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The Nō Plays of Japan
Arthur Waley
Book Overview:
Noh (Nō), or Nogaku—derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"—is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art still regularly performed today. Traditionally, a Noh program includes five Noh plays with comedic kyōgen plays in between, even though an abbreviated program of two Noh plays and one kyōgen piece has become common in Noh presentations today. An okina play may be presented in the very beginning, especially during New Year celebrations, holidays, and other special occasions. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating a story. Noh integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance, requiring highly trained actors and musicians. Emotions are primarily conveyed by stylized conventional gestures while the iconic masks represent the roles such as ghosts, women, children, and old people. Written in ancient Japanese, the text "vividly describes the ordinary people of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries." These translations are done by renowned scholar Arthur Waley, a remarkable self-taught master of both Chinese and Japanese, who is often regarded as the most important transmitter of East Asian culture to the West in history. - Summary by Wikipedia
Noh (Nō), or Nogaku—derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"—is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art still regularly performed today. Traditionally, a Noh program includes five Noh plays with comedic kyōgen plays in between, even though an abbreviated program of two Noh plays and one kyōgen piece has become common in Noh presentations today. An okina play may be presented in the very beginning, especially during New Year celebrations, holidays, and other special occasions. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating a story. Noh integrates masks, costumes and various props in a dance-based performance, requiring highly trained actors and musicians. Emotions are primarily conveyed by stylized conventional gestures while the iconic masks represent the roles such as ghosts, women, children, and old people. Written in ancient Japanese, the text "vividly describes the ordinary people of the twelfth to sixteenth centuries." These translations are done by renowned scholar Arthur Waley, a remarkable self-taught master of both Chinese and Japanese, who is often regarded as the most important transmitter of East Asian culture to the West in history. - Summary by Wikipedia
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Like mists of spring.
For a little while we fought them,
But the day of our House was ended,
Our hearts weakened
That had been swift as arrows from the bowstring.
We scattered, scattered; till at last
To the deep waters of the Field of Life[24]
We came, but how we found there Death, not Life,
What profit were it to tell?
ATSUMORI.
Who is that?
(Pointing in terror at a figure which he sees off the stage.)
Can it be Yama’s messenger? He comes to tell me that I have out-stayed my time. The Lord of Hell is angry: he asks why I am late?
CHORUS.
So he spoke. But beholdSuddenly black clouds rise,
Earth and sky resound with the clash of arms;
[50] War-demons innumerable
Flash fierce sparks from brandished spears.
ATSUMORI.Read More
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Community Reviews
This is an interesting book historically and for its insight into Buddhist worship in medieval Japan, which makes up for the dryness of the plays themselves.
Most of the plays in this anthology were written by Kwanami Kiyotsugu and his son Seami Motokiyo, who were both priests of Amida Buddhism (the
I’ve been meaning to read this for quite a while. I’m only casually interesting in all the ritual movements and their meanings, but I am very interested in the overall sensibility of the storytelling involved. I was not aware of the consistent brevity of these plays. Most of them took only 10 to 15
A tremendous collection of sublime plays from the Noh tradition. I couldn't stop reading this book.
waley's versions a occasionally a little too english tinged but still have a remarkable beauty
I had heard somewhere that to fully understand and appreciate Noh theatre, one had to be: a. Japanese, b. alive during the Edo period, and c. born into a family that practiced this intricate art form. So to see the boldness of a bloke from Bloomsbury trying his poetic hand at translating these drama
how could anyone rate this less than five stars? not only are these riveting and dramatic, the stories are exactly what people watch and write in today's hollywood and video games! stories never change, because they are new to each generation. will especially help if you are a writer, but are engros
YŪGEN
It is obvious that Seami was deeply imbued with the teachings of Zen, in which cult his patron Yoshimitsu may have been his master. The difficult term yūgen which occurs constantly in the works is derived from Zen literature. It means "what lies beneath the surface"; the subtle as opposed to th