Medieval Noh Teatre

RJFO100255.
fm Page 111 Monday, January 19, 2004 10:17 AM
They came to party: an examination of

the social status of the medieval noh
theatre
LIM BENG CHOO
Abstract: The Japanese noh theatre started out as a popular art form which
originated among the lower classes of society. The noh master Zeami Motokiyo
(13631443?) refined it so that it conformed with the aesthetic preferences of the
lite members of the audience. Within a century of Zeamis death, many members
of the audience had crossed the boundary between spectator and performer, and
had begun ardently to learn to perform noh. By this time, the performers were
able to participate in defining the noh theatre, rather than being constrained by
the aesthetic preferences of their patrons as in the earlier times. This paper argues
that evidence of the changing social discourse about the noh theatre can be found
in historical documents written by both the audience members and noh practi-
tioners. These historical documents, ranging from noh treatises to diary entries,
demonstrate how the noh theatre was perceived and related to by both the
performers and the audience since Zeamis time. When the genre had successfully
established itself as an officially sanctioned theatrical form during the late
Muromachi period, noh practitioners were able to create a category of noh plays
that were markedly different from the earlier ones.
Keywords: Noh history, late Muromachi period, performeraudience relation-

ship, noh treatises, medieval documents, furyu noh
Introduction
This paper started from an interest in the changing social status of the noh theatre
(or sarugaku as it was known) a curiosity about how the social status changed
and what kind of historical evidence there was to illustrate this change. Two initial
queries arise: under what kind of social and cultural conditions did this change
evolve? What kind of consequences could be seen from this change? Very little
scholarship on the noh theatre has addressed these issues.
Japan Forum 16(1) 2004: 111133 ISSN: 09555803 print/1469932X online

Copyright 2004 BAJS DOI: 10.1080/0955580032000189357
RJFO100255.fm Page 112 Monday, January 19, 2004 10:17 AM
112 They came to party
Research on the noh theatre, in both Japanese and English, has been clear on
the historical background of the noh theatre. It is commonly understood that the
noh theatre originated from the lower strata of society. Karen Brazell summarized
this historical background succinctly as follows:
Sarugaku performers were usually itinerants, who often had connections with
religious institutions. Many of them lived as social outcasts in segregated areas
(sanjo), along with other entertainers (puppeteers, dancers, storytellers) and
various other social pariahs (such as butchers, prostitutes, and undertakers).
(Brazell 1998: 7)1
Much research has also confirmed that, with the patronage of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
(13581408) arguably the most important Ashikaga military shogun and the
talented sarugaku performers Kanami Kiyotsugu (133384) and his son Zeami
Motokiyo (1363?), noh was established as the representative theatrical form of
the medieval period. Its prominence and influence extended to the Tokugawa
period and well into the present day. However, the process by which the sarugaku
noh, a genre that once belonged to the social outcasts, emerged to be one that
was embraced by all members of the society has often been taken for granted. 2
A close examination of this change, however, shows that it is no accident that noh
theatre developed the way it did. Both the audience and the performers partici-
pated, consciously or unconsciously, in redefining the noh theatre. The
performers performed what they deemed most appropriate, incorporating both
their own creativity and the anticipated preferences of the audience. The audi-
ence, on the other hand, came to see the show with certain expectations that were
closely related to the lite members artistic taste. In an abstract sense, negotia-
tions as to what the best show might be took place constantly between the two
parties.3 It was through this process of ascribing cultural significance that the
changes took place. In this paper I shall look closely at the various historical texts
that provide concrete examples of the interactions between the audience
members and the performers, and present an account of the effect of the changing
social status of the noh theatre.
Medieval Japanese documents that mention the noh theatre are abundant;
many of them were written by Zen monks and lower-rank court officials.
Although none is devoted fully to the record of the noh theatre, the frequent
mention of noh is a clear indication that it occupied an important position in the
cultural and political life of the time. There are also treatises written by noh
practitioners which provide the performers perspectives. Among these, Zeamis
treatises are the first systematic attempts to present sarugaku as a well-crafted and
sophisticated theatre. Zeamis voluminous treatises present comprehensive
narratives on the noh theatre ranging from its history to performance strategies
to the philosophy of the theatre. Essentially, as Kato Shu ichi has argued, these
are strategies that were necessary to ensure the troupes survival (Omote and
Kato 1995: 51541). The hopes and insights of the performer Zeami were also
Lim Beng Choo 113
simultaneously a response to the general reception of the theatre during his times.
I therefore start my discussion of the texts with selections from Zeamis writings.
The other noh performers writings that I shall look at are those of Konparu
Zenpo (1454?), written almost a century later. There are various public or
private diaries written by people like the Gozan Zen prelates, who formed a
curious group of the social lite playing multiple functions across the religious,
cultural and political arenas during the medieval period. I shall look into one of
these public diaries for accounts of the noh theatre from the perspective of the
audience. The personal diary of a court official, Sanjo Nishi Sanetaka (1455
1537) is another text that will reveal interesting aspects of the noh theatre during
this period.
A comparison of the events described in these texts shows that there is a marked
increase in interaction between the audience and the performer especially after
the O nin Rebellion (146777). Not only was the nature of the interactions more
complex, but also they often took place outside the physical compound of the
theatre. In other words, a new social space was established. Within this new
common social space the participating members often assumed a variety of roles
guests and hosts, performers and audience, instructors and learners. In earlier
times, when the noh master Zeami first attracted the attention of the military
rulers, any kind of social interaction would have been a breach of social propriety,
and was frowned upon. It was within this new common space that noh finally
shed its lower-class origins and established its position as one of the choice
entertainments of lite audiences as well as commoners. The more complex mode
of social interactions is indicative of an elevated social status for the genre and its
performers. This, among other things, resulted in more varied attempts in the
production of new noh plays, such as works by Kanze Nobumitsu (14351516)
and Konparu Zenpo in later times.
Noh theatre during Zeamis time

When the Ashikaga shogun Yoshimitsu first attended the performances of the
Kanze sarugaku performers Kanami and Zeami in the fourth year of Eiwa
(1378), sarugaku was still mainly a theatrical form patronized by religious insti-
tutions. The four major sarugaku troupes in the Yamato region were formed,
originally, to perform the Okina sarugaku at Buddhist temples at the end of the
thirteenth century. Okina sarugaku, a ritual dance performed for religious
purposes, is said to have developed at the end of the Heian period (c. twelfth
century) or the beginning of the Kamakura period. Noh historian Goto Hajime
presents an extensive discussion of the identity of the performers during this early
period. Citing different sources, Goto argues that the performers, called by
different names, were members of the lowest class of society. Most of them
worked in the temples (such as Enryakuji), and their jobs included general labour,
such as cleaning as well as performing (Goto 1966: 1738). Elements of this
entertainment form were to be found later in the sarugaku of Kanamis time.

