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*''Tsure'' (lit. "accompanying") - divided into ''wakitsure'' and ''shite-tsure'', the ''tsure'' actors play figures accompanying the main roles. In many plays where the ''waki'' is a wandering monk, for example, the ''tsure'' play other monks accompanying him.
*''Tsure'' (lit. "accompanying") - divided into ''wakitsure'' and ''shite-tsure'', the ''tsure'' actors play figures accompanying the main roles. In many plays where the ''waki'' is a wandering monk, for example, the ''tsure'' play other monks accompanying him.
*Chorus (J: ''jiutai'') - Noh features a chorus of six to ten people, usually eight, visible and seated onstage at stage left, facing towards stage right. The chorus generally chants narration, as well as often chanting lines for the characters. Members of the chorus are typically ''shite'' actors themselves, though originally (in Zeami's time) it was ''waki'' actors who composed the chorus.<ref>Quinn, ''Developing Zeami'', 132.</ref>
*Chorus (J: ''jiutai'') - Noh features a chorus of six to ten people, usually eight, visible and seated onstage at stage left, facing towards stage right. The chorus generally chants narration, as well as often chanting lines for the characters. Members of the chorus are typically ''shite'' actors themselves, though originally (in Zeami's time) it was ''waki'' actors who composed the chorus.<ref>Quinn, ''Developing Zeami'', 132.</ref>
*''Hayashi'' - in Noh, the musicians, known as the ''hayashi'', sit along the rear wall, facing the audience. They play a variety of instruments, chiefly flute (''[[nokan|nôkan]]'') and several types of drums (''[[kotsuzumi]]'', ''[[otsuzumi|ôtsuzumi]]'', and ''[[shimedaiko]]''). Unlike in the [[Edo period]] theater forms of [[kabuki]] and [[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]], Noh does not incorporate [[shamisen]] or other string instruments.
*''Hayashi'' - in Noh, the musicians, known as the ''hayashi'', sit along the rear wall, facing the audience. They play a variety of instruments, chiefly flute (''[[nokan|nôkan]]'') and several types of drums (''[[kotsuzumi]]'', ''[[otsuzumi|ôtsuzumi]]'', and ''[[shimedaiko]]''). Unlike in the [[Edo period]] theater forms of [[kabuki]] and [[ningyo joruri|ningyô jôruri]], Noh does not incorporate [[shamisen]] or other string instruments. As in other theatrical forms, the musical instruments are frequently used to suggest sounds which help to set a scene, such as gentle or harsh winds, rain or snow, waves, or forest sounds such as the snapping of twigs.
*''Kôken'', or "stage assistants," handle a variety of tasks including helping adjust actors' robes, handling props, and assisting in onstage costume changes. Insofar as they are not characters present in the world (setting/plot) of the play, they are meant to be ignored by the audience, though they make little overt effort to hide themselves.
*''Kôken'', or "stage assistants," handle a variety of tasks including helping adjust actors' robes, handling props, and assisting in onstage costume changes. Insofar as they are not characters present in the world (setting/plot) of the play, they are meant to be ignored by the audience, though they make little overt effort to hide themselves.
==Stage Design==
==Stage Design==
[[File:Nationalnohtheater.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The main stage at the [[National Noh Theatre]] in Sendagaya, Tokyo.]]
[[File:Nationalnohtheater.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The main stage at the [[National Noh Theatre]] in Sendagaya, Tokyo.]]
The Noh stage, much smaller than that of kabuki or the typical Western-style proscenium stage, follows a standard design. A bridgeway which provides the chief avenue for actors' entrances and exits runs at an angle, connecting with the main portion of the stage at the rear half of stage right. The main portion of the stage is a square, with pillars at the four corners, and a painting of a pine tree on the rear wall. This painted pine, along with others standing along the bridge, help evoke the sense of being not in a theater, but in a natural setting, such as a forest clearing, and thus enhancing the sense of a spiritual place, where one might be visited by spirits or visions. Further, the pine, as an evergreen tree which does not lose its leaves in winter but remains strong, represents a sense of the eternal, and the notion that the very same tree might witness events in a given place over many centuries, thus linking the present of the audience to the present of the characters, and, in the case of ''mugen Noh'', to the past (the present of the spirits' lives) as well.
The Noh stage, much smaller than that of kabuki or the typical Western-style proscenium stage, follows a standard design. A bridgeway (''hashigakari'') which provides the chief avenue for actors' entrances and exits runs at an angle, connecting with the main portion of the stage at the rear of stage right. Small pine trees typically run along the front of this bridgeway. The entrance/exit at the end is separated from backstage areas by a multi-colored curtain known as an ''agemaku'', which is raised on wooden poles to allow actors to enter and exit.
