NOH THEATER
NOH
- a kind of symbolic drama colored with the graceful aesthetic effect of quiet elegance that is expressed through the word yugen ("elegant, refined, and elusive beauty")
- derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"
- its subjects are taken from history or classical literature, and it is structured around song and dance
By tradition, Noh actors and musicians only rehearse together once, a few days before the actual performance. Generally, each actor, musician, and chorus member practices 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".
THE STAGE
Looking like a shrine or temple building, it has three sides open around a main stage (hon butai) that is about 5.5 m on each side.
There are four pillars supporting the roof over the main stage area, each of which has a special name. Among them, the "sighting pillar" (metsuke-bashira) performs an especially important role in helping the actor to position himself upon the stage.
The wall at the back of the stage is called the "mirror board" (kagami ita), and on it is painted an ancient pine tree.
There is upstage (ato-za) area, where the musicians and stage assistant(s) sit, and the eaves from the roof overhangs the main stage on three sides. The "chorus seat" (jiutai-za) is where the members of the chorus sit in two rows facing the main stage.
The "bridgeway" (hashi-gakari) serves as the place of entrance and exit for the characters, and also plays an important role as part of the performing space, and at the far end of it, the multicolored curtain (agemaku) is raised and lowered.
The green room, or, literally, the "mirror room" (kagami no ma) is an important space, because it is there that the performers, when fully dressed, gaze into a mirror to concentrate on their role―there they don their mask and wait to enter the stage.
In front of the "bridgeway," three small pines trees are planted, evenly spaced. In order for the stage floor to be as appropriate as possible for the "sliding foot" walk of the Noh actors or for the dramatic dancing, it is constructed with thick boards of hinoki cypress that are polished to a smooth, glassy finish.
There is no stage equipment whatsoever, and there is no curtain separating the stage from the audience.
THE PERFORMERS
The shite actor undertakes various roles―playing the part of the main character (shite), or of the accompanying character (tsure), or even the child role (kokata); making up the chorus (jiutai); and serving as a stage assistant (koken), who fixes the appearance of the costume and hands props to the main character. The type of character portrayed depends upon the type of play being performed, but the majority of characters range from the spirits of men and women and even plants or trees, to gods, demons, and supernatural beings. In principle, there is a Noh mask appropriate for each main role.
The waki actor serves to support the main actor, and thus performs the roles of waki and waki-tsure. Depending upon the play, they might be Shinto priests, Buddhist monks, or samurai, but they are always roles portraying real, living men. The waki does not wear a mask.
There are four types of musicians who play in Noh, and sometimes (but rarely) in Kyogen: the flute player, the shoulder-drum player, the hip-drum player, and the stick-drum player.
THE MASKS
Noh masks, called omote (lit., "face") are very important props that are symbolic of Noh as a masked drama. In documents surviving from the Momoyama period, about 60 types of masks are listed, and these account for most of the masks in use even today.
Most but not all shite roles require the use of a mask, but in principle the roles of kokata (child actors) and actual living men are performed without a mask.
THE COSTUMES
In the world of Noh, costumes (isho) are known as shozoku. The costumes of Noh express in a visual way the spirit and substance of a Noh play.
Woven mainly of silk, many costumes are made of very thick material, and they are made in many determined patterns and colors, often having various designs .
The costumes are thus very closely related to the interpretation, acting, and producing of a role. Thus, the costumes in Noh are second only to the masks in importance.
THE PROPS
Large props known as tsukuri-mono are made for each performance, and then taken apart when it is over. The skeleton of the prop is usually made of bamboo, which is wound with strips of white cloth, thus creating a very simple, symbolic form.
All actors who enter the stage carry a fan. There are two types of fans: shizume-ogi, which are like ordinary fans; and chukei, which are made so that the outer tip is partly open, even when the fan is closed. In general, a chukei is carried by the shite and waki actors, and a shizume-ogi by the chorus members, stage assistant(s), musicians, and ai-kyogen.
A wig box (rather round, and looking like a black lacquer bucket with a lid) is most often used as a seat in Noh.
