those who want to experience the very best of Japan's famous highlights in a limited amount of time. Noh theatre | Japanese drama | Britannica.com Japanese drama Alternative Titles: No theatre, sarugaku-no-nō Related Topics Noh theatre, Noh also spelled No, traditional Japanese theatrical form and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the world. Scene from Yuya, a Noh play attributed to Zeami, showing (left foreground) … Photograph by Kunihei Kameda Noh—its name derived from nō, meaning “talent” or “skill”—is unlike Western narrative drama . Rather than being actors or “representers” in the Western sense, Noh performers are simply storytellers who use their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale rather than to enact it. Little “happens” in a Noh drama, and the total effect is less that of a present action than of a simile or metaphor made visual.

The educated spectators know the story’s plot very well, so that what they appreciate are the symbols and subtle allusions to Japanese cultural history contained in the words and movements. Noh developed from ancient forms of dance drama and from various types of festival drama at shrines and temples that had emerged by the 12th or 13th century. Noh became a distinctive form in the 14th century and was continually refined up to the years of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). It became a ceremonial drama performed on auspicious occasions by professional actors for the warrior class—as, in a sense, a prayer for peace, longevity, and the prosperity of the social elite. Outside the noble houses, however, there were performances that popular audiences could attend. The collapse of the feudal order with the Meiji Restoration (1868) threatened the existence of Noh, though a few notable actors maintained its traditions. After World War II the interest of a larger audience led to a revival of the form. There are five types of Noh plays.

The first type, the kami (“god”) play , involves a sacred story of a Shintō shrine; the second, shura mono (“fighting play”), centres on warriors; the third, katsura mono (“wig play”), has a female protagonist; the fourth type, varied in content, includes the gendai mono (“present-day play”), in which the story is contemporary and “realistic” rather than legendary and supernatural, and the kyōjo mono (“madwoman play”), in which the protagonist becomes insane through the loss of a lover or child; and the fifth type, the kiri or kichiku (“final” or “demon”) play, features devils, strange beasts, and supernatural beings. A typical Noh play is relatively short. Its dialogue is sparse, serving as a mere frame for the movement and music. A standard Noh program consists of three plays selected from the five types so as to achieve both an artistic unity and the desired mood; invariably, a play of the fifth type is the concluding work. Kyōgen , humorous sketches, are performed as interludes between plays. A program may begin with an okina , which is essentially an invocation for peace and prosperity in dance form.

Similar Topics Kabuki Three major Noh roles exist: the principal actor, or shite ; the subordinate actor, or waki ; and the kyōgen actors, one of whom is often involved in Noh plays as a narrator. Each is a specialty having several “schools” of performers, and each has its own “acting place” on the stage. Subsidiary roles include those of attendant (tsure), of a “boy” (kokata), and of nonspeaking “walk-on” (tomo). Robe for the Noh Theatre, polychrome figured silk depicting dragons and clouds, Japan, … Photograph by Veronika Brazdova. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, given by Edmund de Rothschild, T.297-1963 Accompaniment is provided by an instrumental chorus ( hayashi ) of four musicians—who play a flute (nōkan), small hand drum (ko-tsuzumi), large hand drum (ō-tsuzumi), and large drum (taiko)—and by a chorus (jiutai) consisting of 8–10 singers. The recitation ( utai) is one of the most important elements in the performance.

Each portion of the written text carries a prescription of the mode of recitation—as well as of accompanying movement or dance—although application of this may be varied slightly. Each type of dialogue and song has its own name: the sashi is like a recitative; the uta are the songs proper; the rongi, or debate, is intoned between chorus and shite; and the kiri is the chorus with which the play ends. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent About 2,000 Noh texts survive in full, of which about 230 remain in the modern repertoire . Zeami (1363–1443) and his father, Kan’ami Kiyotsugu (1333–84), wrote many of the most beautiful and exemplary of Noh texts, including Matsukaze (“Wind in the Pines”) by Kan’ami and Takasago by Zeami. Zeami also formulated the principles of the Noh theatre that guided its performers for many centuries.

His Kakyō (1424; “The Mirror of the Flower”) detailed the composition , the recitation, the mime and dance of the performers, and the staging principles of Noh. These constituted the first major principle of Noh, which Zeami described as monomane, or the “imitation of things.” He advised on the selection of properly classical characters to be portrayed, from legend or life, and on the proper integration of the visual, the melodic, and the verbal to open the eye and ear of the mind to the supreme beauty he crystallized in the second main principle, yūgen . Meaning literally “dark” or “obscure,” yūgen suggested beauty only partially perceived—fully felt but barely glimpsed by the viewer. Arts Randomizer Two factors have allowed Noh to be transmitted from generation to generation yet remain fairly close to earlier forms: first, the preservation of texts, containing detailed prescriptions of recitation, dance, mime, and music, and, second, the direct and fairly exact transmission of performing skills. On the other hand, Noh was subject to the changing preferences of new audiences, and new styles and patterns inevitably evolved.

Further, there was constant refinement of received forms to express more clearly or intensely the objectives of Noh, but these were always only minor deviations from traditional form. Even the differences between the five schools of shite performers represent only slight variations in the melodic line of the recitation or in the patterns of the furi or mai mime and dance. In the 20th century some experimentation took place. Toki Zenmaro and Kita Minoru produced Noh plays that had new content but adhered to traditional conventions in production. Mishima Yukio, on the other hand, took old plays and added new twists while retaining the old themes. Experiments to elaborate the humorous kyōgen interludes and the attempt to add (in the manner of Kabuki theatre) a long passage onto the stage through the audience and a spotlight on the shite received little public acceptance. Instead, Noh has been sustained in the postwar period by theatregoers who have come to enjoy it not simply for its status as a “classic theatre” or because of innovations but as a perfected and refined contemporary stage art.

