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==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. There are roughly 240 plays in the traditional repertoire still performed today.<ref>Tsubaki, 300.</ref>
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''.