- a kind of symbolic drama colored with the graceful aesthetic effect of quiet elegance that is expressed through the word yugen ("elegant, refined, and elusive beauty")
- derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"
- its subjects are taken from history or classical literature, and it is structured around song and dance
By tradition, Noh actors and musicians only rehearse together once, a few days before the actual performance. Generally, each actor, musician, and chorus member practices 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".
THE STAGE
Looking like a shrine or temple building, it has three sides open around a main stage (hon butai) that is about 5.5 m on each side.
There are four pillars supporting the roof over the main stage area, each of which has a special name. Among them, the "sighting pillar" (metsuke-bashira) performs an especially important role in helping the actor to position himself upon the stage.
The wall at the back of the stage is called the "mirror board" (kagami ita), and on it is painted an ancient pine tree.
There is upstage (ato-za) area, where the musicians and stage assistant(s) sit, and the eaves from the roof overhangs the main stage on three sides. The "chorus seat" (jiutai-za) is where the members of the chorus sit in two rows facing the main stage.
The "bridgeway" (hashi-gakari) serves as the place of entrance and exit for the characters, and also plays an important role as part of the performing space, and at the far end of it, the multicolored curtain (agemaku) is raised and lowered.
The green room, or, literally, the "mirror room" (kagami no ma) is an important space, because it is there that the performers, when fully dressed, gaze into a mirror to concentrate on their role―there they don their mask and wait to enter the stage.
In front of the "bridgeway," three small pines trees are planted, evenly spaced. In order for the stage floor to be as appropriate as possible for the "sliding foot" walk of the Noh actors or for the dramatic dancing, it is constructed with thick boards of hinoki cypress that are polished to a smooth, glassy finish.
There is no stage equipment whatsoever, and there is no curtain separating the stage from the audience.
THE PERFORMERS
The shite actor undertakes various roles―playing the part of the main character (shite), or of the accompanying character (tsure), or even the child role (kokata); making up the chorus (jiutai); and serving as a stage assistant (koken), who fixes the appearance of the costume and hands props to the main character. The type of character portrayed depends upon the type of play being performed, but the majority of characters range from the spirits of men and women and even plants or trees, to gods, demons, and supernatural beings. In principle, there is a Noh mask appropriate for each main role.
The waki actor serves to support the main actor, and thus performs the roles of waki and waki-tsure. Depending upon the play, they might be Shinto priests, Buddhist monks, or samurai, but they are always roles portraying real, living men. The waki does not wear a mask.
There are four types of musicians who play in Noh, and sometimes (but rarely) in Kyogen: the flute player, the shoulder-drum player, the hip-drum player, and the stick-drum player.
THE MASKS
Noh masks, called omote (lit., "face") are very important props that are symbolic of Noh as a masked drama. In documents surviving from the Momoyama period, about 60 types of masks are listed, and these account for most of the masks in use even today.
Most but not all shite roles require the use of a mask, but in principle the roles of kokata (child actors) and actual living men are performed without a mask.
THE COSTUMES
In the world of Noh, costumes (isho) are known as shozoku. The costumes of Noh express in a visual way the spirit and substance of a Noh play.
Woven mainly of silk, many costumes are made of very thick material, and they are made in many determined patterns and colors, often having various designs .
The costumes are thus very closely related to the interpretation, acting, and producing of a role. Thus, the costumes in Noh are second only to the masks in importance.
THE PROPS
Large props known as tsukuri-mono are made for each performance, and then taken apart when it is over. The skeleton of the prop is usually made of bamboo, which is wound with strips of white cloth, thus creating a very simple, symbolic form.
All actors who enter the stage carry a fan. There are two types of fans: shizume-ogi, which are like ordinary fans; and chukei, which are made so that the outer tip is partly open, even when the fan is closed. In general, a chukei is carried by the shite and waki actors, and a shizume-ogi by the chorus members, stage assistant(s), musicians, and ai-kyogen.
A wig box (rather round, and looking like a black lacquer bucket with a lid) is most often used as a seat in Noh.