Exactly where most of the performers originated from the beginning of the
Muromachi period is not clear, although most, such as Kanami, were born into
families who were already in the trade.4
Despite the fact that sarugaku and other forms of entertainment, such as
dengaku, had become very popular over time, the stigma of its lower-class origin
remained even during Kanamis time. When Yoshimitsu expressed a strong
interest in the father and son team and invited Zeami to share his table, the court
noble Sanjo Kintada (132483) made his famous comments in his diary
Gogumaiki. With great disdain he described how a certain sarugaku child
performer from the Yamato troupe had captured all the attention of Yoshimitsu,
to the extent of sharing the same seat and food (Tokyo Daigaku Shiryo hensanjo,
1984, 2: 267). Kintada did not hesitate to criticize sarugaku as the occupation
of beggars and was totally appalled by Yoshimitsus show of lavish favour towards
the young performer Zeami. The underlying cause of Kintadas reaction was
clearly the strong prejudice against Zeami the performer, as well as the genre
itself. This was the time when sarugaku noh started to attract attention from lite
members of society. The power relationship between the audience and the theatre
was hierarchical more than the performers, the audience was able to exert a
much stronger influence on the nature and development of noh. The lite
audience did so by transmitting their aesthetic preferences to the young noh
performer Zeami, who was to become the key engineer in defining the noh
theatre.
The famous linked-verse poet Nijo Yoshimoto (132088) is an excellent
example. He is said to have been very friendly with Zeami and was probably one
of the sources from which Zeami learned about his lite audiences aesthetic
preferences. Zeami was an active noh practitioner and left behind several treatises
that address issues crucial to the survival of the sarugaku noh troupes. Among
other things, he was acutely aware of the critical importance of raising the
reputation and image of sarugaku because the genre was still considered as a
performance linked to the lower strata of society. Zeami also felt that to cater to
the artistic sensibilities of noble members of the audience was important for the
prosperity of the troupe. This was related to the awareness that one way to raise
the social profile of the theatre was to gain recognition from politically, and often
also culturally, powerful patrons.
Besides composing noh plays that were appealing to his lite patrons, Zeami
also ardently promoted a pseudo-mythological account of the origin of the
sarugaku noh theatre in some of his treatises, especially in chapter four of
Fu shikaden,5 Jingi ni Iwaku. Although, during his time, sarugaku was normally
written with the character meaning monkey, Zeami used another character
mo su (also pronounced as saru), which means to say or pronounce, to describe
his theatre:
Lim Beng Choo 115
Prince Shotoku took apart the first character of kagura and kept only the right
hand side of it. Since this [new word] is similar to one of the zodiac signs saru
in the lunar calendar, the [new music] is named sarugaku. It also means to
speak of happiness and it is derived from taking part in kagura.
(Omote and Kato 1995: 39)
It was important for Zeami to emphasize the serious and therefore respectable
nature of the sarugaku theatre, which was why in his treatises he used the
character saru that was part of the word deity (kami ) to replace the more
common one that means monkey. By claiming a divine connection for sarugaku,
Zeami sought to convince the audience that the theatre they were watching was
meant for the deities. He strengthened his claim further by attributing the
invention of this new character to Shtoku Taishi (Prince Shotoku, 574622), a
historical person whose life is steeped in myth. Elsewhere, at the very beginning
of the first chapter of Fu shikaden, Nenrai keiko jojo, Zeami started to use the
name noh for sarugaku (Omote and Kato 1995: 15). Noh, meaning talent, was
yet another effort to give sarugaku a respectable identity. In order to convince the
audience of the significance of the theatre he was practising, Zeami painstakingly
constructed many narratives to define and explain it.
In Zeamis treatises there are also various sections that mention audiences. For
example, in the third chapter of Fu shikaden, performance strategies were
discussed (Omote and Kato 1995: 279). Important patrons as well as the general
audience came to the performance venue, be it the temple, the riverbed or the
residences of the court nobles or military leaders, to watch performances put on
by the sarugaku performers. Zeami gave instructions on what to do when the
performance was about to start but the audience still had not settled down or
when the more important members of the audience arrived late. To Zeami, the
responsibility of the performer was to put on a show that satisfied the aesthetic
requirements of the audience and thereby gain recognition for his troupe. The
role of the audience, on the other hand, was to evaluate the performance that
they had seen and provide support accordingly. Zeamis ultimate expectation of
the audience was clearly spelled out in the O gi ni iwaku chapter of Fu shikaden:
to be loved and respected by one and all, thus maintaining the prosperity of the
troupe (Omote and Kato 1995: 45) During this time, we see that the audience
remained distinct from the performers. They maintained a distance staying on
the receiving end of the performance to observe and assess. The performers
stayed on the other end performing and awaiting evaluation. Here the
performeraudience relationship resembles that of the earliest model proposed
by Hayashiya Tatsusaburo. Hayashiya suggested that the earliest performances
took place when the subjugated presented indigenous songs and dances to their
invaders (Hayashiya 1977: 114). Even though it was no longer composed of
military outsiders, the audience for the noh theatre during Zeamis time was
nevertheless powerful in that they still held the cultural code that was used to
refine the genre. The aesthetic preferences of the lite patrons therefore were
crucial elements in the composition of new plays. This is why Zeami promptly
outlined the appropriate sources of inspiration from which one should start
ones composition.6
Inryo ken Nichiroku

