Japanese Noh Theatre

Japanese Noh Theatre is easily the hardest thing I've been asked to describe in a long time. The act of the play itself is lost on most Americans, since it is about the beauty of the text along with the dance. The dancing, while seen as elegant, is extremely slow, making an understanding of the act of performing Noh necessary to enjoy watching it.

The elements of the plays include very nonpulsatile music from three different drummers and a flute, called the nohkhan, which works differently than the standard flute. This small ensemble is known as the hayashi and accompanies the actors. Another very frequent aspect of the performance I saw was kagekoe, which are the loud shouts from the different drummers in the performance. Another element was the singing style, where the pitch did not seem to be the main focus of the song. The play is performed on a stage with three open sides and a different back, much like many types of Western plays. However, Noh has no changes in the back ground never changes throughout the play and the props are minimal. Lastly, the masks in the plays obviously play a huge role, though a boy will never wear a mask in Noh theatre according to this site.