More about Noh theatre Noh - Core Of Culture Core Of Culture Contact Us NOH Noh Derived from the Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" Noh is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh 'performance day' lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. However, present-day Noh performances consist of two Noh plays with one Kyōgen play in between. By tradition, Noh actors and musicians only rehearse together once, a few days before the actual performance. Generally, each actor, musician, and chorus member practises his or her fundamental movements, songs, and dances independently, under the tutelage of a senior member of the school. Thus, the mood of a given performance is not set by any single performer but established by the interactions of all the performers together. In this way, Noh could be seen as exemplifying the medieval Japanese aesthetics of transience, exemplified by the saying of Sen no Rikyu , " ichi-go ichi-e ", "one chance, one meeting".

learn more about Noh The History Of Noh Together with the closely related kyōgen farce, Noh evolved from various popular, folk and aristocratic art forms, including Dengaku , Shirabyoshi , and Gagaku . Kan'ami and his son Zeami Motokiyo brought Noh to its present-day form during the Muromachi period (1336 to 1573) under the patronage of the powerful Ashikaga clan, particularly the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu . It would later influence other dramatic forms such as Kabuki and Butoh . During the Meiji era , although its governmental patronage was lost, Noh and kyōgen received official recognition as two of the three national forms of drama. Noh plays are divided by theme into the following 5 categories, which are numbered in this order and referred to by these numbers (a "3rd group play", for instance). Kami mono or waki nō typically feature the shite in the role of a human in the first act and a deity in the second and tell the mythic story of a shrine or praise a particular spirit.

Shura mono or ashura nō ( warrior plays) have the shite often appearing as a ghost in the first act and a warrior in full battle regalia in the second, re-enacting the scene of his death. Katsura mono (wig plays) or onna mono (woman plays) depict the shite in a female role and feature some of the most refined songs and dances in all of Noh. There are about 94 "miscellaneous" plays, including kyōran mono (madness plays), onryō mono (vengeful ghost plays) and genzai mono (plays which depict the present time, and which do not fit into the other categories). Kiri nō ( final plays) or oni mono (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. STAGE The traditional Noh stage consists of a pavilion whose architectural style is derived from that of the traditional kagura stage of Shinto shrines, and is normally composed almost entirely of hinoki (Japanese cypress ) wood.

The four pillars are named for their orientation to the prominent actions during the course of the play: the waki-bashira in the front, right corner near the waki's standing point and sitting point; the shite-bashira in the rear, left corner, next to which the shite normally performs; the fue-bashira in the rear, right corner, closest to the flute player; and the metsuke-bashira, or "looking-pillar", so called because the shite is typically faced toward the vicinity of the pillar. The floor is polished to enable the actors to move in a gliding fashion, and beneath this floor are buried giant pots or bowl-shaped concrete structures to enhance the resonant properties of the wood floors when the actors stomp heavily on the floor (compare nightingale floor ). As a result, the stage is elevated approximately three feet above the ground level of the audience. The only ornamentation on the stage is the kagami-ita , a painting of a pine -tree at the back of the stage.

The two most common beliefs are that it represents either a famous pine tree of significance in Shinto at the Kasuga Shrine in Nara , or that it is a token of Noh's artistic predecessors which were often performed to a natural backdrop. Another unique feature of the stage is the hashigakari , the narrow bridge to the right of the stage that the principal actors use to enter the stage. This would later evolve into the hanamichi in kabuki . All stages which are solely dedicated to Noh performances also have a hook or loop in ceiling, which exists only to lift and drop the bell for the play Dōjōji . When that play is being performed in another location, the loop or hook will be added as a temporary fixture. COSTUMES The garb worn by actors is typically adorned quite richly and steeped in symbolic meaning for the type of role (e.g. thunder gods will have hexagons on their clothes while serpents have triangles to convey scales). Costumes for the shite in particular are extravagant, shimmering silk brocades, but are progressively less sumptuous for thetsure, 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, whether that be the formal robes of a courtier or the street clothing of a peasant or commoner. It was not until the late sixteenth century that stylized Noh costumes following certain symbolic and stylistic conventions became the norm. [5] The musicians and chorus typically wear formal montsuki kimono (black and adorned with five family crests) accompanied by either hakama (a skirt-like garment) orkami-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 theater. MASKS The masks in Noh (nō-men or omote) all have names. They are made out of materials such as clay, dry lacquer, cloth, paper, and wood. Usually only the shite, the main actor, wears a mask. However, in some cases, the tsure may also wear a mask, particularly for female roles. The Noh masks portray female or nonhuman ( divine , demonic , or animal ) characters.

There are also Noh masks to represent youngsters or old men. On the other hand, a Noh actor who wears no mask plays a role of an adult man in his twenties, thirties, or forties. The side player, the waki, wears no mask either. Several types of masks, in particular those for female roles, are designed so that slight adjustments in the position of the head can express a number of emotions such as fear or sadness due to the variance in lighting and the angle shown towards the audience. With some of the more extravagant masks for deities and monsters , however, it is not always possible to convey emotion. Usually, however, these characters are not frequently called to change emotional expression during the course of the scene, or show emotion through larger body language . The rarest and most valuable Noh masks are not held in museums even in Japan, but rather in the private collections of the various "heads" of Noh schools; these treasures are usually only shown to a select few and only taken out for performance on the rarest occasions.

This does no substantial harm to the study and appreciation of Noh masks, as tradition has established a few hundred standard mask designs, which can further be categorized as being one of about a dozen different types. PROPS 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 . In either case, 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. Several plays have characters who wield mallets, swords, and other implements. Nevertheless, during dance sequences, the fan is typically used to represent any and all hand-held props, including one such as a sword which the actor may have tucked in his sash or ready at hand nearby. When hand props other than fans are used, they are usually introduced or retrieved by stage attendants who fulfill a similar role to stage crew in contemporary theater.