The main portion of the stage is a square, with pillars at the four corners, and a painting of a pine tree on the rear wall. This painted pine, supposedly a reference to the Yôgô Pine (''yôgô no matsu''<!--影向の松--> of [[Kasuga Shrine]]),<ref name=schechner>Richard Schechner, ''Performance Studies: An Introduction'', Routledge (2002), 61.</ref> along with others standing along the bridge, help evoke the sense of being not in a theater, but in a natural setting, such as a forest clearing, and thus enhancing the sense of a spiritual place, where one might be visited by spirits or visions. Further, the pine, as an evergreen tree which does not lose its leaves in winter but remains strong, represents a sense of the eternal, and the notion that the very same tree might witness events in a given place over many centuries, thus linking the present of the audience to the present of the characters, and, in the case of ''mugen Noh'', to the past (the present of the spirits' lives) as well.
Earthenware jugs arranged under the stage floor capture and reverberate sound, allowing actors' foot-stomps and jumps to produce resounding audible sound.<ref name=schechner/>
Noh was traditionally performed outdoors, with Noh stages often being free-standing structures located at [[Shinto shrines]]; though often located indoors today, Noh stages retain the architectural form of those free-standing structures, and continue to bear their own roofs.
Noh was traditionally performed outdoors, with Noh stages often being free-standing structures located at [[Shinto shrines]]; though often located indoors today, Noh stages retain the architectural form of those free-standing structures, and continue to bear their own roofs.
==Costumes & Props==
While Noh is often performed in comparatively plain (but still traditional-style) clothing, in full performances, the ''shite'' performer (and sometimes others) is often dressed in oversized robes with intricate embroidered or otherwise decorative designs. Such robes, often incorporating bright colors and sometimes silver or gold thread, are lavish and expensive, and traditionally helped to not only convey the sense of a divine or otherwise larger-than-life character but also to make the actor visible from a distance in what was sometimes limited light.
Like other traditional Japanese garments ("kimono"), Noh robes are generally made to a single size; rather than different actors using different size costumes, the garments are simply folded and tucked to adjust the size. Removable collars (''eri'') are employed, so that a single costume might be adapted to serve multiple roles; while female roles typically wear a red collar, male roles employ a variety of colors. Aristocratic or otherwise elite characters often wear multiple collars, implying multiple layers of clothing.
Deities and spirits often wear collars in lighter colors. Supernatural characters such as deities, spirits, demons, and dragons also often wear oversized skirt-like pants known as ''ôkuchi''.
The Noh mask (''nômen'', 能面) is a particularly distinctive feature of Noh. While not all roles or performance styles call for masks, such masks are unique to Noh and are not used in kabuki or other theatrical forms. Though these masks, carved from wood, are immobile, obscuring the actor's facial expressions, many masks - particularly those meant to depict refined young men and women - are designed so as to convey a wide range of emotions depending, simply, on how they are tilted and thus how they catch the light. Such masks, when tilted slightly downwards, can be made to appear sad, or "darkened" (''kumoru''); when tilted slightly upwards, the same mask can appear to smile or to otherwise "brighten up" (''terasu'').
==Categories of Plays==
==Categories of Plays==
[[Image:Kasuga-ryujin.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The opening lines of ''[[Kasuga ryujin|Kasuga ryûjin]]'', from a [[Kita school]] ''utaibon'' published in Tokyo, 1925.]]
[[Image:Kasuga-ryujin.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The opening lines of ''[[Kasuga ryujin|Kasuga ryûjin]]'', from a [[Kita school]] ''utaibon'' published in Tokyo, 1925.]]
Noh is traditionally divided into five categories of plays. Each category is defined by the types of characters it features, representing different themes, but also different points in a ''[[jo-ha-kyu|jo-ha-kyû]]'' progression, making the categories particularly suitable for being performed in a particular sequence, from First Category to Fifth, in order, in a full program.
Noh is traditionally divided into five categories of plays. Each category is defined by the types of characters it features, representing different themes, but also different points in a ''[[jo-ha-kyu|jo-ha-kyû]]'' progression, making the categories particularly suitable for being performed in a particular sequence, from First Category to Fifth, in order, in a full program. There are roughly 240 plays in the traditional repertoire still performed today.<ref>Andrew Tsubaki, "The Performing Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan: A Prelude to Kabuki," ''Educational Theatre Journal'' 29:3 (1977), 300.</ref>
#First Category - God Plays (''kami Noh'' or ''waki Noh''). Typically with a minimum of plot, so-called "god plays" are employed as an auspicious opening to a performance program, and often feature specific deities or other auspicious figures. Corresponding to the ''jo'' (Introduction) of ''jo-ha-kyû''.
#First Category - God Plays (''kami Noh'' or ''waki Noh''). Typically with a minimum of plot, so-called "god plays" are employed as an auspicious opening to a performance program, and often feature specific deities or other auspicious figures. Corresponding to the ''jo'' (Introduction) of ''jo-ha-kyû''.
Noh evolved out of an earlier dance-drama form known as ''[[sarugaku]]'', as actor, playwright, and troupe leader [[Kan'ami]] ([[1333]]-[[1384]]) and in particular his son [[Zeami]] ([[1363]]-[[1443]]) adapted their [[Yamato province]] [[Yamato sarugaku|style of ''sarugaku'']] to incorporate elements of other arts, including the [[Omi sarugaku|''sarugaku'' style]] of [[Omi province|Ômi province]], and the narrative/dance form ''[[kusemai]]''.