Thanks to the many official and personal diary records, later generations are able
to read information about the noh theatre during the medieval period. Many of
these historical documents were written by the cultural lite who, whether they
belonged to a religious sector like the Gozan Zen institution or were court officials
like Sanjo Kintada, were all proficient in cultural activities that befitted the status
of a member of the social lite of the time. With their social position and acquired
knowledge as the cultural lite, the activities that they participated in bore the
stamp of approval as appropriate cultural activities. These included linked-verse,
kickball and incense appreciation. The noh theatre too, was quickly being picked
up as yet another cultural activity. Almost all diaries or records written during the
latter half of the Muromachi period had sarugaku noh as a regular topic, which
demonstrates its integration into the daily lives of these authors who represent
the cultural lite of the time.7 One of these records was Inryo ken Nichiroku (Daily
record of Inryoken) (143593).
Inryo ken Nichiroku is an important historical document written during the
medieval period. It is the official diary of the master/caretaker of a small
hermitage called Inryoken, located in the Rokuonin of Shokokuji (Shokuku
temple) in Kyoto. Inryoken was built by Ashikaga Yoshimochi (13861428), the
fourth Ashikaga shogun, as a venue for meditation and study. The caretaker of
the place, known as the Master of Inryoken, was also responsible for the commu-
nication between Shokokuji an important Rinzai sect temple in the Gozan Zen
order and the military government. Although there had been more than twenty
Zen monks appointed as Masters of Inryoken, only records made by Kikei
Shinzui (?1469) and Kisen Shu sho (?1493) are extant. Kikei kept the record
from 1435 to 1466, while those from 1484 to 1493 belonged to Kisen. 8 Besides
religious duties, the Masters of the Inryo ken were often engaged in many other
activities ranging from political and administrative to leisurely ones. There are
detailed accounts of the names of the fiefs from which revenue was collected and
happenings that occurred within and outside Kyoto. One can also find many
entries describing the poetry meetings, noh performances and even social gossip.
Through entries like these present-day readers are able to gain an understanding
of, among other things, the cultural life of the medieval lite class. Participating
in their cultural life were members from different social backgrounds, including
sarugaku noh performers.
Entries in Inryo ken Nichiroku that are about noh performers and performances
can be seen regularly. Topics range from the details of specific noh performances
Lim Beng Choo 117
to social interactions between the Zen prelates and the noh performers, to gossipy
anecdotes of noh performers and their troupes. It is clear that the noh theatre
occupied a significant part of the cultural life of the Zen prelates at Inryo ken and
the military government that Inryoken was closely related to.
For instance, an entry in Inryo ken Nichiroku on the sixth month of the year
Bunmei 17 (1485) recorded that the leader of the Kanze noh troupe, Yukishige,
more commonly known as Kanze Tayu , came to Inryoken for dinner with the
Inryoken master Kisen Shu sho (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 2: 218). Kisen did not
record the content of their conversation over dinner, although, two days later, he
wrote, Shinsaburo brought over forty noh masks to show me. These are the
precious family collection of Kanze Tayu . We all took a good look at the masks
and then gave them back to Shinsaburo (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 2: 218). This
entry is an excellent illustration of a specific social interaction that took place
between the noh performer Yukishige and the Inryoken master, Kisen.
Shinsaburo is obviously an attendant or apprentice in the Kanze noh troupe since
his job here was to deliver the noh masks. It is also very likely that he had been
to the Inryoken on other errands before. Kisen and Kanze Tayu were clearly on
friendly terms because the troupe leader was invited to Inryoken for dinner and
because he was able to send a representative on his behalf to deliver the masks,
rather than having to do it in person. It is also clear that Kisen and the other
members of Inryoken were no ordinary noh audience. Noh masks were, and still
are, a crucial aesthetic component of the noh theatre, and it would take a noh
connoisseur to appreciate details such as craftsmanship and quality of the
material used. In other words Kisen and the cultural lite group that he belonged
to had acquired a more comprehensive knowledge of the noh theatre. The lite
members of the audience, such as the Zen prelates, were no longer just simple
spectators of the noh performance. They were critics who could appraise the
aesthetic quality of the other components of the theatre. The source of their
knowledge, other than being regular patrons at the theatre, was through inter-
actions with the practitioners of the theatre themselves like inviting Kanze
Tayu over for dinner. It is not difficult to deduce that the masks were shown to
Kisen soon after the dinner because they were one of the topics of conversation.
The interactions between Kanze Tayu and Kisen were one way for both the
performer and his audience to share knowledge of the theatre. We see from this
illustration that authority to define the aesthetics of the theatre was no longer the
sole privilege of the lite audience. In other words, half a century or so after
Zeamis relentless effort to redefine the noh theatre, the performers knowledge
had been recognized as a legitimate part of the theatre. Meanwhile, the inclusion
of the noh performers in the social circle of the Zen prelates shows an elevation
of the social status of the noh performers and the theatre they practised.
In another entry on the first month of the eighteenth year of Bunmei (1486),
Kisen recorded the route he took to give his New Years greetings. After visiting
Kiyomizudera (Kiyomizu temple), Kisen went to visit the residences of various
people who occupied different military ranks, including Takahashi Tokukura.

