Types of Noh Plays

Noh plays can be roughly divided into two types:genzai no (realistic Noh) and mugen no (fantasy Noh).

In realistic Noh, the main character is someone actually living in this world, and the story proceeds according to real time. The main theme is the depiction of the inner feelings of a character placed in a dramatic situation, and the drama develops through a basically spoken dialogue. In contrast, the main character of a fantasy Noh is a god, demon, or ghost―someone who transcends this ordinary world. Most Noh of this type have two acts: act one, in which the main character appears in some disguise to the waki, who has come to visit some spot famous in history or literature or legend; and act two, in which the character re-appears in its true form, and usually performs a dance. It is because act two is fundamentally established as taking place within a dream or vision of the waki that this type is called mugen (lit., "dream and vision," or "fantasy") Noh.

Mugen Noh is based upon the gentle, lyrical beauty that is expressed by the word yugen. The scripts of fantasy Noh are mostly based upon themes from classical literature, have elegant main characters who can perform an appropriate dance, and are written in a flowing elegant style that makes much use of poetic diction. Those words and phrases are chanted. Noh chanting (utai) is fundamental to evoking the distinctive mood of Noh, with its special modality, quality of voice, and melody. The performer, ever searching to deepen the inner quality of his art, is limited to expressing his acting in a highly stylized series of stock patterns and movements (kata). Dance (mai) ranks next to chanting in being fundamental to Noh, but, unlike other forms of dance, it contains almost no realistic movements or imitative expressions. The dancer rides the music, especially the chanting and the rhythm, and "walks" around the stage in a sliding manner, sometimes waving a sleeve. In various scenes, the performer tries to express his inner feelings to the audience through highly refined movements. The ultimate expression of this is when the actor, sitting quietly upon the stage, and without moving at all, is able to display the quintessence of his inner acting skills. The chanting of the text and the rhythm of the music both work together to appeal to the imagination of the audience, making it aware of the presence of the actor upon the stage. That is the seed, and when an actor is successful, it is as though his flower has blossomed―a world that goes beyond reality and transcends time and space is created, and the audience is deeply moved.

The structure of the fantasy Noh was developed by Zeami. Zeami compared the fascination of his stage art with that of a flower in nature, and searched for perfection through both spirit and technique. "Flower" (hana) is what makes the audience have the feeling that what they are seeing is of interest or very rare. A flower in nature is of itself beautiful. But when attempting to concretely re-create the meaning of that beauty through a stage art, not all members of the audience who see it will think that it is beautiful. Therefore, Zeami developed a method of using that seed upon the stage, and then awakening the imagination the audience, so that a beautiful flower would blossom within their heart. It was in order to achieve this goal that fantasy Noh was created.

There are about 240 plays in the current repertoire of Noh, and the majority of them were written by the end of the Muromachi period.

Although Noh itself is divided into the two types of fantasy Noh and realistic Noh, the plays of Noh are divided into five categories, normally divided by theme or type of main character. This is based upon the guides for program formation decided by the Tokugawa shogunate when determining a 5-play program for a single day: the formal program would begin with Okina, followed by plays from the first group (God Noh), second group (Warrior Noh), third group (Woman Noh), Fourth group (Miscellaneous Noh), and fifth group (Ending Noh). This five-play program was planned such that the result was a well-balanced program lasting the whole day.

OKINA

Different from Noh and Kyogen, Okina is a performing art patterned after an ancient ritualistic ceremony. It is often performed as part of a Noh program during the New Year season, on holidays, and for special performances, when it comes at the head of the program. Its alternative name is ShikiSanban ("The Three Rituals"), which refers to the three pieces known as "Chichi-no-jo," "Okina," and "Kyogen Sanba-Sarugaku" (or "Sambaso"). The mask itself is an object of worship, and actors may choose to wear a Chichi-no-jo, Hakushiki-jo,Kokushiki-jo, or Nikushiki-jo mask. It is related to a folk ritual in which an ancient god brought blessings to the people, and was seen as a prayer for many descendants, peace and tranquility in the land, and bountiful harvests. In performances today, the part of Chichi-no-jo is omitted; the role of Okina is played by a Noh actor, and that of Sanbaso by a Kyogen actor.

FIRST-GROUP NOH

○ The Old Pine, Po Chu-i, The Twin Pines, The Bow of Hachiman Shrine, The Care of the Aged, The Goddess of the Cherry Blossoms, The Queen Mother of the West, Kamo, The God of Shirahige Shrine, The Bamboo Isle of the Goddess Benten, etc.

First-group Noh are often called Waki Noh (because they come beside [waki] the play Okina) or God Noh, and they are plays whose main characters are mostly deities who bless the land with peace and bountiful harvests, or that are filled with auspicious words relating the tale of a shrine or temple. Most of them are fantasy Noh.