Like their Western counterparts, stage attendants for Noh traditionally dress in black, but unlike in Western theater 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. Stage properties in Noh including the boats, wells, altars, and the aforementioned bell from Dōjōji, 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 aikyogen interlude. CHANTS AND MUSIC Noh theatre is accompanied by a chorus and a hayashi ensemble (Noh-bayashi). Noh is a chanted drama, and a few commentators have dubbed it "Japanese opera ." However, the singing in Noh involves a limited tonal range, with lengthy, repetitive passages in a narrow dynamic range. Clearly, melody is not at the center of Noh singing.

Still, texts are poetic, relying heavily on the Japanese seven-five rhythm common to nearly all forms of Japanese poetry , with an economy of expression, and an abundance of allusion. It is important to note that 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 other-worldy feel of many Noh plays, especially those characterized as mugen. Noh hayashi ensemble consists of four musicians, also known as the "hayashi-kata". There are three drummers, which play the shime-daiko , ōtsuzumi (hip drum), and kotsuzumi (shoulder drum) respectively, and a shinobue flautist. JO, HA, KYU One of the most subtle performance elements of Noh is that of Jo-ha-kyū , which originated as the three movements of courtly gagaku .

However, rather than simply dividing a whole into three parts, within Noh the concept incorporates not only the play itself, but the songs and dances within the play, and even the individual steps, motions, and sounds that actors and musicians make. Furthermore, from a higher perspective, the entire traditional Noh program of five plays also manifests this concept, with the first type play being the jo, the second, third, and fourth plays the ha (with the second play being referred to as the jo of the ha, the third as the ha of the ha, and the fourth as the kyū of the ha), and finally the fifth play the kyū. In general, the jocomponent is slow and evocative, the ha component or components detail transgression or the disordering of the natural way and the natural world, and the kyū resolves the element with haste or suddenness (note, however, that this only means kyū is fast in comparison with what came before it, and those unfamiliar with the concepts of Noh may not even realize the acceleration occurred). The Drama of Japan THE DRAMA OF JAPAN This article was originally published in A Short History of the Drama. Martha Fletcher Bellinger.

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1927. pp. 106-111. MANY important elements of the dramatic art in Japan are similar to those developed by the Chinese. In many cases the story material is obviously the same, and there is great similarity in the methods of producing and acting. There were two periods of brilliance in Japan (the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries), and two distinct types of theater: the aristocratic and the popular. The former is associated with the famous No plays, which reached their period of perfection during the fourteenth century. The staging of a No play. A square platform supported on pillars, open to the audience on three sides, and covered with a temple-like roof, forms the stage for a No play. It is connected with a green room by a corridor, or gallery, which leads back from the stage at the left, as the audience sees it. Here part of the action takes place. Upon the back scene is painted a pine tree, and three small pines are placed along the corridor.

The orchestra, consisting of a flute, drum, and two instruments resembling the tambourine, is seated in a narrow space back of the stage; while the chorus, whose number is not fixed, is seated on the floor at the right. The actors are highly trained, and their speech is accompanied by soft music. There are rigid rules for acting, each accent and gesture being governed by an unchanging tradition. The actors are always men, wearing masks when impersonating females or supernatural beings. The costumes are exquisite and of medieval fashion. The performance is day-long; but as the No play is always short, occupying about an hour, several pieces are rendered during the day. Alternating with them are farces called kiogen, which are short, full of delicate humor, and given in the language of the time without the chorus. The No play. The construction of the No play is always the same. It begins with the appearance of a traveler, perhaps a priest, who announces his name and purpose of journeying to such-and-such a battle-ground, temple, or other time-honored place. While he is crossing the stage, the chorus recites the beauties of the scenery or describes the emotions of the traveler.

At the appointed spot a ghost appears, eagerly seeking an opportunity to tell of the sufferings to which it is condemned. This ghost is the Spirit of the Place. The second part consists of the unfolding of the ancient legend which has sanctified the ground. The story is revealed partly by dialogue, partly by the chorus. At its close the priest prays for the repose of the Spirit whose mysterious history has just been disclosed, and the play ends with a song in praise of the ruling sovereign. The content of the No play, which is nearly always tragic, is treated with simple dignity. There is frequent reference to learned matters, and to the teachings of Buddha. The text is partly archaic prose and partly verse. Within this slight conventional form are themes relating to filial duty, endurance under trial, uncomplaining loyalty in the face of hardship and neglect, and tender sacrifice. The plays are uniformly austere and poetic, remote from the everyday scene, and full of imagination and beauty. Kwanami Kiotsugu, who belongs to the second half of the fourteenth century, was called the greatest poet of his time, and the founder of the No play. His son, Seami Motokiyo, was almost equally distinguished.

He left instructions as to production and acting, stressing the necessity of avoiding realism on the stage. Other relatives and successors of Kiotsugu improved the music, and the Shoguns honored the authors. This type of play may well be considered unique in the history of the stage, and an important link between the classic plays of Greece and the poetic drama of modern Europe. The popular theater. Tradition assigns the beginning of the popular theater in Japan to the early part of the seventeenth century, when the priestess Okuni ran away from her Shinto temple and built a theater in Kioto. This theater developed in two ways: a "legitimate" playhouse with living actors, and a marionette or puppet show. Both these forms of entertainment became popular in the seventeenth century, when the art of the actor and the dramatist improved. We may infer that it was then fashionable for members of the aristocracy to attend these plays, also that quarrels in the playhouse were not unknown; for about 1683 an ordinance was passed prohibiting the wearing of swords in the theater.