After Tokukuras house, Kisen went to the residence of Kanze Tayu , Yukishige.
The next year too, Kisen followed a somewhat similar route for his New Years
greetings (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 2: 293).
What kind of significance does such a New Year greetings route have for an
understanding of the noh theatre in the late Muromachi period? It is probably
true that a Gozan Zen prelate like Kisen would not have been a powerful patron
of the noh theatre in terms of material support. However, being the central agent
between the military leaders and Shokokuji, the Zen prelate occupied a social
position that was culturally influential. Visiting the residence of a noh performer
implies that the performer was a legitimate member of the Zen prelates social
and cultural circle. Inclusion in this circle would have been beyond the imagina-
tion of earlier noh performers. Earlier on, I mentioned that Zeamis ultimate aim
for a sarugaku troupe was to be loved and respected by one and all. To be included
in the social circle of the lite members of society was probably something that
did not even cross the minds of earlier noh practitioners.
The social interaction between the Inryo ken master Kisen and the Kanze
troupe leader Yukishige was not an exceptional example. Another category of lite
members of the audience who were interacting with the noh performers outside
the theatre domain was that of the warriors who often hosted sarugaku perform-
ances. There are many detailed descriptions of seating arrangements at parties in
Inryo ken Nichiroku and seated among the nobles and military leaders were the
noh performers. Should Kintada, the author of Gogumaiki, have witnessed these
social gatherings, he would have been horrified. Often, among the military
personnel, court officials and Zen prelates, there would be members of the noh
troupes from the Kanze or the Kongo family. For instance, in the second year of
Meio (1493), Inryo ken Nichiroku records parties that had noh performers and
their military patrons seated together. Sometimes members of other than the four
major Yamato noh troupes, such as the renowned amateur tesarugaku performer
Usagiday, were also present.9 In yet another entry one year earlier, on the third
month of the fourth year of Entoku (1492), Kisen recorded a party at a military
officials residence with a guest list that included Kanze Nobumitsu and
Usagidayu (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 5: 49).
It is probably wrong to argue that these performers were invited to parties
simply as guests and not performers. From the examples cited, it is clear that the
hosts, as well as their invited guests, who were usually the audience/patron of the
performance, would perform short excerpts from the noh repertoire. In addition,
there was always a possibility that the actors would perform at some point during
the party. The nature of this kind of performance, however, was different from
that of a formal performance in a public space. Here, the performers and patrons
assumed multiple roles. What used to be a distinct division between them became
ambiguous now. The participatory nature of these kinds of social gathering was
a resonance of the kyo en, festival banquets of ancient Japan. Jacob Raz drew a
Lim Beng Choo 119
parallel between this banquet and the Japanese theatre: the kyo en indicates one
basic facet of the Japanese theatre and its audience the party-spirit, pleasure-
seeking banquet, in which distinctions between performers and spectators, though
existing, are blurred by the nature of the event (Raz 1983: 28). The temporary
intrusion into each others designated domain (i.e. performance and viewing)
promoted a more congenial atmosphere, which contributed to a better social
standing for the genre and the performers. And, while pleasure seeking might
have been one of the aims of these social gatherings, it is important to remember
that the venue of these parties was the residences of the nobles and not those of
the villagers. The cultural significance inherent in the activities here cannot be
overlooked.
In an entry in the ninth month of the third year of Entoku (1491), the Master
of Inryoken, Kiken, described a sarugaku party organized by a member of the
prominent warrior family Akamatsu. Not only did the Akamatsu general hand-
somely reward Kanze Tayu , who performed at the party, but he himself also
performed a dance that won everyones praise (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 3: 469).
During this party, the roles of the patrons and actors were reversed. The gap in
social status between the actors and their patrons was narrowed, so that they
shared a common social space in which the power relationship was more equal,
at least temporarily.
In yet another entry in the first month of the fourth year of Entoku (1492),
Kisen again recorded a drinking party that involved Akamatsu. The drinking
routine is carefully recorded in the following: For the first round of drink, Master
Akamatsu started by pouring for me and then I poured for him. The second round
I poured for Master Akamatsu and then he poured for me. The third round I
poured for Shinkyuro (Inryo ken Nichiroku 1954, 5: 1415). Shinkyuro was an
important noh performer from the Kongo troupe. Besides Shinkyuro there were
also other members of the Kongo troupe at the party. Kisen commented that it
was an enjoyable party because they stayed till late and people were singing and
making merry. At this social function, all the participating members of the theatre
(the military patron, the cultural elite, as well as the performers) were present.
Sharing a common space to drink, sing and dance indicates the elevated status
of the performers.
As I have illustrated, examples of social interaction between members of the
social lite and members of the noh troupes are abundant in Inryo ken Nichiroku.
Compared to the audienceperformer relationship in earlier times, far greater
social interaction can be discerned. What we see in Inryo ken Nichiroku and many
other historical documents points to the gradual formation of a common social
space that facilitated interaction between the performers and the audience. The
distinct line, which had divided the two parties before, was gradually dis-
appearing. In other words, the original social stigma attached to the noh
performers was diminishing and they were coming to be accepted as more equal
members of the cultural lite. The result of this acceptance was ostensibly the
elevation of the sarugaku noh theatre from an entertainment form for the masses
to one for the lite circle. However, it is important to remember that, even though
noh began to acquire a strong foothold among its lite audience, its popularity
among the masses was not adversely affected at all. Attendance at the subscription
noh (kanjin noh) performance remained high. During this time, noh fans came
from all walks of life.
Sanetaka Ko ki
Not only were the lite audience members beginning to include the noh
performers in their guest lists, some of them had developed such a great liking
for the genre that they actually participated in the performance. In other words,
by the late Muromachi period the noh theatre was fully recognized as a socially
sanctioned and accepted form of entertainment. This actual participation of an
audience member in the theatre marked the ultimate disruption of the rigid
spectatorperformer relationship. The functions of members of both categories
changed according to the responsibility they assumed. The diary of Sanjo Nishi
Sanetaka (14551537) is an excellent example from a participating spectator.
Sanetaka was a court noble who secured a name for himself in history mainly
because of his voluminous diary, the Sanetaka Ko ki.10 The diary spanned nearly
his entire life, from the sixth year of Bunmei (1474) when Sanetaka was 20 (by
Japanese calculation), to the fifth year of Tenbun (1536), one year before he died
at age 82. In contrast to the official Inryo ken Nichiroku, Sanetakas diary was a
personal record. In this private diary Sanetaka documented the details of his
personal life as well as his political career, while not forgetting to comment on
the current affairs of his time. Sanetaka was a very literary person who was
actively involved in linked-verse and other cultural activities. His enthusiasm for
the sarugaku noh theatre was vividly recorded in the many entries throughout the
years. One famous anecdote in noh history is a conversation he had with the
Kanze noh practitioner and composer Nobumitsu.
This took place in the twelfth month of the sixth year of Eisho (1509).
Intrigued by Nobumitsus robust outlook and physical health, Sanetaka set out
to ask Nobumitsu how old he was. Nobumitsus answer has become an important
hint to those interested in his biography, but what is of interest here is the casual
nature of the conversation. Their friendly exchange might have been grounded in
the noh theatre, but it developed beyond the domain of the theatre. Here the
topic of the conversation is a personal attribute of Nobumitsu, certainly not
something to occur in an official situation. In other words, this social space where
the exchange took place was not limited to the physical space in which their
regular activities took place. It refers also to a new social space, which allowed
for a freer interaction between noh performers and their lite audience without
the former being identified as outsiders whose sole duty was to entertain.
Not only was Sanetaka friendly with the Kanze noh practitioner, he also
Lim Beng Choo 121
composed a noh play called Sagoromo (The costume). In his diary entry on the
twenty-seventh day or the third month of the third year of Bunki (1503), Sanetaka
wrote:
It rained. Haku Nii came to visit. While we were drinking, Kanze Kojiro called.
There was going to be a sarugaku noh performance this evening at the
Muromachi shoguns residence. Sagoromo, which I wrote a few years back, was
going to be performed tonight. Kojiro asked me about some parts of the play
which were unclear. It has been some time and I had somewhat forgotten parts
of it. I sang a few parts of it from what I had vaguely remembered. It was
something fun to do on a rainy day.
(Zoku gunsho ruiju 1969, 4: 115)
In the ninth month of the same year, Sagoromo was performed again at the
Muromachi shoguns residence, together with eleven other plays. This time,
Sanetaka was invited with other people, including the Master of Inryoken, as part
of the audience. Again Sanetaka described this in his diary as a very pleasurable
evening for him (Zoku gunsho ruiju 1969, 4: 1823).
Both entries provide interesting information about the noh scene of that time.
Kanze Nobumitsu was able to see Sanetaka while the latter was receiving another
guest. Nobumitsus visit was an impromptu one, but it was by no means unwel-
come. From the context, one can guess that Nobumitsu was going to perform
Sagoromo and Sanetaka was more than happy to sing a few segments for him.
Here, the social status of noh performers, who originated from the lower strata
of society, had risen so that they were able freely to enter the residences of court
nobles, who occupied a higher social position. This incident also demonstrates
the active participation in the noh theatre of a court noble, a representative of the
cultural lite of the time. Not only did he compose noh plays, Sanetaka also
studied noh chanting with his noble friends. In fact, the practice of chanting and
dancing for each other among the warrior and noble classes became common
after the O nin Rebellion. Moreover, thanks to Sanetakas assiduous writings,
these activities are accessible to present-day readers.
In Sanetaka Ko ki one finds many instances where Sanetaka mentioned noh
performances and the extent to which he enjoyed watching them. When examined
together with the fact that he practised singing and composed noh plays, as well
as interacted socially with noh performers, it is difficult to deny that Sanetaka
was indeed an ardent noh fan. However, other entries relating to noh reveal a
more complex attitude on Sanetakas part, which was not uncommon among
court nobles. In an entry on the twelfth day of the eleventh month of the second
year of Entoku (1490), Sanetaka described a performance of tesarugaku which
lasted until late at night. He wrote, sarugaku performances should have their own
regulation. It is inappropriate that lately it should be performed so regularly
(Zoku gunsho ruiju 1969, 2: 499500) Sanetakas criticism towards noh perform-
ance was not limited to the frequency of its performance. In another entry on the
seventh day of the third month of the seventh year of Meio (1498), he wrote,
There was a sarugaku performance at the Interior Palace. The official Nagayasu,
the servants and the lower samurai, and priests were all singing. This is beyond
my description (Zoku gunsho ruiju 1969, 3: 5067). It is not clear what caused
Sanetakas strong reactions against lower-ranking servants enjoyment of the
sarugaku theatre. What he might have had in mind was the protocol of the noh
theatre and the proper conduct suitable for it. Seeing lower-ranking court people
enjoying themselves at the performance in a rowdy fashion could have been a
breach of propriety to Sanetaka. On more than one occasion he was upset by his
wifes attending noh performances with other female court attendants (see, for
example, the fifth day of eighth month of the fifth year of Eisho). Sanetakas
objection to his wifes visits to noh performances might be that he did not think
it appropriate conduct for women.
There are other occasions when Sanetaka openly displays his ambivalent
feelings towards the sarugaku theatre. Sanetakas objections here are a distant
echo of Kintadas a reminder of the formerly unfavourable social status that
sarugaku performers occupied. Being a noh connoisseur himself, he probably
wanted to see the noh theatre cut its ties clearly with the lower-class social image
with which it used to be associated.
At the same time, Sanetaka often expressed pleasure when he attended noh
performances. His participation in noh as a member of the audience as well as a
performer also demonstrates his keen interest in the theatre. Sanetakas ambiva-
lent reaction towards the noh theatre exemplifies the multifaceted significance of
the noh theatre to its lite audience. It was both a valuable cultural asset for the
lite and an entertainment form that belonged originally to the lower class.
However, these ambivalent feelings died out as more people (from both the lite
and the populace) participated in learning noh.
Zenpo Zo tan (Miscellaneous comments by Zenpo )