The Twin Pines (Takasago) was written by Zeami. Act 1: A Shinto priest (waki) who is traveling to Kyoto from Aso Shrine in Kyushu meets an aged couple (mae-shite; tsure) who are caring for the famous pine tree on the Bay of Takasago in Harima Province. The couple explains all about the twin pines of Takasago and Sumiyoshi, offer congratulations on the prosperity of the Way of Poetry, and then disappear, after revealing that they are in fact the spirits of the two trees. Act 2: When the priest later arrives at Sumiyoshi in the province of Settsu, the God of Sumiyoshi (nochi-shite) appears, performs an exciting dance, and then blesses the land with peace. Its structure is typical of a God Noh play.

SECOND-GROUP NOH

○ General Tamura-maru, Yoshitsune at Yashima, The Quiver of Kagesue,The Warrior Michimori, The Drowning of Kiyotsune, The Old Sanemori, Minamoto no Yorimasa, Lady Tomoe, etc.

Second-group Noh are called Warrior Noh (shura-no), and their heroes are usually the spirits of warriors who have fallen into the realm of the warring hell after death. Most of them are fantasy Noh.

Yoshitsune at Yashima (Yashima) is thought to have been written by Zeami. Act 1: An old fisherman (mae-shite) in Yashima, in the province of Sanuki, tells a traveling priest (waki) the tale of Yoshitsune at the battle between the Taira and Minamoto clans at Yashima, and then disappears. Act 2: In the priest's dream, the ghost of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (nochi-shite) appears and describes the battles in the ashura realm, and then disappears with the dawn. (In the Kanze school, the name of the play is written with different characters.)

THIRD-GROUP NOH

○ The Well-Curb, The Shrine in the Fields, Matsukaze (The Wind in the Pines), The Courtesan of Eguchi, The Plantain, The Feather Robe, The Courtesan Yuya, The Old Woman Abandoned in the Hills, The Urin Monastery, The Cherry Blossoms and the Priest Saigyo, etc.

Third-group Noh are called Wig Pieces (kazura-mono) or Woman Noh, and their main characters are usually the spirits of beautiful women or young nobles, the spirits of plants, or celestial women, and almost every play of this category contains an elegant and graceful dance. Most of the plays in this group are fantasy Noh.

The Old Woman Abandoned in the Hills (Obasute) was written by Zeami. Act 1: On the night of harvest full moon, a traveling priest stops by Mt. Obasute, and there meets a woman (mae-shite) who tells him the legend about old women being abandoned on the mountain, relates the poem connected with the tale, and then disappears. Act 2: After a while, an old woman (nochi-shite) appears. In the bright moonlight, the old woman remembers days gone by and performs a quiet dance, only to disappear with the break of day. This play and two others, The Cypress Fence and Komachi at Sekidera, are often grouped together and called "the Three Old Women."

FOURTH-GROUP NOH

○The Mad Dancer Hyakuman, The Madwoman at the Sumida River, The Courting of Komachi, The Birds of Sorrow, The Pillow of Han-tan, The Barrier of Ataka, The Layman Jinen, The Lady Aoi, The Demon of Dojoji, The Fulling Block, etc.

Fourth-group Noh are also called Miscellaneous Noh because they include a variety of different types of plays.

The Madwoman at the Sumida River (Sumidagawa) was written by Zeami's son, Motomasa, who died an untimely death. Act 1: A mother (shite) travels to the Sumida River in the eastern lands in search of her son, who had been captured by slave traders. When she tells her tale to the ferryman (waki), he tells her of her son's death. When the mother prays before his grave, she sees his spirit before her, but when she tries to touch him, he disappears as the day dawns. This is one of many Madness Noh (monogurui no), in which the main character grieves over a forced parting with a loved one.

FIFTH-GROUP NOH

○The Goblin of Mt. Kurama, The Demon and the Maple Viewing, The Field Ranger, The Dragon God of Kasuga Shrine, Minister of the Left Toru, The Pearl Diver, The Lion on the Stone Bridge, The Tipster Sprite, etc.

Fifth-group Noh are called Ending Noh (kiri no), and all of them have a quick tempo and employ the large stick drum (taiko). All the plays in this group have as their main characters goblins, demons, dragon gods, or some supernatural beast, although there are some plays in which the hero is a nobleman or that contain many auspicious phrases.

The Tipster Sprite (Shojo) is a play built upon very auspicious words. It takes place in a village on the Yangtze in China. An sprite (shite) who lives in the sea comes before a man named Gao-feng (waki), a wine seller with much filial piety. The sprite gets drunk and enjoys himself by dancing, after which, the man learns that he has received a blessing: no matter how much wine he dips out of the vat, it never runs dry. When the play is performed with a special dance called Midare ("Disorder"), the play is called Shojo Midare (The Disorderly Tipster Sprite), or just Midare.