The Samurai (knights), being unwilling to lay aside their swords even for a short time, stayed away from the performances; and in consequence the shows promptly deteriorated. As among the Chinese, the governing group in Japan looked upon the drama as a means of instructing the lower classes in loyalty and self-sacrifice. A very strict set of regulations crystallized about the stage. Every play was produced with elaborate exactness and precision. Much of the beauty of the pieces depended upon the skillful use of parallelism in language, and in the employment of pivot or root words around which the author could display his verbal dexterity. The "invisible" property man was always on the stage, and realistic details abounded. Grief and passion were expressed by violent contortions. The hero would grimace, roll his eyeballs, bare his teeth, and go through every possible variation of distress, while the property man held a lighted candle near his face in order that nothing should be lost to the audience. When a man was killed, he turned a somersault before depicting the final agony.

For many decades the most brutal crimes were performed before the eyes of the spectators,--scenes of torture and crucifixion, hara-kiri, and bloody scenes of every description. After its period of brilliance in the seventeenth century, the popular stage became overloaded with conventions and began to decline. Doubtless the absence of the nobility from the theaters contributed greatly to this result. Genshiro, a native dramatist and critic of the nineteenth century, wrote that "the theater in Japan had reached the lowest depth of vulgarity, and so continued until the last year of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1867." The Marionette Theater. In the meantime another specialization of the art appeared in the development of the marionette stage. The original basis of the marionette or puppet show was the history of the heroine Joruri, whose love stories were related by a chorus while the puppets walked the stage. Gradually dialogue was added; and soon the puppets became so popular that managers brought into their service extraordinary mechanical devices by which eyeballs and eyebrows could be moved, lips would seem to whisper or talk, fingers would grasp a fan, and tiny figures kneel, dance, or swoon with emotion.

The stage was furnished with scenery, trap doors, turntables, trapeze appliances, and the like. Along with this mechanical development there appeared, also in the seventeenth century, Chikamatsu Monzaemon (or Monzayamon) (born about 1653), one of the most important figures in the whole history of the Japanese drama, and completely identified with the marionette theater. His most famous play is said to be The Battles of Kokusenya, the hero of which was a celebrated pirate. The scenes are laid in Nanking and Japan at the time of the last Ming emperor. It contains one of the characteristic situations in oriental drama: namely, the conqueror asking the defeated enemy for the gift of his favorite wife as a tribute of war. In this play are also the treacherous general, the substitution of another child in order to save the heir to the throne, much bloodshed, suicide, and fighting. Spectators have testified to the vividness and force of these representations, to the tenseness of the dramatic situations, and to the impressiveness of the dialogue.

Chikamatsu had the gift of diverting the attention from improbabilities and of making his characters bear themselves like tragic heroes. Moreover, he had the great virtue of never being dull. The Forty-seven Ronins. With the exception of the No plays and the works of Chikamatsu, nearly everything of note in dramatic literature belongs to the eighteenth century. Many pieces from that time had three or four collaborating authors. One of the best known of these collaborators was Idzumo, who had a share in making a play called The Magazine of Faithful Retainers--one of the forty or fifty extant versions of the story of The Loyal Legion, or the Forty-Seven Ronins, based upon a historical incident which occurred in 1703. A member of the samurai (knightly class) was unjustly degraded by his feudal lord for some trifling accident. His companions, all members of his own order, assembled in protest and drew lots for the privilege of killing the unjust master. The lot was drawn and the work done; but the code of their order required that the rebels, one and all, should commit hara-kiri.

So the Forty-seven Ronins perished; and every year thousands of admirers make their way to the scene of their burial. In the many versions of the story, various additions have been made, such as a love affair, a tea-house scene, bloody and thrilling incidents, and many touches which reveal contemporary manners. As a play it is certain to draw a crowded house. About the beginning of the eighteenth century the marionette theater began to decline, and writers ceased to produce plays suited for puppets. In the late nineteenth century vigorous attempts were made by both noblemen and scholars to improve the stage. One of the first features to be condemned was the presentation of scenes of violence and cruelty. Many of the restrictions as to attendance have been removed; women are allowed to appear as actors; and the tendency towards excessive realism has been offset by the practical application of aesthetic principles. Japan - Noh Noh The history of the Noh Noh (sometimes spelled as No) is a very traditional form of Japanese theater dating all the way back to the 14th century. Actors (usually male) will chant and sing their roles accompanied by a chorus and an orchestra of flute and drums.

There is little in the line of stage props although the masks and costumes themselves can be lavish. The movements of the actors are slow and deliberate. The origins of Noh go back to Central Asian dance and mime forms. One type is the sangaku which combined music, dancing and sometimes even juggling. It was brought into Japan from Korea and China in the early 8th century. The word was altered to sarugaku ("monkey music") by the middle of the 14th century. Forms native to Japan were also used. One was dengaku ("rustic music") which was a folk-dance ritual used during rice planting and harvesting times. Another form was kagura which is a religious dance performed at Shinto shrines. The term Noh itself is a Buddhist term which refers to the mental bond between the performers and the audience. By the 14th century it was the major form of entertainment of court nobility. Terms that were used then included saragaku-no and dengaku-no, the no part being used to indicate that the performers were professionals and not amateurs.