Even though Sanetaka was an enthusiastic noh practitioner and an excellent
example of a member of the cultural lite who practiced noh, and even though
he often provided detailed descriptions of his daily life, there was still not much
account of how he managed to acquire enough knowledge to be able not only to
chant and dance, but also actually to compose a noh play. Other historical
records, too, do not provide much detail of this sort. It is here that the works by
noh practitioners become useful. For instance, through the works of the Konparu
practitioner Zenpo, the noh scene can be observed.
Konparu Zenpo was the third-generation Konparu troupe leader. He
succeeded to the position of Tayu around 1480, a few years after the O nin
Rebellion ended, when the noh troupes had started to perform in the Kyoto
region again. Zenpo was the last noh practitioner who both composed noh plays
and wrote treatises. The nature of Zenpos treatises, however, was very different
Lim Beng Choo 123
from earlier ones written by either Zeami or Zenpos grandfather, Zenchiku. As

mentioned earlier, Zeami tried to recreate a genealogy for the noh theatre so that
it was related to the most respectable elements of society deities and an ancient
sage. This was Zeamis attempt to dissociate sarugaku theatre from its lower-class
origin. Like some of Zeamis treatises, Zenchikus writings focus on interpreting
and conveying the meaning of the noh theatre rather than instructions on prac-
tical performance. However, Zenpos treatises no longer focused on defining the
theatre.
During Zenpos time, professional noh practitioners were often instructors to
their enthusiastic patrons who wanted to acquire or perfect skills in aspects of the
noh theatre. Zenpos treatises illustrate the new situation well. Rather than
discussing how to secure the audiences attention by manipulating the general
performance tempo, the major concern of his treatises was the detailed presen-
tation of individual pieces or specific instruments. Zenpos treatises, written two
generations later than that of Zenchiku, were therefore markedly different from
his predecessors works. To begin with, Zenpos treatises were meant for a much
wider readership, rather than a specific individual to whom the responsibility of
sustaining the prosperity of the troupe was assigned. Secret teachings had almost
disappeared. There was no longer the need to prepare secret strategies to ensure
the continuing interest (and subsequent support) of the audience because the
audience had acknowledged the noh theatre and granted it the status of legitimate
entertainment. The rules of the game had changed. Zenpos treatises emphasized
the more detailed aspects of performance, reflecting the new demand of the
patrons/students: to acquire practical knowledge in performance. One can find
some excellent examples of Zenpos teachings in Zenpo Zo tan. In one of the
entries, Zenpo said:
When you are in front of important people like a Daimyo, you shouldnt
perform sakana utai or zashiki utai unless you are asked to. If you are told
to do so, you should sing parts of plays such as Kantan or Hachimanyumi.
Sing slowly and steadily.
(Omote and Ito 1969: 465)
Sakana utai and zashiki utai are forms of noh singing performed during parties
where, respectively, tea and alcohol were served. In this entry Zenpo was clearly
advising his amateur students how to behave at parties: in this instance to practise
self-restraint when important guests were expected. In another entry in the first
volume of the book he advised on ways to select appropriate pieces to sing during
parties (Omote and Ito 1969: 446). In entry number 10 of the same book,
Zenpo explained the basic rhythm of banquet dancing (sakanamai) in great
detail, starting from the moment of preparation before the music started, to the
tempo and strength of movement of the body and the manipulation of the fan.
Rather than transmitting ideas on performance strategies to impress upon the
audience a desirable image of the theatre, now Zenpos teachings focused on the
perfection of individual movements of the plays. This is possible only when the
audience has already achieved a basic understanding of the nature and the
aesthetic of the genre, and need not be educated about its general principles any
more. In other words, during Zenpos time the noh theatre had entered a period
when it had acquired a stable social position as a recognized entertainment form
and cultural pastime. No longer needing to reaffirm its social status, the impor-
tant duty of the performers was to satisfy the needs of the audience members who
had turned from passive spectators to active learners. As mentioned earlier, one
way for the performers to transmit their knowledge would be to interact with their
patrons outside the performance settings. Another way is to gather together those
who were interested and conduct lessons for them. Zenpo Zo tan was a product of
this kind of lesson. The compiler of this book, Yamada Fujiuemon, was one of
Zenpos amateur students.11 Other names that were mentioned in this book are
believed to be people like the compiler himself enthusiastic amateurs who dwelt
in the urban centres.
Entries in Zenpo Zo tan provide an excellent illustration of the popularity of noh
among city merchants from urban centres such as Kyoto and Nara during the
late Muromachi period. In both volumes of the book, a certain Bantoya is
mentioned several times. He was apparently Zenpos disciple who was also an
active noh performer. Although Bantoyas identity is not clear, some scholars
surmise that, rather than being a personal name, Bantoya refers to the name of
the business house to which the disciple belonged. Whatever the meaning of
Bantoya, he was probably one of Zenpos important patrons, while at the same
time an outstanding student. Bantoya also appeared a few times among the guest
lists at banquets recorded in the Inryo ken Nichiroku. Besides Bantoya, there are
various names mentioned in this book of other merchants who were learning
aspects of the noh theatre from Zenpo. Not only were there merchants in the
capital, there were also people who travelled all the way from the provinces to the
capital to learn from him. One entry describes the performance of some person
from O umi, who had studied noh under Zenpo for three years in Nara (Omote
and Ito 1969: 457).
Noh plays from the late Muromachi period

