Learning Noh

I went to a Noh lecture by Naohiro Takeda, a Noh performer of the Kanze school, and his sons, Shosho and Takashi.

Noh is a performing art established 650 years ago in the Muromachi period by Kan'ami and Zeami.
Originally, it was something dedicated to gods and Buddhas.

The story progresses through chanting and dancing, so to speak, it is a musical.
Its greatest feature is that it is a masked drama where the performers wear Noh masks.

Noh masks are mainly made of cypress and are designed with a neutral expression.
The Hannya mask contains both anger and sorrow.

If you tilt it down, it becomes sorrow; if you tilt it up, it becomes anger.
Every woman is a Hannya, which is why they wear a 'tsunokakushi' (horn-hiding) headpiece at weddings.

The Noh stage is simple, featuring only a painting of a pine tree where the gods descend.
Therefore, the viewer needs imagination, so it is best to know the story in advance.

In the play 'Kumasaka,' the spirit of Kumasaka Chohan appears and fights Ushiwakamaru, but the actual Ushiwakamaru is not there.

We who are watching imagine that Ushiwakamaru is there and enjoy this Noh performance, and this imagination is what makes it interesting.

Kyogen is a world of life through laughter, while Noh is a serious world of the afterlife; one could say it is philosophical.
Grasping philosophy is also a real thrill of Noh.