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ZEAMI & THE NOH DRAMA

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Bibliography for this section is ample. Though I often use translated sections contained in Keene, Donald ed. Anthology of Japanese Literature from the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century, here are other texts containing complete translations of the plays as well as accounts of the dramaturgy:

Possibly the best and most recent collection of English translations from the Noh Drama are those by Tyler, Royall. Japanese Noh Dramas. (Penguin, 1993) where you will find translations of some of the plays mentioned on this page.

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Two other major works by Donald Keene must be mentioned here. The first,

Seeds in the Heart (Henry Holt, 1995), is his massive yet eminently readable history of Japanese Literature from its beginnings to the Seventeenth Century, which includes a treatment of the No in chapter 27.

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The other is an earlier volume by Donald Keene which collects translations of some of the most representative of Noh plays. See his

Twenty Plays of the No Theatre (Columbia, 1970).

Another excellent set of translations from the Noh, but which also includes a bit from the Kyogen theatre which often accompanies a performance of the Noh, is Brazell, Karen.

12 Plays of the Noh and Kyogen Theaters. (Cornell Univ.,1988)

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Finally, a satisfying account of the life and times, as well as the dramaturgy of, Zeami Motokiyo, may be found in Hare, Thomas Blenham.

Zeami's Style: The Noh Plays of Zeami Motokiyo. (Stanford, 1996)

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ZEAMI MOTOKIYO: ขˆข–ํŒณด(nee HATA`) (1363-1443j

ACTOR, SCHOLAR-THEORIST, SENIOR TEACHER ELDEST SON OF KAN'AMIŠฯˆข–ํ

(1333-1384), ALSO AN ACTOR.

AFTER HIS FATHER'S DEATH, TAKES THE OFFICIAL ACTING NAME OF KANZE,

AND BECOMES THE FAVOURITE OF THE 3RD ASHIKAGA SHOGUN

YOSHIMITSU‘ซ—˜‹`–žIN 1378.

IT IS SAID THAT ZEAMI WAS YOSHIMITSU'S LOVER. HIS PATRON DIES IN 1408.

HE SPENDS HIS LAST YEARS IN EXILE ON SADO ISLAND, BUT IS PARDONED

AND RETURNS TO KYOTO. HIS TWO SONS AND HEIRS DIE BEFORE HIM,

LEAVING THE TRADITION TO A FAMILY CALLED KOMPARU‹เtB

MAIN POINTS:

ZEAMI'S MAIN RULE OF AESTHETICS WAS THE HANA OR 'FLOWER,' AN

ABSTRACTION BASED ON THE EFFECT TO BE FELT BETWEEN ACTOR AND

AUDIENCE WHEN A PERFECT BALANCE OF PREFORMANCE AND RECEPTION WERE

ACHIEVED. A KIND OF MYSTIC SUSPENSION.

ACTOR TECHNIQUES MEANT LIFETIME COMMITMENT, DESTRUCTION OF NORMAL

VOICE PROJECTION, AND BODY MOVEMENT, WHILE CREATING NEW FORMALIZED

VOICE AND MOVEMENT TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATE TO ACHIEVING HANA.

THE NOH PLAY:

NOH”\MEANS SKILL, ABILITY, BUT NOT THE REFLECTION OF REALITY -

TECHNIQUES OF NON-REPRESENTATIONAL BEAUTY.

MEMBERS OF THE NOH EMSEMBLE(THE CAST)

  • SHITE - PROTAGONIST, LITERALLY THE DOER

  • TSURE- PROTAGONIST'S COMPANION

  • WAKI - DEUTERAGONIST, LITERALLY THE SIDE PLAYER

  • WAKI-ZURE - DEUTERAGONIST'S COMPANION

  • KOKATA- CHILD ROLE

  • AI - KYOGEN ACTOR WHO SUMMARIZES TEXT

  • UTAI - CHORUS

  • HAYASHI - MUSICAL ENSEMBLE (TRIO)