What were the possible implications for the noh theatre when the mode of
interactions between the performers and the audience changed in the course of
time, bringing about a different perception of the genre? I have argued that the
social discourse on noh has suggested an elevation of the status of the noh
theatre. In this section I would like to discuss one other phenomenon which was
pertinent to the changing social status of the noh theatre: play productions
during the late Muromachi period. Noh historians sometimes describe noh
plays that were produced during this period as furyu no (elegant spectacle
noh), referring to the flamboyant style of presentation and the more dramatic
Lim Beng Choo 125
plots. These characteristics can clearly be discerned when comparisons are made
between a typical late Muromachi play and its counterpart that was composed
earlier.
Noh plays in the earlier period usually had a specific and dominant theme,
either romantic (such as Matsukaze or Pining wind) or martial (such as Atsumori ).
By way of contrast, Funabenkei (Benkei on board), a play produced during the
late Muromachi period by Nobumitsu, integrates tales of romance and revenge
and one individuals heroic action. Based on episodes from the war tale Heike
Monogatari (The tale of Heike) and Gikeiki (Chronicle of Yoshitsune), the first
half of the play is about Minamoto no Yoshitsunes (kokata) preparation to cross
the Daimotsu no Ura (Daimotsu Bay). Yoshitsune is accompanied by his loyal
retainer, Benkei (waki ), who strongly advises Yoshitsune to leave behind his
favourite consort Shizuka (shite), much to her chagrin. Shizuka performs a dance
that depicts her love for Yoshitsune and sadness in the face of his departure. After
Shizuka leaves the stage, Benkei has an animated exchange with the boatman
(aikyo gen) on the time to leave the port, upon which Benkei decides to depart
immediately.12 In the second half of the play, Benkei battles the ferocious ghost
of the Taira family who comes to seek revenge on Yoshitsune. The nochi-jite is Taira
no Tomomori, who performs a powerful warrior dance that represents his battle
with Benkei. Finally, Benkei defeats the fearsome ghost with his stoic disposition
and prayers to the guardian deities.
I would like to compare Funabenkei with an earlier play, Izutsu (The well cradle)
that was attributed to Kanami, Zeamis father. Izutsu is a tale based on the
romance between Izutsu no Onna and Ariwara no Narihira in Ise Monogatari
(Tales of Ise). In the first part of the play, a travelling monk, the waki, who is
visiting Ariwaradera (Temple of Ariwara) in Hatsuse, runs into a village woman
(shite). She tells him about the romantic encounter between Ariwara and Izutsu
no Onna, a woman from the village. At the end of her narration she reveals that,
in fact, she is the ghost of Izutsu no Onna. In the second part of the play, the
village woman appears wearing Ariwaras costume and performs a dance remi-
niscing on her past romantic relationship.
In contrast to Funabenkei, the play Izutsu focuses solely on the shite character,
Izutsu no Onna her story, her inner turmoil and her singing and dancing. Some
critics call this shite-ichinin shu gi (shite-oriented one-person style) and identify
this as one of the important features of Zeamis works. This feature is especially
prominent when compared with plays that use many different character roles in
the unfolding of the story, such as Funabenkei. In Funabenkei the shite role changes
from a graceful yet despondent courtesan in the first part of the play into a vicious
warrior seeking revenge in the second part. It is hard to argue that assigning two
different characters to the shite role is novel in noh plays, but it certainly had not
been a common practice until this time. Nobumitsu not only created two entirely
different personalities for the shite role in this play, in his other plays, too, attempts
to diversify the characteristics of the role types can be discerned. For instance, in
Rasho mon (The Rasho Gate), the shite does not appear until the second part of
the play, and in Momijigari (The autumn excursion) the first shite performs an
elegant dance in the disguise of a courtly woman in love, but turns out to be an
ugly, human-devouring demon intent on attacking the waki, General Koremori.
Nobumitsu, as well as his contemporaries Zenpo and Kanze Nagatoshi (1488
1541), often produced plays that have the other characters assuming more
important dramatic roles.
There is a marked difference between plays like Izutsu and Funabenkei. Noh
historians usually explain these changes as mainly a result of the chaotic military
and political situation of the late Muromachi period. In the face of the imperma-
nence of life, the audience came to prefer a theatre that was more this-worldly.
This has commonly been cited as a reason for these stylistic and thematic
changes. This explanation, although logical enough, grossly simplifies the process
of theatrical development and ignores the specific social conditions from which
the theatre developed.
As I have argued earlier, the first-generation noh masters Zeami and his father
Kanami strove to ensure a certain social code for the noh theatre. When Zeami
started his career, there was still a necessity to create a discourse on sarugaku noh
to ensure its legitimate position as an elitist as well as a popular entertainment.
The social position of the noh theatre grew quickly and, by late medieval times,
the legitimacy of the genre as an accepted art form had been confirmed. There
was no longer anxiety on the performers part to ensure that the genre conformed
to pre-existing aesthetic preferences so as to secure strong patronage. The genre
had gained a familiar standing among its audience, so much so that variations
from the more conventional style of play composition and production would not
create any sense of alienation among the audience. The noh theatre had already,
by this stage, established itself firmly as a socially sanctioned and acknowledged
theatrical form.
An entry found in Zeamis No sakusho jojo (On composing noh plays) in
Sando provides a good contrast here. In this section of his treatise, Zeami wrote:
There are times when a new play is composed without alluding to any existing
work but only remains somehow related to the famous places, and yet this play
is still able to move the audience. This shows the superior talent of the composer
(Omote and Kato 1995: 134). This seemingly simple statement sums it all up
during this earlier period when noh was still struggling to establish itself by
gaining the approval and support of its major audience, it would take great talent
to be able to deviate from the preferred aesthetic of its audience and still be
appreciated. Elsewhere Zeami also listed the appropriate sources of reference and
allusions for noh plays (Omote and Kato 1995: 478). Not to adhere to these
conventions would mean running the risk of unsuccessful play, unless the
composer had great talent. Zeamis clear and extensive instructions on noh
composition suggest that he had a well-defined, albeit unspecific, strategy for his
theatre. He also declared that the composition of noh plays was indeed the
Lim Beng Choo 127
bedrock of the theatre (Omote and Kato 1995: 47). This strategy was arrived at
after much contemplation, with the major patrons tastes being a prime consid-
eration.
One generation after Zeamis time, the late Muromachi noh practitioners
Nobumitsu and his contemporaries Zenpo and Nagatoshi emerged into a theat-
rical milieu that had been conditioned by the relentless efforts of their predeces-
sors. These later-generation noh practitioners faced a very different type of
audience. The noh theatre had not only become a popular entertainment, it had
also developed to be a valued skill, either as a personal artistic fulfilment or as
part of ones proficiency in social etiquette.13
During this time, even though theatre treatises continued to be produced, there
was no longer the need to keep them secret. In other words, the secretive nature
of the treatises had been replaced by the need to reach out to a larger readership.
Zeami often dedicated his treatises to a specific successor, in the face of uncertain
patronage and the threat of competition not only from other sarugaku troupes
but also rival genres. Nobumitsu left behind only two extremely short treatises,
both on performance technique. Given Nobumitsus talents in noh composition
and his famed learning in Chinese literature, the only reason that he did not, like
his great-uncle Zeami, write treatises is that there was no longer the need to do
so. The noh theatre had transcended the stage when secret writings were, as
Zeami had rightly envisaged, the most reliable and effective strategy for estab-
lishing its worth.
Zenpo provides another perspective from which to examine this new stage of
development of the noh theatre. As discussed earlier, Zenpo has left behind
various treatises, although the main concerns of these treatises were aspects of
actual performance, rather than defining the essence or history of the genre. The
intended consumers of these treatises were doubtless the many earnest prac-
titioners who came to study noh with the performers. The patrons enthusiasm
for learning performance skills also meant that the performers were now recog-
nized as masters of their art.
It is not coincidental that Zenpo should compose a play like Hatsuyuki
(Hatsuyuki the pet chicken) that presents an intriguing variation from the conven-
