Drama 208: Traditional Japanese Theatre History

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the history, structural forms, aesthetics, and staging of traditional Japanese theatre: Noh, Kyōgen, Kabuki, and Bunraku.

Premodern Japan (Theatre Periodization)

The historical era encompassing all Japanese performance traditions prior to January 3, 1868, the official transition point to the modern era.

Sarugaku

A traditional dance-drama based on Chinese models (Zaju) that integrated acrobatics, juggling, and humor into rustic local stories, performed at shrines to ward off evil spirits and invite good fortune.

Dengaku

A traditional Japanese dance performed directly in rice fields to guarantee a successful harvest.

Kiyostugu Kan’ami

The performer who presented a graceful, poetic, and meditative performance for the shogun in 1374, earning himself and his son a permanent position in court.

Zeami Motokiyo

Son of Kan’ami, who lived from 1363 to 1443; between 35 and 50 of his plays continue to be performed in the classical Noh repertory. he wrote a lot of the fundamental texts on Noh theatre, including theories on performance and aesthetics.

Monomane

A foundational concept of Noh meaning impersonation; the practice of capturing the underlying spirit, pattern, or truth of a person at a specific stage of life by abstracting reality through refined technique.

Kata

Standardized forms, gestures, postures, and movements in Noh that an actor memorizes and studies exhaustively until performance occurs without conscious planning.

Hana

A Noh aesthetic concept representing the freshness brought forth directly in the spontaneous moment of performance.

Yūgen

An ineffable experience of the grace of life, characterized by refined beauty, elegance, subtle profundity, and the transitory impermanence of nature.

Jo-ha-kyū

The three-part structural progression essential to Noh performance, consisting of a slow beginning (jo), an accelerating break or intensification (ha), and a rapid resolution (kyū).

Five Categories of Noh Plays

The standard program of five plays presented in sequence: 1. Kami mono (God piece), 2. Otoko mono (Men's piece or fighting piece), 3. Onna mono (Women's piece), 4. Kyoran mono (Mentally deranged piece), and 5. Oni mono (Demon play).

Kyōgen

Stylized verbal comedies set in a realistic world of amorous adventures that recall earlier Sarugaku and are performed as interludes between the five Noh plays.

Tokugawa Lemitsu

The shogun who in 1647 officially declared Noh the 'official entertainment' and decreed that all Noh plays be recorded and permanently preserved without alterations.

Noh Stage Architecture

A sacred performance space roofed like a Shinto shrine, elevated above the audience, featuring four pillars, polished flooring, an entrance bridge (Hashigakari), and a painted pine tree on the rear wall (Kagami-ita).

Hashigakari

The bridged walkway extending along the left side of the Noh stage that connects the main playing area to the mirror room (Kagami-no-ma).

Shite

The masked primary actor in a Noh drama who performs in the center of the stage, holds a fan, and delivers chanted or spoken dialogue.

Waki

The secondary, unmasked actor in Noh who sits at the front right corner of the stage and speaks or chants lines.

Jiutai

The eight-person chorus situated on the right side of the Noh stage that sings accompaniment for dances and articulates the internal emotions and thoughts of the Shite.

Hayashi-kata

The four-piece instrumental ensemble stationed at the rear of the Noh stage (Ato-za), arranged right to left: Fue (flute), Kozutsumi (shoulder drum), Ohzutsumi (hip drum), and Taiko (drum).

Koken

The two stage hands positioned at the left rear of the Noh stage who assist the actors during performance.

Dōjōji

The only Noh play in the classical repertory that requires a physical set piece, specifically a bell.

Noh Masks

Over 200 distinct carved facial coverings that remain serene and expressionless on their own, coming to life through the actor's head angles, tilts, and bodily manipulation.

Fan (Noh)

The primary prop carried in Noh, versatile enough to represent diverse concepts from a character's emotional condition to the physical geography being crossed.

Onna-Kabuki

The earliest version of Kabuki originating in 1603 under Okuni, featuring women performing parodies of samurai culture and erotic, risqué comic skits until officially banned in 1629.

Wakashū-Kabuki

The phase of Kabuki featuring young male performers who focused more on drama than dance, which was subsequently banned in 1652. For similar reasons of Onna-Kabuki

Yaro-Kabuki

The mature men's form of Kabuki established in 1652 that incorporated dramatic action, comedy, tragedy, historical adventure, and domestic conflicts.

Onnagata

Male actors in Kabuki who specialize in playing female characters.

Five-Act Structure (Kabuki)

The dramatic progression of Kabuki: a slow first act introducing characters, a build-up in acts two and three culminating in tragedy, a dramatic twist with a battle in act four, and a swift conclusion in act five.

Mie

A signature Kabuki acting convention where an actor briefly freezes in an exaggerated, highly emotional pose to showcase the intricacy of the dramatic moment.

Hanamachi

The raised runway stage structure in Kabuki that extends straight through the auditorium into the audience.

Bunraku

Traditional Japanese puppet theatre originating in early 17th-century Osaka, characterized by complex puppets, shamisen musical accompaniment, and scripted chanting.

Bunraku Puppeteer Roles

The three-person manipulation method where the unhooded master operates the head and right hand, a second puppeteer operates the left arm, and a third operates the feet (or the kimono skirt for legless female puppets).

Chikamatsu

The major Japanese playwright who abandoned Kabuki to write extensively for Bunraku, but his plays are still performed in Kabuki. He was one of the first full-time playwrights

His famous 'love suicide' plays spurred real-life suicides, and the play Love Suicide was banned by the shogun in 1723.

Shamisen

The primary stringed instrument utilized to provide musical accompaniment for Kabuki theatrical pieces and Bunraku puppet recitations.