Noh evolved out of an earlier dance-drama form known as ''[[sarugaku]]'', as actor, playwright, and troupe leader [[Kan'ami]] ([[1333]]-[[1384]]) and in particular his son [[Zeami]] ([[1363]]-[[1443]]) adapted their [[Yamato province]] [[Yamato sarugaku|style of ''sarugaku'']] to incorporate elements of other arts, including the [[Omi sarugaku|''sarugaku'' style]] of [[Omi province|Ômi province]], and the narrative/dance form ''[[kusemai]]''.
Zeami claimed that the origins of ''sarugaku'' could be traced to ''[[kagura]]'' ([[Shinto]] ritual dances). He also drew upon [[Book of Poetry|Chinese poetry theory]]<!--Shijing 詩經-->, ''[[gagaku]]'' musical theory, ''[[dengaku]]'' performance, and numerous other sources in explaining the origins of his Yamato ''sarugaku'' tradition, or in adopting elements from these outside sources in altering and developing Yamato ''sarugaku'' into the early form of Noh.
Zeami claimed that the origins of ''sarugaku'' could be traced to ''[[kagura]]'' ([[Shinto]] ritual dances). He also drew upon [[Book of Odes|Chinese poetry theory]]<!--Shijing 詩經-->, ''[[gagaku]]'' musical theory, ''[[dengaku]]'' performance, and numerous other sources in explaining the origins of his Yamato ''sarugaku'' tradition, or in adopting elements from these outside sources in altering and developing Yamato ''sarugaku'' into the early form of Noh.
Zeami worked to gain the approval and patronage of Kyoto elites, believing that the fame or prestige earned in this manner was crucial to attaining fame and success in the countryside.<ref>[[Eiko Ikegami]], ''Bonds of Civility'', Cambridge University Press (2005), 110.</ref> Yamato ''sarugaku'', in the time of Kan'ami and Zeami, specialized in ''monomane'' - imitation or mimicry of characters or character types. As Zeami sought to adapt his art to make it more appealing to cultivated elite Kyoto audiences, he struggled to maintain this strength while incorporating elements such as the Ômi ''sarugaku'' focus on cultivating a mood or atmosphere of mysterious beauty (''yûgen''). Through the incoporation of various elements from Ômi ''sarugaku'', ''kusemai'', and other art forms, as well as other innovations, Zeami developed Yamato ''sarugaku'' into a form featuring lengthier narratives and deeper themes, blending ''monomane'' with ''yûgen'' and other aesthetics to achieve an artistic effect (''kakari'') and deeper aesthetic impact.
''Kyôgen'' pieces, which today typically serve as the comic interlude between acts of a Noh play, are known to have been performed alongside ''sarugaku''/Noh (i.e. on the same program) since at least the mid-14th century. Ever since then, they have become closely intertwined, and have developed to a certain extent in parallel.<ref>Tsubaki, 301.</ref>
Zeami, along with his sons and grandsons, composed many plays which remain central to the repertoire today. His line developed into the [[Kanze school]], the oldest of the five main schools of Noh, with the other four schools ([[Konparu school|Konparu]], [[Hosho school|Hôshô]], [[Kongo school|Kongô]], and [[Kita school|Kita]]) becoming established over the centuries, some as late as the [[Edo period]], though all five are quite firmly established today.
Noh continued to be patronized by samurai elites through the [[Sengoku period|Sengoku]] and [[Edo period]]s. [[Oda Nobunaga]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], and a number of the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa shoguns]] are known to have been particularly fond of the art form, even practicing it themselves. Noh remained strongest, as a result, in Kyoto and Edo/Tokyo, but it found patrons among many of the provincial ''daimyô'' as well. Many [[jokamachi|castle-towns]] were littered with Noh stages, and for example, [[Shimazu Tadatsune|Shimazu Iehisa]] is said to have chided his father [[Shimazu Yoshihiro]] for not encouraging Noh in [[Satsuma han]] earlier; Iehisa then invited Noh actor [[Nakanishi Hidenaga]] from Kyoto to Kagoshima, where the Nakanishi family would continue to serve as Noh masters for the Shimazu lords down through the generations. Noh performances also took place at the [[Satsuma Edo mansion|Shimazu mansions in Edo]] quite regularly, including on occasions when the Shogun paid official visits to the mansion.<ref>"[http://www.shuseikan.jp/culture/culture22.html Nôgaku]," ''Shimazu-ke ga hagukunda bunka'', Shôkoshûseikan official website.</ref> To give another example, Udaka Michishige, a prominent Noh master active in Kyoto today is the head of a lineage of Noh masters who served the lords of [[Iyo-Matsuyama han]] in Shikoku, and [[Iyo-Matsuyama castle]] still maintains today a significant collection of Noh masks, costumes, and so forth.
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