tional role distribution. The play has an all-female cast and therefore no waki
role.14 Most of Zenpos plays exhibit characteristics that are very different from
the earlier music-oriented plays championed by Zeami. For instance, another play
that is still popular today, Ikkaku Sennin (The wizard Ikkaku), tells the story of
a powerful wizard, Ikkaku (shite), who imprisons the dragon deities (kokata) and
causes a serious drought in the world. The emperor sends his minister (waki ) and
a beautiful woman (tsure) to befuddle the wizard with drinks, so as to rescue the
dragon deities and hence bring rain. This play, accentuated with a stick drum at
the finale when the dragon deities escape by emerging from a stage prop repre-
senting the prison on the stage, is a rowdy and flamboyant play. It forms a strong
contrast with plays like Izutsu, which focus more on the psychology of the
characters than the development of the plot. The lively tempo in which the play
progresses, the dramatic development of the play and the spectacular escape of
the dragon deities are all representative characteristics of furyu noh. Categoriz-
ing plays produced during the late Muromachi period as furyu noh indicates
that the noh theatre had reached a different stage and was producing plays that
are so different from the earlier era that they can be designated a sub-category.
It is certainly true that plays that share some of these features can be found in
earlier times as well, but never had there been a time in the history of the noh
theatre when we see so many plays that share these similar features.
I have already cited Nobumitsu, whose versatile talent is reflected in both
literature-oriented plays and furyu -style plays, although he is inevitably best
known as the writer who has expanded the repertoire of the furyu -style plays.15
Noh plays by another noh practitioner, Nagatoshi, have such huge casts that they
have invariably invited criticism for being more like kabuki than noh. We also see
that these late Muromachi period writers regularly challenged the basic structural
make-up of the plays, using more characters and giving stronger dramatic
emphasis to roles other than the shite. The sources of inspiration, too, expanded
beyond the conventional Japanese classics and include tales from India (Ikkaku
Sennin by Zenpo) and characters from Chinese poetry (Ko tei by Nobumitsu) or
Japanese mythology (Tamanoi and Orochi by Nobumitsu). It is not surprising that,
facilitated by the larger casts and more elaborate stage set-ups, these plays often
show more drama and spectacle.
This deviation from the conventional standard of composition could have been
achieved only if the theatrical form had acquired an autonomous nature. In other
words, by the late Muromachi period, when the common social circle became a
regular part of cultural discourse, the noh practitioners were able to exert their
creativity to its utmost. It is therefore the changes in the social status of the noh
theatre and its practitioners that most contributed to the production of the
furyu noh plays.
Conclusion
This paper describes the changes in the social status of the noh theatre by means
of a close examination of the audienceperformer relationship from Zeamis time
to Zenpos time.
Until Kanami and Zeamis time, noh was a theatrical form patronized mainly
by religious institutions and performed mainly for a popular audience. As I have
argued, Zeami was aware of the need to secure the support of the cultural nobility,
so as to refine the genre. He created plays that appealed to the aesthetics of this
particular group within the audience. Together with strong patronage from the
military government, the sarugaku noh theatre was able to secure more perform-
ance opportunities, even at the imperial court. The acceptance of noh as a
legitimate and socially sanctioned form of entertainment by the lite audience
Lim Beng Choo 129
redefined the genre. With Zeamis effort to incorporate the preferred literary
aesthetics of the noble section of the audience, noh developed into a more refined
entertainment form that both answered and shaped the aesthetic needs of the
cultural lite.
No longer regarded as lower-class entertainment, noh was gradually accepted
as a desirable form of social entertainment by the powerful cultural lite, and
attained a new social status. There was a new demand on the part of the cultured
section of the audience to study the genre. This particular group within the
audience learned from the performers about aspects of the noh theatre that, in
turn, strengthened their ability to appreciate the genre. The more enthusiastic
members also set about learning to chant or dance. At social functions and
parties, noh began to become the form of entertainment performed by both hosts
and guests.
In social situations that ranged from casual visiting to semi-formal New Year
greetings, the spectators shared a common social space with the performers.
Within this temporary common social space, the performers and spectators often
transgressed the boundary of their social identities. Sometimes they took up each
others designated functions, such as during a party when the hosts (who were
the cultural lite or military generals) would perform a song or a dance piece from
a noh play. Among the guests would be members from the noh troupe who also
constituted part of the body of spectators. Chances are that the hosts were able
to receive advice on their performance from the professional performers. It would
not be surprising if the performers would also perform on these occasions. This
practice of taking turns to perform disrupted the defined performeraudience
relationship, since, within the common social space that was created during the
short duration of a dinner party, all members were both performers and
spectators.
By means of these kinds of social interaction, the new common social space
was established. This common space can be understood in various ways. It served
as a venue for lite noh participants to interact with other noh enthusiasts and
practise their skills. There were parties where noh artists were invited as guest
performers and they could also watch plays written by members of the social lite
like Sanetaka. This space also allowed the lite members of the audience to learn
new skills in noh performance. At the same time, this common space diminished
the biggest difference between audience and performer, because the viewing party
(audience) also became the party to be seen (performer). Also to be found
participating in this social space were other artists who shared the same humble
origin as the noh masters, such as masters of linked-verse, the tea ceremony and
flower arranging. The formation of this common social space denotes the final
recognition of the noh theatre as social entertainment, especially for the cultural
lite.
In this way, noh became a cultural asset, possession of which was valuable and
advantageous. It is not clear how the lite audience managed to learn to perform
noh, but the most likely scenario is that they learned from professional noh
performers.16 Acquaintance with noh performers therefore took on a different
outlook. While it had formerly been looked upon with disdain, social interaction
with noh performers now became part of the process of acquiring noh as a
cultural asset. Extra knowledge and skill from the noh performers could be
acquired through other forms of social interaction, including casual meetings
beyond the performance venue, gatherings at the residences of the patrons or
lectures by the noh practitioners. Noh performers imparted their professional
knowledge of how to perform to their enthusiastic patrons on these occasions. It
was within this shared common space that the new identity of noh as a cultural
asset was reaffirmed. This new identity of the noh theatre became a factor which
encouraged noh practitioners to experiment with new forms of play that eventu-
ally gained the name furyu noh in noh scholarship in the 1960s (Yokomichi
1971: 1012).
Between Zenpos time and the establishment of noh as the official shikigaku
music of the Tokugawa regime, noh continued to flourish as an important form
of entertainment in the court and the military rulers residences. One famous
example was the monk official Shimotsuma Shoshin (15511616) at Hongan
temple, who learned noh from the Konparu school and wrote many important
works on noh performance. In the sixteenth century, noh became more a genre
for the cultural lite than the masses. This was epitomized by Toyotomi
Hideyoshis (153698) ardent participation in noh. It seems that the designation
of noh as the official form of entertainment of the Tokugawa military regime was
a natural development.
National University of Singapore
Acknowledgement
The writer would like to thank Professors Kurushima Noriko, Eyal Ben-Ari and Timothy Tsu, Dr
Scot Hislop and Ms Tawnya Hartberger for their kind assistance and support. Research on this
paper was made possible by the National University Academic Research Grant and the Hitachi
Scholarship Foundation (Komai Fellowship Program).
Notes
1. See also Iwanami Ko za (1999a: chs 12) and Nose (1972: chs 24) for an earlier account of the
sarugaku performance.
2. Examples are ample. For instance, Keene described the noh practitioners after Zeami by
focusing on the style of their plays, rather than accounting for the reasons for these differences
(Keene 1990: 367). Tyler described noh as [h]aving been enshrined long ago as a cultural
