Tomoe and Yoshinaka

Noh is the oldest classical dance-dramas in Japan. It was developed in the 14th century from religious sources and folk myths. It is a combination of drama, music, and dance (mai).  Noh is also one of the five major forms of traditional Japanese theater.

 

After 1374, Noh was patronized by the warrior class, whereas Kabuki (traditional theater) and Bunraku (classical puppetry) developed later for the common people.

 

Noh is characterized by symbolic gestures and simple sets. There is no curtain between the stage and the audience, as in other traditional theater. The chief actor (shite) and his associates (shite-zure) wear various kinds of masks (Noh-men) to denote the characters they represent, such as an old man, a samurai, a young woman, a demon, an animal, or a supernatural being.

 

Noh performers express a wide range of feelings and emotions through their dances, which are accompanied by flutes, drums and chants (utai).

 

In full performances, Noh plays alternate with one-act comic interludes called Kyogen (literally, crazy words),  which serve as comic relief after the solemnity of the Noh drama.

 

Noh has been highly acclaimed around the world for its great artistic value, and in 2001, UNESCO added the art of Noh to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

 

 

 

 

Zeami, the Originator of Noh

 

Stemming from popular entertainments in Nara during the Heian period (794-1185), in conjunction with various ritual offering dances, Noh was created during the latter half of the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and the early part of the Muromachi period 1336-1573. While under the patronage of the Shōgunate and high-ranking noblemen, Noh came under the influence of Zen Buddhism and some of the Muromachi period’s popular arts such as ink painting, contributing to its spare, abstract quality.

 

Noh’s founder, Zeami (1363-1443), is one of the most important historical figures in Japanese theater. A collection of his treatises on Noh, “Fūshi Kaden,” was published some 200 years before Shakespeare’s theatrical debut. Even today, his treatises are still recognized as some of the most sophisticated drama theory ever created.