If the Kabuki theater with all its pomp and
pageantry, its colorful costumes, revolving stage
and violent actions and emotions could be
called the "yang" of Japanese drama, then Noh
surely is its "yin" counterpart.

Noh drama, it is said, originated with simple
popular folk dances and plays that were performed
at Shinto festivals to pray to the gods for
abundant harvests and to give thanks after
the harvest.By the fourteenth century, these
simple performances had developed into symbolic
dances performed at the imperial court in Nara.

Unlike Kabuki, Noh plays are performed on
an almost bare stage, open on three sides, simple
and plain having neither a curtain nor background
scenery except for a pine tree painted on
the rear wall.

Two actors usually perform on stage, the
protagonist, who is frequently the spirit of a
person tied to this earth by worldly desires but
longing for salvation and his assistant; both are
elaborately costumed and wear masks.

There may also be two or three minor characters
and there is always a chorus, kneeling on the
right side of the stage, reciting the narrative
and describing the changes of scene. The
musical accompaniment is not music in the
western sense, it is pure sound provided by
three drums and a flute.

The plays are usually brief and several short
dramas are performed at a single sitting.
Interspersed between the Noh dramas are
comic skits known as "Kyogen ("crazy words")
which offer burlesques of feudal society
and provide comic relief for the unremitting gloom
that pervades nearly all of Noh. The broad and
slapstick humor of Kyogen often depicts clever
servants outwitting their samurai masters.

All Noh dramas have a connection with
Buddhism, for in all of the Noh plays,
there is not one where a priest does not
appear to lead the ghost of a fallen warrior or
a lady in distress into the blessings of Nirvana.

The principal actor's movements and gestures,
however minute, are highly stylized, formal and
carefully measured. Mime constitutes an important
part of the drama; feelings are expressed in
symbolic gestures and movements. The
manipulation of a fan can symbolize falling
leaves, rippling water or a rising moon; weeping
is expressed by raising a hand to the eyes.

The aim of Noh is to express a desire or yearning,
not for beauty, but for the beauty we dream. The
worth of the play then depends less upon the truth
or moral, but upon the total effect of the beauty
produced - poetry.

Although not specifically Zen inspired, one
observer has noted that Noh offers an excellent
example of the highly refined and disciplined
spirit of Zen aesthetics.

Noh, although it cannot be described as a popular
art among the Japanese people as a whole, does
have its supporters who, attend the theaters as
connoisseurs with script in hand, following the
actor's every movement and word. I have
attended Noh performances but must
admit that I prefer Kyogen and
find them a welcome relief!

Noh in a way is like a fermented bean concoction
("natto") that some Japanese simply love while
others prefer to simply leave.

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