Ancient Japanese Theater

Sporre states that theatre tries to personalize the love, rejection, disappointment, betrayal, joy, elation, and suffering that we experience in our daily lives. He also states that at while the enactments are not real, even if the plays depict historical events, we are able to shed the disbelief of the fictional moment and enter into the emotions and understandings of what the play portrays, which allows us to feel sadness, pain, and many more emotions. One example is of ancient theatre noted by Sporre is found in the Japanese arts of Noh.

What is Noh?

Sporre states that the Noh and later Kabuki both originated from religious rituals dating back to the late eighth and early ninth centuries when drama was used as a teaching tool by Buddhist monks and later becoming more secularized and gaining popularity which resulted in dramatic forms performed in markets as well as places of worship. Noh dramas have two sources, simple dramas based on symbolic dances performed to music at the imperial court and mimes popular with the common people. Here are two examples of Noh theatre: 

As you watch these two clips, you will notice that, as Sporre notes, Noh dramas are performed on a simple, almost bare stage, and like early Classical Greek tragedy, uses only two actors. The actors wear elaborate masks and costumes, and a chorus functions as a narrator. The actors chant highly poetic dialogue to an orchestral accompaniment and all their actions suggest rather than depict, which gives the drama its stylization and conventionality; symbolism and restraint characterize both acting and staging.

                   

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o--VbWf6M0c (above)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ModfyW8wDvo (below)

According to the-noh.com, there are six types of noh masks. These masks are known as Okina (Old man masks), Jō (Elders masks), Onna-men (Woman masks), Otoko-men (Man masks), Kishin (Demons), and Onryō (Ghosts and Spirits) masks.

The Okina mask is the oldest type. The Jo mask are often used in the first half of first or second category noh when the shite is portraying a spirit. The Onna-men mask are the more familiar and widely varied type mask. The Otoko-men masks are classified by class and character. The Kishin masks are used for portraying demons, goblins or other worldly creatures. The Onryo masks are used for spirits of the dead who have regrets of some kind and have male and female categories Here is a clip showing the various types of masks, can you spot any that are familiar to you? 

However, according to Sporre, the Noh falls under five types, according to subject which include gods, warriors, women, spirits or mad persons, and demons and that traditionally, an evening's performance included all five types, performed in the order mentioned. Is there a difference in the two comparisons?

How are Noh masks made?

Here are two clips that show how Noh masks are made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Rnmc9BayQ

here is another video that offers the same Noh mask creation but with a bit more detail but starts at 1:24
its cousin video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze4pe1ZqmGo which focuses more on Noh masks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydKyqqmz0f4

Nohmask21.com states that only a few skilled Japanese craftsmen have the ability to create authentic Noh masks using the traditional Japanese wood carving techniques and that Master carvers in Japan must commit their work to individual Noh performers, so very little time is permitted for making extra masks for collectors.
Making a Noh masks is a labor-intensive process that can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months from start to finish. That takes real dedication and patience to to accomplish such a demanding and patience testing meticulous piece of work. Their website also offers links to images of Noh masks among the many other links that it has. As library.thinkquest has noted, Noh masks are mostly made from clay, dry lacquer, cloth, paper, and wood and as mentioned before, Noh masks are meticulously made so each mask is as unique from one another as there are purposes for them.

http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/cdFFwxw9mN8/hqdefault.jpg

Noh Plays

Manasavi.com states that Noh theatre is the classical Japanese performance form supplied with Buddhist sensitivities, which combines elements of dance, drama, music and poetry into one highly aesthetic stage art and is the oldest surviving form of Japanese theater and began probably as early as the eleventh century.The order of the play is as followed:  

1) Orchestra enters
2) Chorus enters
3) Waki crosses bridge, traveling song; Waki goes to Waki pillar [waki-bashira]
4) Shite enters; song stating theme of play
5) Waki converses with Shite; asks Shite to tell tale
6) Shite tells tale; story dance
7) Kyogen or lower character recapitulates story
8) Shite returns in new costume, often with new identity; tempo increases; performance peaks in dance

Taking the words directly from Mansavi, 

the use of space and time is not portrayed realistically. Rather, there is a freedom of portrayal which requires the audience members to use their imaginations. Characters take only a few steps and through their song or that of the chorus, the audience knows that they have traveled a great distance. Two characters may appear on the stage nearly side- by-side, but again the audience comes to understand that they are not yet in each other’s presence. While this may be confusing for the first time viewer, for many people who come to understand these and other conventions, noh creates a much more powerful theatrical expression than realistic theatre.

Mamsavi also notes that There are five categories of noh plays. In order, these feature gods [kami][waki noh]or [kami noh], warriors [shura][Shuramono or bushi noh] , beautiful women [katsura], miscellaneous (notably mad-women or present-time) figures, and supernatural beings like demons [kiri].

Here is a taste of the Noh plays:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVV3wWHWYU

Did you like the little review and comments that went along with the clip? Wasn't that kijyo mask scary looking? Did you like the vibrant clothes they wore? Isn't it amazing how the actor can move so fast in such a little time? I thought the actor would trip from walking that fast!

And here is an review of what this blog has offered the whole time around!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOzH842IYg&feature=player_embedded

http://noh.manasvi.com/images/nohtheater.jpg
Here is an image of what a Noh stage looks like

http://www.kasrl.org/noh-mask-effect.gif

Kasrl notes that the expression of the mask can induce a variety of perceived expressions with changes in head orientation. What emotion do you see in the three mask positions? I see amazement on the left, happiness in the middle, and sadness on the right.

http://www.jref.com/images/portal/culture/noh_masks.jpg

Can you believe that there are many Noh masks? This image is just a sample of the 200+ masks out there!

http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/noh/img/pic/pic_03-01e.jpg
Here is an overview of what a Noh stage looks like. I wonder where the people are suppose to sit?

Thank you

This is the end of the blog. Thanks for visiting!

Sources Sited:

 Sporre, Dennis J. Reality through the Arts. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991. Print.

http://www.the-noh.com/en/world/mask.html

Youtube.com
 http://nohmask21.com/eu/intro.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00717/pages/masks.html
http://noh.manasvi.com/noh.html
http://www.kasrl.org/noh_mask.html