Invitation Of Noh:Kyoto Takigi Noh

Invitation Of Noh:Kyoto Takigi Noh

- Toyoshima Mizuho

This is the first installment of special series of fresh viewpoints on Noh, INVITATION TO NOH, in the year of KJ’s 30th anniversary.

The archetypal Japanese performance art now known as Noh theater (Nohgaku) was established by Zeami and his father Kan’ami in the 15th century, based on an earlier form known as Sarugaku. It includes three kinds of traditional plays, Noh, Kyogen and Shikisanban, which inherits the sacred ritual form of the original Sarugaku style. Kyogen is a sophisticated comic play developed from Sarugaku, traditionally performed between Noh plays. Noh was designated in 1957 as Japan’s first important Intangible Cultural Property, and was proclaimed in 2001 by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Originally, Noh was mostly performed outdoors. Noh butai (stages) were built in places such as the precincts of temples or shrines and were open to the four directions. Illumination was provided naturally by sunlight and was also reflected by white sand spread around the stage. Since the Meiji Period, from the 1860s, Nohgaku-do or theater style has become popular, with audiences enjoying the Noh stage from indoor seats. The roof seen over the stage, below the theater’s ceiling, is a relic of the former style. Technically, Noh can be performed anywhere with a square space for a stage, connected by a hashigakari (bridge) with the backstage space from which the Noh actors come and go.