Zeami’s Style
This is the first full-length study of Zeami Motokiyo (–), generally recognized as the greatest playwright of Japan's classical Noh theater. The book begins with a biography based on the known documents relating to Zeami's life. It then examines the documentary evidence for authorship and explains the various technical aspects of Noh. Subsequent chapters explore the role of the old man in noh (particularly in the play Takasago), as well as Zeami's plays about women and warriors, with primary attention to Izutsu and Tadanori. The book concludes with a general discussion of Zeami's style and the relationship between his dramatic theory and his plays.
"An important contribution to study of the noh theater, and those interested in the noh or seriously working that stretch of the scholarly street are sure to find it required reading."—Journal of Asian Studies
"Superior. . . . The book offers several things heretofore unavailable in English: as detailed a biography as the scant documentation allows, an analysis of the changes in Zeami's theories over the course of his long life, and excellent analyses and translations of sev
Japanese Noh Theatre
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Performances for the Gods
Ian Ropke writes&#;
Japanese Noh theatre is one of the oldest dramatic forms in world. The early developments of Noh lie in the festive entertainment of various kinds (dance, simple plays) performed at temples and shrines in the 12th and 13th centuries. Noh drama for much of its history was favored by the samurai, priest and aristocratic classes. Unlike Western theatre, the Noh performer is more a storyteller who suggests the meaning of the play with his movements and through his appearance or costume. Until years ago, the audience was intimately familiar with the plot and the historical or mythological background of the play and knew how to interpret and appreciate symbolic and indirect references to Japanese history, much like early audiences at Shakespeare’s plays.
Nearly all of the Noh plays performed today were written by the start of the 17th century. The vast majority of the core Noh repertoire were written by Kan’ami Kiyotsugu () and his son, Zeami Motokiyo () in Kyoto. Zeami, as the father of Noh, de
His Dramatic Life
illustration : Hiroko Sakaki
Although Zeami is credited with having perfected Noh as it exists today, his book “Jūroku-bu-shū” was not discovered until (Meiji 16). Until that time, this historical genius of Japanese culture, whose talent was equivalent to that of Sen no Rikyu, the founder of the tea ceremony, and Basho Matsuo, a haiku poet, had been forgotten not only among the public but also even among Noh performers.
The gem-like words Zeami left for posterity show us his sharp insight into the art of performance as well as into society. Beyond the bounds of the centuries, his words impress us, living in the twenty-first century, and provide wisdom on how to live in modern life.
His Dramatic Life
Zeami was born in , during the Namboku-cho era, as the oldest son of Kannami, who was the favored star in the Yamato-yoza (four sarugaku performance groups in the Yamato region). His childhood name was Oniyasha, and his true name was Motokiyo.
When he was eleven years old, he performed the role of shishi (a lion) with his father in a Noh performance competition in Imakumano. Beginning with this performance, Zeami was recognized for his talents an
Zeami Motokiyo (世阿弥 元清; c. – c. ), also called Kanze Motokiyo (観世 元清), was a Japanese aesthetician, actor and playwright. At the age of 12 he attracted the attention of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu during a stage performance. Under the patronage of Ashikaga, Zeami and his father Kan’ami refined Sarugaku performance (a combination of pantomime and vocal acrobatics) into Noh theater, performed at temples and shrines to make audiences reflect on Buddhist principles and the transience of life. At the age of 70 he was exiled by a later shogun to a remote island because he opposed the shogun’s choice of a leader for the Kanze school of Noh.
Zeami wrote more than 50 plays for the Noh theater, as well as Fūshi kaden, a book of instruction for Noh actors that is considered a poetic aesthetic treatise and a manual for life as well as acting. The book is written as a dictation from his father Kan’ami, whom Zeami considered a consummate actor.
Life
Zeami was born around , the son of year-old Kan'ami, a famous Japanese Noh actor, playwright, musician, and founder of the Sarugaku theater group. From evidence in a recently discovered document, sch
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