Noh Theatre
Angela Wang
Steven Wang
Okina hōnō (dedication of Noh play A Venerable Old Man) on New Year's day
History
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. The repertories normally limited to a specific set of
historical plays. A Noh performance often lasts all day and
consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter,
humorous kyōgen pieces.
While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified
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.
By tradition, Noh actors and musicians never rehearse for
performances together. Instead, each actor, musician, and choral
chanter practices his or her fundamental movements, songs, and
dances independently or under the tutelage of a senior member of
the school.
Thus, the tempo 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 exemplifies the traditional Japanese
aesthetic of transience, called by Sen no Rikyu "ichi-go ichi-e".
Actors
There are about 1500 professional Noh actors in Japan today, and the art form
continues to thrive. Actors begin their training as young children, traditionally at
the age of three. Historically, the performers were exclusively male. In the
modern day, a few women (many daughters of established Noh actors) have
begun to perform professionally. Many people also study Noh on an amateur
basis. While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified 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.
hayashi
Masks
The masks in Noh 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 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.
Three pictures of the same female mask showing how the
expression changes with a tilting of the head.
Noh mask of an old woman
World's oldest Noh stage at Miyajima
Stage
The traditional Noh stage consists of a pavilion whose architectural style is
derived from that of the traditional kagura (god-entertainment)a 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.
shitebashira
fuebashira
wakibashira
metsukebashira
Noh stage. Center: shite; front right: waki; right: eight-member jiutai
(chorus); rear center: four hayashi-kata (musicians); rear left: two kōken
(stage hands).
Mood
1.Mugen nō (夢幻能)
usually deals with spirits, ghosts, phantasms, and supernatural worlds.
Time is often depicted as passing in a non-linear fashion, and action
may switch between two or more timeframes from moment to moment.
2.Genzai nō (現在能)
as mentioned above, depicts normal events of the everyday world.
However, when contrasted with mugen instead of with the other four
categories, the term encompasses a somewhat broader range of plays.
Style
1.Geki nō (劇能) or drama plays are based around the
advancement of plot and the narration of action.
2.Furyū nō (風流能) or dance plays focus rather on
the aesthetic qualities of the dances and songs which
are performed.
Conclusion
Every element of performance is strictly controlled
by conventions that have been established for
centuries. Rather than encouraging innovation,
Noh seeks to perfect and preserve an art form.
Thanks!