Description | Noh plays have been performed continuously in Japan for the past six hundred years. Noh is the oldest extant dramatic tradition in the world. Like opera, noh began as popular entertainment, originating in simple plays performed all over Japan at shrines, temples, and other venues. In the fourteenth century, noh was elevated to high art through the efforts of the great actor, playwright, and theoretician Zeami (1363-1443) and others and the patronage of elite figures like the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408). Part ritual, part entertainment, noh was granted privileged status by the Tokugawa shogunate and was closely associated with warrior culture. In the twentieth century, noh came to the attention of theater lovers in the West and inspired modern poets and playwrights. Today, noh is offered as an exemplar of traditional Japanese culture, a masked dance-drama that combines poetry, instrumental and vocal music, dance, costume, architecture, and sculpture with great subtlety and unparalleled artistry. This talk by Paul Atkins, professor of classical Japanese at the University of Washington, will provide an introduction to this fascinating dramatic form: its performance traditions, themes, history, and philosophy. It is designed for those with no previous familiarity with noh or the Japanese language. We hope that those who watch it will derive even more satisfaction from our upcoming performance and talk by the acclaimed noh actor Takeda Munenori, “The World of Noh Drama,” on October 13. |
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