By the late 14th century the term saragaku-No was being used and the dangaku-no part dropped, it's part being absorbed into the saragaku-no portion. Troupes of performers were usually attached to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Sometimes the actors were low-rank priests and they would even at times go on tours, giving benefit performances. Noh (sometimes spelled as No) is a very traditional form of Japanese theater dating all the way back to the 14th century. Actors (usually male) will chant and sing their roles accompanied by a chorus and an orchestra of flute and drums. There is little in the line of stage props although the masks and costumes themselves can be lavish. The movements of the actors are slow and deliberate. The origins of Noh go back to Central Asian dance and mime forms. One type is the sangaku which combined music, dancing and sometimes even juggling. It was brought into Japan from Korea and China in the early 8th century. The word was altered to sarugaku ("monkey music") by the middle of the 14th century. Forms native to Japan were also used.

One was dengaku ("rustic music") which was a folk-dance ritual used during rice planting and harvesting times. Another form was kagura which is a religious dance performed at Shinto shrines. The term Noh itself is a Buddhist term which refers to the mental bond between the performers and the audience. By the 14th century it was the major form of entertainment of court nobility. Terms that were used then included saragaku-no and dengaku-no, the no part being used to indicate that the performers were professionals and not amateurs. By the late 14th century the term saragaku-No was being used and the dangaku-no part dropped, it's part being absorbed into the saragaku-no portion. Troupes of performers were usually attached to Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Sometimes the actors were low-rank priests and they would even at times go on tours, giving benefit performances. The Noh, as it is today, is considered to have been begun by Kannami (who was the leader of one of the performing groups at Kasuga Shrine at Nara) and his son, Zeami (sometimes written as Seami)(1363-1443).

Kannami performed before a wide group of people, ranging from farmers on up to nobles. He had an ability to adjust his performance to suit the particular type of audience he was performing before. He gave a performance at a shrine in Kyoto in 1374. One of the people in the audience was Yoshimitsu, the effective ruler of Japan at the time. Yoshimitsu loved the performance, especially that of Kannami's twelve-year-old son Zeami, so he established the troupe in his palace. He thus became their patron. Upon Kannami's death, Zeami took over the troupe. Yoshimitsu's sons and successors weren't as favorably disposed to him as Yoshimitsu, though, and Zeami ended up being exiled in 1434 to a distant island by Yoshimitsu's youngest son. Zeami was a prolific writer and around 100 of the 241 plays known at the time. He also wrote sixteen essays on the subject of Noh. They two established the basic principles of Noh performance. There would be four or five actors; the main speaker/dancer, one person who does not dance (oftentimes a priest figure), and other individuals.

The ending of each play would consist of a dance. Although the plays would not have a great deal of dialogue they would still take an hour or so to perform due to the dances and the deliberate pace of speaking what lines there were. About a thousand plays were written during the Muromachi period, but some four hundred of those no longer exist. The two-hundred and fifty or so plays used today were almost all written during that period. One of the first non-Japanese to see a Noh play was no other than Ulysses S. Grant, civil war hero and one-time President of the U.S. Grant apparently liked the play and urged his Japanese hosts to make sure that such plays were preserved. The philosophy of Noh Zeami emphasized poetry to the actors. He said that the poetry used needed to be familiar to the audiences in order to be effective, and that actors should study poetry to help them learn give a more elegant and graceful aspect to the delivery of their lines. Zeami also said that there were three guiding principles for Noh, the first being imitation.

The actor, he said, must be able to imitate things as they are, and not to embellish the things with extra forcefulness, elegance or anything else not found naturally in the thing being imitated. The second principle is Yugen, which is based on the idea that Truth is Beauty, and that the beautiful aspect of anything can be brought out if acted skillfully enough. It's the beauty that lies at the heart of things, he said, and can "...be evoked by means of art." The third element of Noh is the sublime. This refers to a things "silent, stately, austere beauty". He says that there were three kinds of the sublime; the Style of a Calm Flower, the Style of an Infinitely Deep Flower, and the Style of a Mysterious Flower. An example of the first kind is snow in a silver bowl, united in a "purity of whiteness", which is basically a physical sort of beauty. The second kind can be something like a series of mountain peaks covered in snow, but with one single peak uncovered.

This is more of a supernatural type of beauty, and the third refers to the "realm of the absolute", a Zen reference to a place without good, evil, right, wrong or any of the other similar things used to pigeon-hole people and things. The order of the plays The program has a traditional order which is called Ban-gumi. The first is a god-play, also referred to as the Shugen or congratulatory piece. This type comes first, in praise and prayer to the gods since they have guarded Japan from time immemorial. This part is the "innocent" phase, a world with divine blessings and where man and gods live together. The second part is the shura, or battle-play where the ghost of a warrior appears. This is also referred to as the Man play and the "fall" play. In this one a warrior who was distinguished in battle is now dead and suffering in hell. His emphasis was on worldly honor and he did not recognize a higher form of honor. This play is also characterized by violence and chaos.

The third section is the Kazura or Onna-mono, the wig-play, where the principal character is a woman, this giving this the name of the Woman play, also called the Repentance play. The woman in this case is usually a lovely court lady, who lead a basically good life but still, for some reason, her soul haunts the world, oftentimes in an act of repentance. The Oni-Noh is the fourth piece and is the play involving spirits. It can also be referred to as the Frenzy play or the Redemption play. The play revolves around humans, and shows that miracles can happen in the "real" world, and that a soul can be redeemed. The fifth piece concerns the duties of man: Jin, Gi, Rei, Chi and Shiro which are Compassion, Righteousness, Politeness, Wisdom and Faithfulness. It can also be called the Glory play. The Sugen comes sixth and is another congratulatory piece. This is to call down the blessings of any lords present, the actors and the place itself.