    NOTE ON THE NAMES FOR THE NOH MASKS:”\–ส,

    COSTUMES:ˆ฿‘•

  • OKINA - OLD MAN

  • KO-OMOTE- YOUNG WOMAN

  • HEITA - WARRIOR

  • YASE-ONNA - EMACIATED WOMAN

  • HANNYA - HORNED DEVIL WOMAN

  • KASSHIKI - BEAUTIFUL YOUTH

  • HAPPI - JACKET

  • CHOKEN - LONG SILKEN ROBE

  • KARAGINU - CHINESE BROCADE ROBE

    THE TEMPI (RHYTHM) OF THE INDIVIDUAL PLAY IN PERFORMANCE AND ALSO OF A CYCLE OF PLAYS

  • JO˜INTRODUCTION - SLOW LARGO

  • HA”jDEVELOPMENT - LESS SLOW - A TEMPO

  • KYU‹}CLIMAX - FASTER - ANDANTE

    CATEGORIZATION:

    APPROX. 240 PERFORMABLE PLAYS IN THE STANDARD REPERTOIRE. THERE ARE NUMBERS OF LOST PLAYS, AND OTHERS FOR WHICH THERE IS TEXT, BUT NO TRADITION OF PERFORMANCE

    I.

    PLAYS OF THE JO˜, INTRODUCTORY VARIETY, ARE CALLED WAKI NOH, OR KAMI NOH (LITERALLY SIDE NOH AND GOD-NOH )BECAUSE THEY SET THE ATMOSPHERE OF A PERFORMANCE BY ENACTING A BLESSING ON THE AUDIENCE.

    SAMPLE PLAYS AND AUTHORSHIP WHERE KNOWN

  • OKINA‰ฅUNKNOWN

  • EMAŠG”nUNKNOWN

  • TAKASAGO‚ปZEAMI

    II.

    PLAYS OF THE HA”j, DEVELOPMENTAL VARIETY, ARE CALLED :

    A. SHURAMONO OR BUSHI NOH BECAUSE THEY ARE ABOUT MEN, WARRIORS, WHO APPEARED MAINLY IN THE TALES OF HEIKE.

    SAMPLE PLAYS:

  • TADANORI’‰“xZEAMI

  • ATSUMORI“ึทZEAMI

  • YASHIMA”ช“‡ZEAMI

    B. KAZURAMONO (ONNA) NOH BECAUSE THEY ARE ABOUT WOMEN, WITH MEN AND ALONE, MAINLY FROM LEGEND, THE TALE OF GENJI, AND THE TALES OF ISE.

    SAMPLE PLAYS:

    MATSUKAZEผ•—KANAMI, ADAPTED BY ZEAMI

    YUYAŒF–์ZEAMI

    IZUTSUˆไ“›ZEAMI

    SEKIDERA KOMACHIŠึŽ›ฌ’ฌZEAMI

    C. KYOJOMONO (GENZAIMONO) BECAUSE THEY ARE ABOUT MAD-WOMEN DRAWN FROM LEGEND AND THE TALE OF GENJI.

    SAMPLE PLAYS:

    SUMIDAGAWA‹๗“c์KANZE JIRO MOTOMASA

    DOJOJI“นฌŽ›KANZE KOJIRO NOBUMITSU

    AOI NO UEˆจใZEAMI

    SOTOBA KOMACHI‘ฒ“ƒ”kฌ’ฌKAN'AMI

    III.

    PLAYS OF THE KYU‹}OR QUICKENING VARIETY ARE CALLED KIRINO OR CUTTING, FINAL PLAYS WHICH CONCERN THE QUELLING OF DEMONS DETRIMENTAL TO THE SALVATION OF THE SOUL.

    SAMPLE PLAYS:

  • FUNA BENKEI‘D•ูŒcKANZE KOJIRO NOBUMITSU

  • YAMAUBAŽR‰WZEAMI

  • SHOJOเอXUNKNOWN

    •