What do noh actors wear

Certainly one of the most beautiful theatrical costumes in the world. During the early stages of noh, around the time of Kannami and Zeami , the costumes were more modest, as they were using the their everyday clothes to perform in.

However, as noh became favorable in the eyes of the aristocracy and military ruling classes, they began to receive more finely crafted kimono to perform and this gradually became the norm. Furthermore during the Azuchi Momoyama period approx. In this way, these costumes were truly works of art and quite separated from reality of the character.

For example, historically, a poor fisherman or a woman who gathers sea-salt would not be adorned in such finery, but by using such stylized and symbolic costumes, noh is better able to express a characters feelings. The costume of the shite changes according to the change in identity.

Among these are the kariginu By contrast, the kosode group refers to kimono-shaped garments with small wrist openings such as the karaori Trousers, headbands, sashes, and other accessories complete the wardrobe.

Nevertheless, through time certain roles became associated with particular types of garments, patterns, and methods of draping the costume. Moore By , more examples had entered the Museum—one by bequest from Mrs. Havemeyer Ledoux Denney, Joyce.

The soles of the feet, covered with white socks, are rarely lifted from the floor. The knees, hidden by the heavy costuming, are kept slightly bent, which enables the actor to slide on the stage floor without any visible vertical movements.

Male characters have a slightly open standing position, while female characters keep their feet closer. During a dramatic moment, for example in connection with a fateful revelation, the actor may straighten up, creating a stunning impression of growing in size.

The dance sequences of noh, called mai, form the climactic highlights of many of the plays. The noh dances are extremely minimalistic in their movements.

The dance sections are very archaic in character, limited to a few circling movements, changes in the sculpturesque body positions, and some hand movements. The dance finally culminates in powerful stamping steps. Contemporary noh is dominate by five major troupes, all of which have many groups that follow their styles.

Four are based in Tokyo and one is based in Kyoto. Four of these troupesKonparu, Hosho, Kigo and Kanzawhere founded in the 14th century and were based in the Yamato region of Nara. Most actors are trained in family run schools.

There are currently only four schools three in Tokyo and one in Kyoto. Many famous actors come from Noh families and make their first appearances when they are 4 or 5. Usually all the professional noh performers belong to one of the five schools.

Normally a performer joins the same school as his father, who thus trains the next generation. Thus noh forms a well-guarded, closed world of its own.

Outsiders may, though, practise and even perform some of its aspects, such as noh songs and dances. Many people, both in Japan and abroad, who have little or no direct knowledge of noh theater have nevertheless come into contact with noh through its famous masks, which are often shown in museums and special exhibitions.

The elaborate masks in Noh theater are usually expressionless, which means that it is the responsibility of the actor to convey emotion through body movements. Joy and sadness can be expressed with the same mask through a slight change in the way shadows fall across its features. The masks represent the characters minds and hearts and trace their origins back to exorcism and rice planting rites.

Noh masks have been used by engineers developing robots that respond accurately to human facial expressions. Specific masks are associated with specific characters. A devil-like, horned mask, for example, is worn by an actor playing Hannya, the jealous, revengeful demon who was once a beautiful woman.

The many mask variations fall into several general types, such as young woman, old man, and demon, and even among masks used for the same role there are different levels of dignity kurai which affect how the role and play as a whole are to be performed. Usually only the leading character shite wears a mask, though in some plays a mask is also worn by accompanying characters tsure.

Subordinate characters waki , their accompanying characters wakitsure , and child characters kokata do not wear masks. There are around 60 basic masks each with their own name. Some have variation. If these are included there about different types. Some schools have their own masks which are hundreds of years old. In the old days the masks were made from paulownia or camphor but today most are made from hinki cypress because it has few knots and a straight grain.

The masks are carefully made with a lack of symmetry in the features. They are painted with three or four layers of a pigment made of ground seashell and animal glue an then sandpapered. These steps are repeated several times so create a smooth surface. Shading is achieved using brown pigments made from soot boiled in rice wine, Most facial features are painted with India ink. The teeth were often black blackened teeth were a fashion statement in Japan until the 19th century. Masks for supernatural being have gold dust mixed with glue.

The back of the mask is painted red, waxed, and chemically burned. The art making masks has been passed down over generations from father to son. The oldest wooden mask in Japan was found in the Makimiku ruins Sakurai, Nara. Used perhaps in an agricultural ceremony that influenced Noh, it was carved with a farming hoe in the early A.

The masks is Miettinen of the Theater Academy Helsinki wrote: The extremely measured and minimalistic noh acting technique, which has been discussed above, seems partly to stem from the strict court etiquette of the periods when noh theater was shaped. According to the etiquette, facial expressions were regarded as vulgar. So too in noh, those actors who do not wear masks keep their faces completely expressionless.

However, the measured movements may be partly due to the use of masks. When the angle of the mask is adjusted, its expression seems to change from happiness to sorrow etc. This is possible because the expression of most of the masks reflects a certain neutral ambiguity, which allows the audience to make several interpretations.

The noh masks were developed from earlier Japanese mask systems. Old noh masks are regarded as valuable works of art. They have been preserved and used by generations of noh families and their schools. Masks are worn by several of the shite characters, as well as some of the sure companion characters.

Most of the masks are character masks, for example those of a young woman, an old woman, a middle-aged samurai, a young aristocrat etc. However, some of the masks are reserved for particular roles. A shite costume with five layers and an outer garment of rich brocade creates an imposing figure on stage, an effect that is heightened in some plays by the wearing of a brilliant red or white wig.