treasure (Tyler 1992: 1) without elaborating on how or why. Ortolani provided a detailed
account of the shamanistic origin of the noh theatre in the first section of his book on the
Japanese theatre and continued in the next section to describe individual noh practitioners. He
mentioned the popularity of noh during Nobumitsus time, although again he did not attempt
Lim Beng Choo 131
to elaborate on the reasons (Ortolani 1995: 103). Chapters 2 and 3 of Iawanami Ko za (1999)
presented a general description of the noh scene from Zeamis time until the end of the
Muromachi period. There were attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of noh perform-
ance during this era, but the main focus of the chapters was still on the performers.
3. I would like to use Keir Elams model of theatrical communication to explain further what I
meant by negotiation. Elam introduced the concepts of encoding (formation of messages)
and decoding(understanding of messages) as the basic communication model (Elam 1993:
35). Elsewhere he explained that performance was defined as a series of complex messages that
were transmitted to the audience. Then:
the spectator will interpret this complex of messages . . . as an integrated text, according to
the theatrical, dramatic and cultural codes at his disposal, and will in turn assume the role
of transmitter of signals to the performers (laughter, applause, boos, etc.), along visual and
acoustic channels, which both the performers and members of the audience themselves will
interpret in terms of approval, hostility, and so on.
(Elam 1993: 38)
In the case of the noh theatre in its earlier stage, the audiences interpretations, based especially
on the cultural codes, were more dominant than the performers complex messages and the
definition of the theatre relied more on the audiences preferences. In the late Muromachi
period, however, the performers power of encoding increased and the audience members
encoding process was, in turn, influenced by transmission from the performers. This model of
communication in the noh theatre is dynamic and changes constantly.
4. See Iwanami Ko za (1999a: chs 12) and Nose (1972: chs 24) for an earlier account of the
sarugaku performers.
5. Rimer and Yamazaki have translated the title as Teachings on style and the flower (1984: xxiii).
Also see Omote and Kato (1995: 1465) for a complete annotated text of Fu shikaden.
6. In Fu shikaden, Zeami listed appropriate sources of inspiration as one of the components of a
good noh play (Omote and Kato 1995: 30). When discussing noh composition in Sando (The
three ways), Zeami further emphasized the importance of using famous locales and poetic
works (Omote and Kato 1995: 135).
7. See, for instance, Zo ho zokushiryo taisei (1975) and Zoku gunsho ruiju ko i (1968). Also see Zoku
gunsho ruiju ki (1969), which I shall discuss in a later section.
8. See Kageki (1987: ch. 1) for a detailed description of the record. See also Collcutt (1981: 119
23), for a historical account of the Inryoken.
9. Tesarugaku is a general term used to describe sarugaku performers who were on the border
between amateur and professional. They often performed in the residences of the cultural lite
and enjoyed considerable fame, although they did not belong to any noh troupe. Some
identified them as amateurs, although many members of the tesarugaku were actually pro-
fessionals. See Nose (1972: ch. 8).
10. See Haga (1992) for an account of Sanetaka and his works.
11. It is not clear who Yamada Fujiuemon is. In the kaisetsu (commentary) of Konparu
ju shichibushu (Nonomura 1942: 25) he is identified as the ancestor of a certain drum player.
12. The protagonist in noh is called the shite. If it is a two-part noh play, the shite in the second
part is often called nochi-jite. The waki, often understood as the secondary role, plays opposite
the shite role. Other role types in a noh play include the kokata, the child role, and the tsure,
the supporting role. There is also the ai-kyo gen or kyo gen, who plays characters such as villagers
and functions as the narrator who retells the encounter between the shite and the waki at some
point in the play. The shite often wears a mask, but the waki never does. The basic role/character
make-up of a noh play is the shite and the waki, as in Kanamis Izutsu. See Brazell (1998: 115
25) for further explanation.
13. To draw a modern analogy, acquisition of noh performing skill would be like present-day people
learning to sing at karaoke.
14. As mentioned above, in the noh theatre the waki does not wear a mask, which restricts the role
to a male character, because all actors are male.
15. Nishino has a very elaborate explanation of Nobumitsus repertoire in Iwanami Ko za (1999b:
25869).
16. It is difficult to define the term professional noh performers here because of different
organizational structures and restrictions on performance. Here I use the term loosely to
describe all performers who performed in exchange for a material reward.
References
Brazell, Karen (1998) Traditional Japanese Theatre: An Anthology of Plays, New York: Columbia
University Press.
Collcutt, Martin (1981) Five Mountains: The Rinzai Zen Monastic Institution in Medieval Japan,
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Council on East Asian Studies.
Elam, Keir (1993) The Semiotics of Theatre and Drama, London and New York: Routledge.
Goto , Hajime (1966) Zeami to no no keisei (Zeami and the formation of noh), Tokyo: Mokujisha.
Haga, Kojiro (1992) Sanjo Nishi Sanetaka, Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan.
Hayashiya, Tatsusaburo (1977) Ancient history and performing arts, Acta Asiatica 33: 114.
Inryo ken Nichiroku (1954) (The daily record at the Inryken Hall), 5 vols, Kyoto: Shiseki Kankokai.
Iwanami Ko za (1999a) No Kyo gen I: No gaku no Rekishi (History of noh), Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
(1999b) No Kyo gen III: No no sakusha to sakuhin (Noh composers and noh plays), Tokyo:
Iwanami Shoten.
Kageki, Hideo (1987) Inryo ken Nichiroku: Muromachi zenrin to sono shu hen (The daily record at the
Inryken Hall: the Zen world of the Musomachi period), Tokyo: Tokyo Soshiete.
Keene, Donald (1990) No and Bunraku: Two Forms of Japanese Theatre, New York: Columbia
University Press.
Nonomura, Keizo (ed.) (1942) Konparu Ju shichibushu (A collection of seventeen Konparu trea-
tises), Tokyo: Noken Tosho.
Nose, Asaji (1972) No gaku Genryu ko (The study of the origins of noh), Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
Omote, Akira and Ito, Masayashi (eds) (1969) Konparu Kodensho Shu sei (A compilation of the
Konparu treatises), Tokyo: Wanya Shoten.
Omote, Akira and Kato, Shu ichi (1995) Zeami Zenchiku, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
Ortolani, Benito (1995) The Japanese Theatre: From Shamanistic Ritual to Contemporary Pluralism,
Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Raz, Jacob (1983) Audience and Actors: A Study of their Interaction in the Japanese Traditional Theatre,
rev. edn, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rimer, J. Thomas and Yamazaki, Masakazu (trans.) (1984) On the Art of the No Drama: The Major
Treatises of Zeami, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
To kyo Daigaku Shiryohensanjo (1984) Gogumaiki, in Dai nihon kokiroku, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
Tyler, Royall (1992) Japanese No Drama, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Yokomichi, Mario (1971) Kaisetsu (Commentary), in Yo kyokushu (Collection of noh plays),
Vol. 1, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.
Zoku gunsho ruiju (1969) Sanetaka Ko ki (Record of Sanetaka), 13 vols, Tokyo: Zoku gunsho
ruiju kanseikai.
Zoku gunsho ruiju ko i (1968) Kanmon Gyoki (Record of retired Emperor Gosukin), 2 vols, Tokyo:
Zoku Gunsho ruiju kanseikai.
Zo ho zokushiryo taisei (1975) Daijo in jijazo jiki (Record of the miscellaneous events at the Taijoin
temple), Vol. 36, Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten.
Lim Beng Choo 133
Lim Beng Choo, PhD, Cornell, 1997, is an Assistant Professor in Japanese literature and film at
the Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore. Her research interests
include pre-modern Japanese literature and performance, cultural history and comparative
performance. She is currently working on a manuscript on the medieval Japanese noh practitioner
Kanze Kojiro Nobumitsu.

Medieval Noh Teatre

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RJFO100255.

fm Page 111 Monday, January 19, 2004 10:17 AM

They came to party: an examination of

Keywords: Noh history, late Muromachi period, performeraudience relation-

Japan Forum 16(1) 2004: 111133 ISSN: 09555803 print/1469932X online

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Noh theatre during Zeamis time

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entertainment form were to be found later in the sarugaku of Kanamis time.

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Inryo ken Nichiroku

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people who occupied different military ranks, including Takahashi Tokukura.

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Zenpo Zo tan (Miscellaneous comments by Zenpo )

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from earlier ones written by either Zeami or Zenpos grandfather, Zenchiku. As

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Noh plays from the late Muromachi period

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