Nō

I

Introduction

Nō or Noh, oldest form of Japanese drama. The word nō means “ability” or “accomplishment” in Japanese and was first applied to various kinds of performances, including folk dances and village entertainments that used mime, acrobatics, and clowning. Although some aspects of these earlier entertainments still exist in nō, it has become the most ceremonial and most austere form of Japanese drama—in contrast to the flashier and more sumptuous kabuki drama.

Nō was refined into serious drama in the 14th century under the guidance of performer and playwright Kan’ami Kiyotsugu. But it was his son, Zeami Motokiyo, who brought nō to perfection under the patronage of the Ashikaga shoguns in the early 15th century. Many of the nō plays performed today were written by Zeami.

II

Nō Performance

Nō focuses on a principal actor, the shite (pronounced she tay), whose persona must get rid of inner conflicts and strong emotions before his or her spirit can enjoy peace in the next world. Secondary and supporting actors are there to help the shite achieve this goal. Only men perform in nō, and they take female roles when necessary. There are five main categories of the nō plays, depending on the principal character: god, warrior, woman, mad person, or demon. That principal actor performs slowly, through a combination of mime, chanting, and dance.

Masks are extremely important in nō. Unless the shite is portraying an adult male, he wears a mask. Nō masks, carved from wood, represent men and women of different ages and dispositions, warriors, gods, demons, vengeful spirits, and ghosts. The mask helps remove the performance from the everyday world. The dialogue is spoken in a highly stylized, artificial manner. A chorus, kneeling at the side of the stage, chants when the principal actor is dancing. During this slow, gliding dance the shite’s stocking feet never leave the ground. The chorus narrates events and sometimes reveals the main character’s innermost thoughts. Three drums and a flute provide musical accompaniment and set the mood and tempo of the piece. The chorus and musicians add to the eerie, hypnotic effect of the drama.

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Realism in acting or staging is not the intention in nō, nor is there much dramatic conflict. Instead, the performance concentrates on evoking the quality of yugen, the inner beauty that lies beneath the surface. Following the principles of Zen Buddhism, which most experts agree influenced nō, everything is pared down to its essence. The movements of the actors are sparse and economical and intended to reveal emotion rather than character. The masks have extraordinary beauty.

The staging of nō is extremely bare, except for the rich costume of the shite, so that nothing distracts from the principal actor. The stage properties are few and generally symbolic; a fan, for example, can be used to suggest the rising moon. The music is somber in keeping with the grave atmosphere of the performance. The raised wooden stage, shaped like a shrine, is bare, with only a pine tree painted on the back wall. Actors enter the stage from a ramp or bridge on the right.

III

Nō Plays

Zeami’s plays exhibit the basic form of the nō. After the chorus and the musicians have taken their place on stage, the waki (secondary actor) enters. He announces himself, describes his journey, and awaits the appearance of the shite, around whom the entire play revolves. Usually the shite appears first in human form and later as that person’s ghost or spirit who, at the end of the play, performs a solemn dance during which he relives a time of anguish or struggle. Minor characters may take part as well, but all is subordinated to the shite. Among Zeami’s most popular plays are Aoi no ue (The Lady Aoi), a retelling of parts of the Genji monogatori (Tale of Genji), an 11th-century novel by Murasaki Shikibu; and Izutsu (The Well Drum), taken from the Ise monogatori (Tale of Ise). See also Japanese Literature.

Zeami was a prolific playwright, producing more than 100 plays, and revising earlier plays, including those of his father. Nō texts derive from many literary sources, blending songs, classical Japanese poetry, Chinese poetry, and allusions of all kinds into an intricate formal pattern. The stories usually look backward to the earlier Heian (794-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333) periods of Japanese history. Zeami’s writings also include a series of treatises intended to preserve the principles of his art for his successors. Besides practical instructions on acting, singing, dancing, and other aspects of production, these essays include a good deal of aesthetic theory which suggests the influence of Buddhism in molding nō.

Traditionally, five plays are performed during the course of a day, interspersed with closely related farces called kyomacrongen (mad words). The farces are usually performed between nō plays and burlesque the solemnity of the nō. Using stock characters, such as a stupid lord and his crafty servant or a man and his shrewish wife, they supply comic relief.

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