The ability of the shite and waki to express volumes with a gesture is enhanced by their use of various hand properties, the most important of which is the folding fan chukei. The fan can be used to represent an object, such as a dagger or ladle, or an action, such as beckoning or moon-viewing. Noh costumes are very lavish and elaborate. In the old days they were taken care of by nobility and guarded by the military.

The costumes have a basic straight line cut and consist of a knee-length padded silk robe worn with a small pillow to give the abdomen a rounded look; a long stiff divided skirt and outer robe. Different robes or worn by the male and female characters.

Accessories include wigs and fans. An outer robe tacked onto the pants indicates a lady of the court. If a considerable amount of dancing is done lighter garments are worn. Dressers are generally a thing of the past the actors generally dress each other. Miettinen of the Theater Academy Helsinki wrote: The gorgeous costuming of noh follows the practices of the court circles of the Muromachi period.

Just like the masks, the sophisticated brocade robes of the noh costumes are also regarded as valued works of art. The costumes shozoku are full of symbolism, and the guide booklets, which many of the spectators use to follow the performances, often include explanations of the meanings of the costumes and their ornamented details.

There are some specific forms of costumes characteristic of noh. They include, among other things, the very wide, folding trousers of some of the male characters and the highly ornamented colourful robes of many of the female characters. With his wig and complicated costume a noh actor is almost like a living sculpture.

Thus the perfect order of the draperies and the hair are of upmost importance. That is why stage assistants appear every now and then on the stage to straighten the wig and the costume. The noh stage, which was originally outdoors but is now usually located within a larger structure, is itself a work of art.

The main stage, measuring six by six meters, is built of polished Japanese cypress hinoki and covered by a magnificent Shinto-style roof, and there is a bridge hashigakari that serves as a passageway to the stage. To the right and rear of the main stage are areas where the musicians and chorus sit. The pine tree painted on the back wall serves as the only background for all plays, the setting being established by the words of the actors and chorus.

The three or four musicians hayashikata sit at the back of the stage and play the flute, the small hand drum kotsuzumi , the large hand drum otsuzumi , and, when the play requires it, the large floor drum taiko. The chorus jiutai , whose main role is to sing the words and thoughts of the leading character, sits at the right of the stage. Miettinen of the Theater Academy Helsinki wrote: Only in a few forms of Asian theater does the stage structure form such an integral element of the whole art form as is the case in noh theater.

The oldest existing noh stages are outdoor structures, built some three hundred years ago in the courtyards of Zen monasteries. Nowadays the stage structures follow exactly the same model, although they are now most often erected in indoor halls. The stage itself is a wooden platform of some six meters square. The stage has an extension for the chorus on the right side of the audience, and at the rear an extension for the musicians. On the left there is a bridge or a walkway hasigagari , which connects the stage with the backstage area.

Behind the stage, facing the audience, is a wooden wall, always decorated with a large painting of a twisted pine tree. The wall reflects the music towards the audience, while the painted pine tree and painted bamboos on the side walls remind one of the time when noh was performed outdoors.

An elegant reference to Zen Buddhist aesthetics and garden planning is given by the narrow strips of white gravel with miniature pine trees in front of the stage. The colour of the wood varies from a natural shade to a reddish colour and further to dark patina. The shades give each stage its particular atmosphere. Props are used sparsely. The most important prop the actor handles is a large fan.

Larger stage props are, indeed, conceptual in character. If, for example, a pine tree is needed, the stage assistants bring to the stage a white framework to which a pine tree is attached.

This basic framework may also serve as a carriage, a tower, a boat etc. Unlike kabuki, which emphasizes grand gestures and spectacle, Noh gets its punch from subtlety and understatement. The sets are usually empty of props and the masks are intended to keep facial expressions from performers who aim to express themselves through slow movement that are regarded by admirers as economical but powerful. A traditional noh program included five noh plays interspersed with three or four kyogen , but a program today is more likely to have two or three noh plays separated by one or two kyogen.

Both the program and each individual play are based on the dramatic pattern j o-hakyu introduction-exposition-rapid finale , with a play usually having one jo section, three ha sections, and one kyu section. A typical performance features a shite, a waki, four musicians at the back and eight chorus members slightly off stage left. The story is relayed by the chorus, accompanied by the musicians. Otsuzumi is one of the four instruments used to keep time in noh.

It's clear, masculine sound, punctuated by the occasional yell from the performer during a performance, are thoroughly enchanting. Kamei has followed in the footsteps of his father Tadao, a living national treasure and headmaster of the Kadono school of otsuzumi. Kamei is widely expected to become the school's next headmaster. Noh actors follow strictly prescribed footsteps and movements across the stage.

In may ways, Noh is better appreciated as a form of visual art one contemplates and mediates over while watching rather than a performing art that is expected to be entertaining.

Many Westerners artists, Y. Yeats in particular, were mesmerized by Noh and what it tried to do. Noh is full of symbolism. In many Noh dramas the shite is spirit or ghosts who remains in one place because of some tragedy and role of the waki is to demask him. The demasking usually brings an end to the first act, with the second act being a recreation of the tragedy, which is can be a cathartic process or a painful one, depending on how the play is written or interpreted.

Eventually, the protagonist was awakened though, actually, he was still dreaming by a messenger who tells him he was chosen to be the next emperor. As the activity suddenly picked up, I was transfixed by the music and singing that was growing louder and faster, and—in retrospect—I had fallen into a sort of hypnotic state.

I enjoy well-crafted, lavishly produced Hollywood films like anybody else, but the kind of pleasure they provide can never replace that of the deceptively sedate noh play.