Noh
History of Noh
The roots of noh go back around 1,300 years, when a performing art called sangaku was brought over from China. It merged with Japanese comic theater and became a new form of entertainment called sarugaku about a thousand years ago.Sarugaku featured short dances and skits, consisting of impersonations and plays on words.
An old stage at Nyuu Shrine in Nara. (©Ken Yoshikoshi)
By around the thirteenth century, several professional sarugaku troupes sprung up. The skits grew into longer stories, and the songs and dances became more sophisticated.
Even bigger changes came in the mid-fourteenth century, when Kan'ami and his gifted son Zeami turned sarugaku into an art form called noh. Kan'ami introduced complex rhythms, replacing a monotonous singing style, and developed a very advanced philosophy. Zeami went even further, writing and performing in plays that touched and deeply moved those who saw them.
The North Stage at the Nishi Hongwanji temple in Kyoto
dates from the sixteenth century. (©Ken Yoshikoshi)
Although noh has evolved since then, the basic shape and style hasn't changed all that much. Kan'ami and Zeami won a wide following--among not only the villagers but also the country's most powerful politicians, including shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408). Military leaders who lived much later were also enchanted by noh, including warlords Oda Nobunaga (1534-82), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616). During the Edo period (1603-1868), the study of noh was incorporated into the samurai's formal training by several clans. (213 words)
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