(Note: there is some disagreement about the above in the various sources I consulted, so what I have here is not a cut-and-dried description of Noh.) Today, though, a performance may contain only two plays and a comic interlude called a kyogen, the use of the kyogen also being present in the longer performances. Technical terms in Noh There are a number of technical terms used in Noh. Among these are: Shite: The hero or chief character Tsure: The follower of the hero. Waki: the guest or guests, oftentimes a wandering priest. Waki no tsure: the guest's attendant. Tomo: an insignificant attendant. Kogata: a very young boy. Kiogenshi: a sailor or servant. Hannya: an evil spirit. Kataru: the speaking parts of Noh Utai: the singing parts of Noh The two main characters in the plays are the waki and the shite. The shite is given the best lines. The characters in the plays do not get as fully developed as those in some movies and television series, though. The purpose is to reduce complexity to a basic distillation or essence of human behavior.

Noh plots The first basic division of types of Noh plots is found in those which are set in the real world, and those that involve some form of supernatural being. The real world plots can include plays where long-separate parents and children or brothers and sisters finally get to meet, the meeting brought about or aided by a priest or even a diety. Most of the plays are of the second type. These are divided into two parts. In the first part of the play, the waki, often a monk or priest, meets the shite at some special place. The monk, being an agent of Buddha, has no set individuality or mentality. His function is as a medium between the actions on the stage and the audience, similar to his function as a medium between Buddha and man. The shite, or protagonist, is often the departed soul of a sinner who has come from hell asking for help. The sinner initiates the contact; he has come to recognize his sin and transforms himself so he can enter our world and find a means of salvation. The monk and the shite talk about why the place is special; perhaps some historic battle took place there or some tragic love affair ended there.

The shite seems to be extremely knowledgeable about what happened at the place, though. As the story progresses the shite becomes more emotional, finally confessing his sin and asking the monk to pray for him. The shite exits, and a short kyogen interlude occurs. While this is going on the actor playing the shite changes his costume and his mask and when he appears in the next part of the play it is as his "real" self. The differences between the two versions can be considerable, with the shite chancing from a beautiful girl into a serpent, or perhaps a boy changes into the spirit of a warrior. In this second part the shite, aided by the chorus, tells of his history, and climaxes this by a dance. The warrior, for example, might basically re-enact a great battle in which he participated. A woman might have had some form of illicit relationship and now is wearing the mask of a demon. The priest, monk or diety might then pray for the repose of the spirit of the person. The Noh stage The basic form of the stage was fixed during the times of Hideyoshi and Iyeyasu.

The area underneath the stage will have five earthen jars to make the sound of the singing and feet-stamping reverberate. These five jars are in the areas bounded by the pillars. Two more jars are under the musician's area, and three more under the bridge. The ground underneath the stage is hollowed out to a five-foot depth. The Noh stage is not going to be filled with various props like you might see in an American play. Even when an object is on the stage, it's exact form is not. A tomb, for example, might be represented by four upright poles topped by greenery. In relation to the distillation-approach of Noh, the object appears in a reduced form, represented by what amounts to outlines of the "real" object. Objects can also be used as indicators. A woman might carry a twig of bamboo, the bamboo used to indicate her insanity. The music for the Noh is presented using the above instruments. Going from left to right there is the daiko, or stick-drum; the otxuzumi and the kotsuzumi, or hand drums, and the fue, or flute.

The backstage area can be as busy as any Western-style theater, as is shown in the picture below where the shite and the musicians prepare to go on stage. A more modern-day Noh stage. The stage will also probably have a painting of a pine tree on a backdrop. The pine is a symbol of strength and the eternal. Long ago, according to legend, a priest was seen dancing under a pine tree, seeking to have divine inspiration added to his dance. The painting of the tree thus symbolizes a request for the same sort of inspiration for the play. The performance 1. The actor makes his entrance. Previously, he had been standing in the mirror room where he looked into a full-length mirror to help him get in character. He leaves the room and the curtain between the mirror room and the stage is lifted from the bottom by backstage assistants. 2. The actor moves to the bridge area, railed on either side, about 6.5 feet wide and from 33 to 52 feet in length. The bridge is roofed. On the rear wall of the stage is painted a stylized pine-tree which serves as a reminder of the pine trees behind the stage of the Kasuga shrine in Nara. 3.

Basically in slow motion the actor moves towards the stage proper. He slides his feet alone the floor. When he reaches the stage proper he passes a pillar referred to as "the pillar of the principal character." 4. The actor then usually moves towards the front of the stage. Since he is wearing a mask, it's difficult to see exactly where he is going so he focuses on a downstage pillar, called "the pillar on which the eye is fixed." Opposite on the stage is the waki's pillar since the subordinate character places himself near that pillar when the principal character makes his entrance. On the left side of the stage is an area about 4 feet wide where six or eight members of the chorus sit, having entered through the Hurry Door, a door in the upstage-left corner of the stage and also used by lesser characters. The Noh costume The oldest surviving Noh garments date from the 15th century during the reign of the sixth shogun, Yoshimasu (reigned 1440-1473). The particular costume worn by the actor depends on the role played.

Thus, a certain kind of costume indicates a certain kind of character type such as a young woman, a handsome man or a demon. The color of the Noh costumes is important. White is considered to be the most dignified color and is used for characters of nobility. Brown is considered to be the least dignified color and is used for servants and country people. Red is worn by young girls and older women wear darker colors. Light blue indicates a quick temperament. Dark blue indicates an extroverted person. Light green is used for menials. One of the types of costumes is the kara-ori. It is usually worn to indicate a female but sometimes can be used to indicate a very elegant young man. An example is below: This costume is from the early 17th century Another 17th century Noh costume worn for a female role. Other types of costumes include the atsuita, for male roles. Another type of costume is worn to indicate aristocratic gentlemen, Shinto priests and divine beings and is called the kariginu. Costumes used to indicate deities and men of high rank are lined, the ones worn to indicate Shinto priests are unlined.

