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the能.com probably has pretty much everything you need to get started with Noh drama…

February 25, 2014 By Michael Lambe

Noh masks

I have been following Diego Pellecchia’s facinating Noh blog for a couple of months now. Diego is training with the Kongō school of Noh, here in Kyoto and his blog offers a kind of portal into that world. Wanting to learn more, last week I asked him if he could recommend any beginner’s texts as an introduction to the world of Noh. Rather than a text he recommended this website, and I have to say it’s amazing! Not only do they have a wealth of instructional materials and essays on there, not only do they have performance schedules for all of Japan, not only do they have printable texts of the plays in both English & Japanese (new ones added each month!) which you can bring to performances, not only do they have a database of the masks used in performances, but (!) as I have just discovered, they also have photo-stories. Photo-Stories!
I have to say a big thank you, Diego! the能.com is a treasure!

Noh photostories

See also:
Japanese Noh Theater – An introductory essay by Ian Ropke
Takigi Noh (Noh by Firelight) – An annual June event at Heian Jingu Shrine

Learn More:

The Secrets of Noh Masks
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Kissing the Mask
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Japanese No Dramas
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Five Modern No Plays
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Noh Masks – The Bernard Le Dauphin Collection
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
The Spirit of Noh
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
A History of Japanese Theater
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp
Japanese Plays
Amazon
Amazon.co.jp

Japanese Noh Theatre

April 16, 2010 By Michael Lambe

This article contains affiliate links. The owner of this website may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

Performances for the Gods

Ian Ropke writes…

Japanese Noh theatre is one of the oldest dramatic forms in world. The early developments of Noh lie in the festive entertainment of various kinds (dance, simple plays) performed at temples and shrines in the 12th and 13th centuries. Noh drama for much of its history was favored by the samurai, priest and aristocratic classes. Unlike Western theatre, the Noh performer is more a storyteller who suggests the meaning of the play with his movements and through his appearance or costume. Until 100 years ago, the audience was intimately familiar with the plot and the historical or mythological background of the play and knew how to interpret and appreciate symbolic and indirect references to Japanese history, much like early audiences at Shakespeare’s plays.

Noh Actor by Kamisaka Sekka. Click on the image to view available prints.

Nearly all of the Noh plays performed today were written by the start of the 17th century. The vast majority of the core Noh repertoire were written by Kan’ami Kiyotsugu (1333-84) and his son, Zeami Motokiyo (136-1443) in Kyoto. Zeami, as the father of Noh, developed most of the principles upon which Noh theatre has always been based. Today, of the roughly 2,000 Noh texts that are known to exist, only 230 core works are still performed regularly. Today, the Noh world has two centers: Kyoto and Tokyo. [Read more…]

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