Nō Play

Nō Play, lyrical drama of Japan, established by Kwanami (1333–84) and his son Zeami (1363–1443), though the courtly language and formal style of the works attributed to them suggest an earlier derivation, as far back even as the end of the 12th century. The kyōgen, or comic interludes, which form part of the nō plays, are in the vernacular of the mid-16th century, and the genre reached its point of perfection a hundred years later, since when it has changed very little. The nō play draws its material mainly from the Buddhist scriptures and the mythology of China and Japan, and its form from the ritual dances of the temples with accretions from folk-dances of the countryside. It is essentially a drama of soliloquy and reminiscence, and unlike Western drama has no development through conflict. Having been for a long time reserved for the amusement of the ruling class, its audiences tend still to be elderly and educated, with a sprinkling of foreign visitors. Nō plays are acted on a raised resonant stage of polished wood, with a temple roof over it supported on four pillars, and the audience on two sides. The actors are supported by the eight members of the chorus, four musicians—a flute and three drums—and two stage hands, who by tradition are invisible. The performers enter along the hashigakari, a passage about 40 ft. long which runs at an angle backward from the right-hand edge of the stage. There is no scenery, but the costumes are sumptuous, particularly those of the First Actor (shite), who is introduced by the Second Actor (waki), and as god or hero, wearing a mask, performs the ritual dances which are the heart of the play. (See also KABUKI.)