Undergarments used when playing female roles are referred to as nuihaku and surihaku. A kara-ori is worn over these. An example of a nuihaku from the mid-Edo period is below. The nuihaku is can be used for courtiers, youths or children A common jacket used for male roles is the happi; this is a knee-length garment with long hanging sleeves which are folded back. It seems to be generally agreed that the costumes declined in workmanship and quality as time went on, with the best ones being made in the Momoyama period and the early Edo period. Mid-Edo period costumes are considered still to be good, but in the 19th century the costumes declined sharply in quality. Noh garments are still made today but are not considered to be anywhere near the Momoyama garments in quality. An example of a costume from the Momoyama period is below. It's quite interesting and attractive in design and in my opinion looks like something from modern times. It's hard to believe that it is actually as old as it is.

Then, still in the "highest-quality" time period for costumes there is the one below, made during the early part of the Edo period. It is classified as a Nuihaku or embroidered costume. The ships are Dutch sailing ships; the waves are in gold leaf and the ships and flowers are embroidered. Below is a kara-ori from the late Edo period with fans and the branches of a weeping cherry tree. A 17th century Noh robe with an iris pattern. In my opinion this is a beautiful costume. The bright orange color overall and the various colors of the plants seem to go together well. Noh masks Noh masks are classified into a number of types which include men, women, deities and sages, insane people, devils and mythological creatures. The mask was expected to display an essential quality of each character such as beauty for a woman. As early as the start of the Edo period Noh masks were established in their detail and ones afterwards were exact reproductions of the earlier forms. The okina mask portrays a very old man. Its origin is supposed to be around 806-810 where a huge hold appeared in the ground at Nara.

A dark smoke came from the hole and as it spread people became ill. The Emperor called together various wise people and it was determined that it was necessary to build a big fire around the hole. This was done and the dark smoke disappeared. A celebratory dance was performed and it became a tradition. The oldest okina mask which is from 1206 is preserved in the Asakusa temple in Tokyo. Some other Noh masks include those of Kagekiyo (a warrior); Yamauba (a witch); and Uba (old woman). Although the names of the ten most famous Noh mask-makers are known, virtually no biographical information is available on any of them. Various Noh masks Noh Theater Noh Theater Noh stage at Chusonji Temple, Hiraizumi Noh (�\) is a form of theater involving music, dance and drama, originating in the 14th century . It was developed together with kyogen, which are comical pieces performed during interludes of the main noh performance. The dual art of noh and kyogen is known as nogaku, and was listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

Noh as we know it today was popularized and formalized by a man named Zeami during the Muromachi Period (1333-1573). It was Zeami's work that attracted the government's patronage of the art form. Unfortunately, Zeami later fell out of favor with the government and was banished to Sado Island . Four main noh troupes were subsequently established, receiving sponsorship from shrines and temples . During the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867), the shogunate made noh its official ceremonial art and issued regulations for its governance. Noh thus became increasingly standardized, with an emphasis on tradition rather than innovation. A fifth troupe was added during this time, making five main noh troupes which survive and perform till this day. Noh performance at the Sado Noh Village What is it? Noh theater is structured around song and dance. Movement is slow, language is poetic, tone is monotonous, and costumes are rich and heavy. Plots are usually drawn from legend, history , literature and contemporary events. Themes often relate to dreams, supernatural worlds, ghosts and spirits.

Stage Noh is performed on a square stage with a roof that is supported at its four corners by pillars. All sides of the stage are open except for the back side which consists of a wall with a painted image of a pine tree. A bridge runs at an oblique angle off the stage for performers to enter the stage. Noh used to be typically staged outdoors, but recently modern indoor theaters have also become a common venue. Roles All performers in noh are male. Shite - the leading character. Depending on the play, the shite may act as a holy old man, a deity, a demon, a spirit or a living man. His movements express various moods. Waki - the supporting actor. The waki plays roles such as a priest, monk or samurai . In contrast to the shite, the waki always portrays living people. Hayashi - the musicians. Four musicians provide accompaniment for the performance with a flute (fue), shoulder drum (kotsuzumi), hip drum (otsuzumi) and stick drum (taiko). Jiutai - the chorus. The chorus sits to the left of the stage and assists the shite in the narration of the story. Koken - stage attendants.

Dressed in black, the stage attendants are not part of the play but assist the performers in various ways, such as handing them props. Masks One key element of noh are the masks which the shite wears. They tell the audience what kind of character is being portrayed. Frequently used masks represent demons and spirits, as well as women and men of various ages. The masks are carved from blocks of Japanese cypress. Their three dimensional properties allow skilled actors to induce a variety of expressions with changes in head orientation. An exhibit on noh mask making at the Sado Noh Village Costumes and Props Costumes consist of multiple layers and textures that create an effect of resplendent elegance but also a bulky, massive figure. Expressiveness is enhanced by props, most notably a folding fan. Closed, partly closed or open, the fan may represent any object as suggested by its shape and handling, for example a dagger or a lantern. Kyogen Kyogen are the comic pieces performed at intervals between the main Noh performance. They utilize satire and witty jokes and are often performed with rhythmical language and sometimes exaggerated actions to inspire laughter from the audience.

Most kyogen pieces last for about 15 to 20 minutes and involve two or three actors. Plots are usually about stories that evolve in everyday life, such as men expressing their desire to find wives or farmers praying for good fortune. Kyogen performance Where to watch Noh? Some of the easiest places to watch noh today are modern indoor theaters with an in-built noh stage. Venues such as the National Noh Theatre in Tokyo , the Otsuki Noh Theatre in Osaka , and the Nagoya Noh Theatre stage relatively frequent performances. Tickets typically range from 3000 to 8000 yen, and can be bought over the counter. The usual program today lasts a couple of hours and consists of two or three Noh acts with short kyogen pieces in between. As mentioned before, shrines , temples and the nobility were some of the first patrons of the noh theater. Accordingly, at some famous shrines and temples beautiful outdoor noh stages still exist today. They hold occasional performances, but tickets may be difficult to obtain.

