Types of Kyogen

Kyogen is a theatre of laughter that is based upon auspicious words, satire, and humor, that uses medieval life and folk tales as its main themes, and that developed as a dialogue-drama, as a drama of story-telling that places great importance on words. It is the direct descendant of the mimetic art ofSarugaku, and, in order to depict the heart of things in a lively manner, it did not stop at mere realism but devised a stylized form of expression. It simplified the types of characters, the stage, and the props, and its masks underwent exaggeration. The comedy of Kyogen became an official entertainment in the Edo period, and it thus underwent refinement. While its Edo-period satire and vulgar humor were weakened, its art of witty jokes and tasteful humor was polished, and its move toward becoming an art of gentle humor and auspicious words was strengthened. An "art of words," its cheerful mood and vocal production is such that even when two characters speak at the time, their speeches can still be heard and distinguished by the audience. On the basis of its sparse correctness and stylized acting style, its stories develop many scenes that evoke a joyful laughter that leaves a good aftertaste.

There are about 260 plays in the current Kyogen repertoire. Beginning with the servant Taro Kaja, they all feature large-hearted, strong characters who breathe life into the everyday situations of the common people in feudal times. They can be divided into categories, according to the types of characters they depict, into plays featuring lucky people, gods of good fortune, farmers, daimyo (feudal lords), the servants Taro Kaja and Jiro Kaja, sons-in-law, wives, demons, warrior-priests, Buddhist monks, blindmen, thieves, or con-men. The production, method of expression, and costuming of the plays is closely related to this classification, which is the most common method.

● God Kyogen 

○ An Umbrella Instead of a Fan, Aso Has His Hair Fixed, The God of Happiness, Ebisu and Bishamon, Laughs after Taxes, One Hat for Two, Pots and Drums, Three Grandsons Named Zaiho, etc.

The content of God Kyogen plays is above all celebratory in nature, and thus they correspond to God Noh. Their special characteristic is their ritual nature.

● Daimyo (Feudal Lord) Kyogen 

○ A Man Poses as a Sword, Wrestling with a Mosquito, The Monkey-skin Quiver, Black Crocodile Tears, The Daimyo and the Bush-Clover Blossoms, Two Daimyos, Saved by a Resemblance, Buaku the Living Ghost, etc.

These plays feature a daimyo (feudal lord), who is as representative of Kyogen as Taro Kaja, as the main character. Although called a daimyo, he is not of high social standing. Because he is innocent but dull, he causes a great deal of commotion when getting involved with the man on the street.

In The Daimyo and the Bush-Clover Blossoms, a rural daimyo goes to view the bush-clover blossoms in a garden with Taro Kaja, and is there requested to recite a waka poem, which he does while making many mistakes. Behind a disguise of foolishness, the play vividly depicts the innocent cheerfulness of the daimyo.

● Taro Kaja Kyogen 

○ Roasting Chestnuts, Shidohogaku the Horse, The Sound of Bells, Six Ox-loads of Wood, The Dropped Gift, Horizontal Singing, Rope Twisting, The Delicious Poison, etc.

Also called Servant Kyogen, these plays feature the servant Taro Kaja as the main character. He loves drinking wine, neglects his duties, is an honest man, is very clever, is basically a coward, is intelligent, and is lazy―this is the complex set of contradictions that make up Taro Kaja, the most representative and most fascinating character in the human comedy known as Kyogen.

In Shidohogaku the Horse, according to the Master's orders, Taro Kaja borrows some tea, a sword, and a horse from the Master's uncle, who says that whenever he clears his throat, the horse will rear up; after having been thrown off, the Master chases Taro Kaja off stage, threatening punishment.

● Son-in-Law Kyogen / Woman Kyogen 

○ Two-in-One Hakama, The Son-in-Law in the Boat, The Magic Fish Hook, The Water-Throwing Son-in-Law, Farmer Oko and Farmer Sako, Suicide with a Sickle, The Stingy Aunt's Wine, Narihira's Rice Cakes, etc.

These kinds of plays revolve around characters such as sons-in-law who visit their wives' parents and cause all sorts of trouble, wives who outdo their husbands, or husbands that wives cannot depend on―depicting the drama of everyday human situations.

● Demon / Warrior Priest Kyogen 

○ Asahina the Warrior, A Demon in Love, Thunder, The Crab, The Persimmon Thief, The Snail, The Fortified Beard, Tsuen the Tea Priest, The Octopus,etc.

This group of plays contain caricaturization, the personification of a demon, a warrior priest who cannot properly use his supernatural powers―plays that laugh at what is not as good at it seems, others that are modeled after the Noh form.

In The Fortified Beard, a man with a long, thick beard of which he is very proud is chosen to play an important role in an upcoming festival, but when his wife will not do anything he asks, he sends her away. However, she returns with the neighborhood women all armed with strange weapons to cut off his beard. Although he fortified it, she breaks through the fortifications and rips it out by its roots. Through being written and performed in a Noh style, the absurdity of the man's defense of building a fortification around his beard is conspicuous.

● Priest / Blindman Kyogen 

○ A Religious Dispute, Sermon without Donation, The Crying Nun, The Mixed-up Acolyte, Drawing Water, The Fake Sculptor, The Six Statues, The Moon-Viewing Blindman, etc.

The ignorance and greed of monks and, mainly, the human shallowness of not knowing ourselves are depicted in these plays. Some typical main characters of these plays include monks and even acolytes, con-men pretending to be Buddhist sculptors, and blindmen.

● Miscellaneous Kyogen 

○ The Melon Thief, The Dwarf Tree Thief, The Tea Box, The Fake Deva King, The Plaster Dispute, The Cowardly Bandits, A Debt Paid with a Poem, A Cow Named Sideseat, etc.

This category contains all of the Kyogen plays that do not fall easily into the other categories. There are various types, and some have interesting characters such as lazy thieves or dull-witted con-men.