Miyajima 's Itsukushima Shrine (where the stage stands on pillars in the sea), Hiraizumi 's Chusonji Temple , Kyoto 's Fushimi Inari Shrine and Tokyo 's Yasukuni Shrine are some places where such outdoor stages can be found. Advertisement Good to “Noh”, traditional masked theater. | Tokiotours; your personal tour guide in Tokyo Tokiotours; your personal tour guide in Tokyo Book your personal guided tour today with an English/Dutch and Japanese speaking guide. Good to “Noh”, traditional masked theater. The splendor of Noh, fabulous costumes and frightening masks. Japan has, for centuries been a nation rightly proud of its theatrical heritage. From the very early days of puppet theatre known, eventually as Bunraku to the western world, through its human form descendants of Noh, and later Kabuki, classical forms of theatre in the archipelago have long formed the backbone of nationwide and regional stage based entertainment.

Bunraku puppet theatre, true to its origins remains more popular in the Kansai area around Osaka and Kyoto than anywhere else, with Noh, also an offspring of the area in which Japan’s ruling elite once occupied their respective seats of power also popular to a degree. This popularity is tempered in the central Japanese region though, as, largely in order to survive, what is the slowest, and perhaps most regal form of theatre frequently performed today long since opted to up and move east – following the nation’s upper classes to Tokyo ; the modern day seat of both imperial and political power. In Tokyo, Noh performances in the main schools of the art (Kanze, Komparu, Hosho, Kongo and Kita) can generally be seen every weekend as there are more than double the number of Noh theatres in the capital than any other form of traditional theatre form. There are also some shows put on during the week, in the early evenings for the most part, and at the National Noh Theatre in the Sendagaya area of the capital, special Summertime shows introducing Noh to beginners are always popular.

Noh ( 能 Nō), or Nogaku (能楽 Nōgaku)—derived from the Sino-Japanese word for “skill” or “talent”—is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh “performance day” lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. However, present-day Noh performances often consist of two Noh plays with one Kyōgen play in between. While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified, and regulated by the iemoto system, with an emphasis on tradition rather than innovation, some performers do compose new plays or revive historical ones that are not a part of the standard repertoire. Works blending Noh with other theatrical traditions have also been produced. Noh is far more about conceptualization than any of the other forms of theatre still being performed in Japan.

Whereas Kabuki has long been labeled the theatre of the masses due to its ability to visually entertain those less aware of all but the most famous of Japan’s founding tales, and early-era mythology, Noh requires an awareness, often studied before, of the subject matter to be witnessed. Imagery and imagination reign in Noh with the comprehension and eventual enjoyment of a given play limited to the mind of each individual watching. Unlike many other forms of theatre around Japan and the world, Noh plays are not usually rehearsed. The actors themselves do study and practice their given roles of course, but not together before the play is actually put on in front of an audience. This in effect has its pros and cons, with long term fans well aware that the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Vivid and Powerful Noh masks. Three pictures of the same nō ‘hawk mask’ showing how the expression changes with a tilting of the head. The mask was afixed to a wall with constant lighting and only the camera moved. The skills of individual actors tend to shine through when under pressure to get it right first time, and it is always the main actor – known as the shite – who will carry the play.

As good as any supporting actors may be, their roles will be designed so as not to do anything to take away from the top dog. There is only one ‘shite’ in each play and, more often than not, no more than perhaps five to seven actors on stage at any one point in time; oftentimes fewer than five depending on which of the roughly 250 plays in the accepted repertoire of Noh is being shown. Recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in May, 2001, Noh has safely preserved its status in Japanese and global society as both a theatrical and cultural treasure, although many Japanese, and fewer tourists never actually get near a theatre, claiming the archaic language in use, and slow speed at which things progress to be factors that prevent them from developing an interest in the art. Jo, Ha, Kyū One of the most subtle performance elements of Noh is that of Jo-ha-kyū , which originated as the three movements of courtly gagaku .

However, rather than simply dividing a whole into three parts, within Noh the concept incorporates not only the play itself, but the songs and dances within the play, and even the individual steps, motions, and sounds that actors and musicians make. Furthermore, from a higher perspective, the entire traditional Noh program of five plays also manifests this concept, with the first type play being the jo, the second, third, and fourth plays the ha (with the second play being referred to as the jo of the ha, the third as the ha of the ha, and the fourth as the kyū of the ha), and finally the fifth play the kyū. In general, the jo component is slow and evocative, the ha component or components detail transgression or the disordering of the natural way and the natural world, and the kyū resolves the element with haste or suddenness (note, however, that this only means kyū is fast in comparison with what came before it, and those unfamiliar with the concepts of Noh may not even realize the acceleration occurred). Want to experience this ancient form of Japanese culture ?

If you are considering to spend an afternoon in the presence of what remains the oldest form of masked theatre (the use of a mask a privilege only bestowed upon the ‘shite’) anywhere in the world, however,remember many of the previous naysayers are captivated and repeat visits are soon planned. For those interested in attending a show in Tokyo, an Internet search of the aforementioned main school names should turn up more options to sample this treasure than could realistically be listed but will help in English. Otherwise, head on over to the National Noh Theatre site at to see what the nation’s main theatre has lined up in the weeks and months ahead. Do be prepared to splash out a tad as tickets are not cheap – but rest assured you will take away a memory as mystifying as it is impressing.

Question: What form of theatre has preserved the style of drama being performed in 14th century Japan?
Answer: NOH THEATRE