Week 6 Representation in Noh and Intro to Kyogen
For discussion questions, click here.
READING AND STUDY QUESTIONS
May 6: Representation in Noh and Kyogen (The Battle of the Sexes)
b) The Fortified Beard (Higeyagura), trans., Rika Kawamura
[click here]
Videos: This is Noh, This is Kyogen, excerpts from The Fortified Beard, Kintozaemon
Brazell, Traditional Japanese Theater pp. 24-39
Here Brazell makes generalizations about Japanese theatrical forms.
1. From reading Brazell, does Noh theater (and Japanese theater in general) seem "realistic" or "naturalistic" in terms of language, stage setting, use of time, movement, costumes, props, masks? Why or why not?
2. What seems more important in Japanese theater -- realism or aesthetic attractiveness? Is continuity of time, place, character, and action important in Noh? What do Noh plays concentrate on instead?
3. How is the art of allusion used in Noh? How do Kyôgen plays parody Noh?
4. What do you think Earle Ernst meant when he said that Japanese theater is "presentational" rather than "representational"?
Brazell, Traditional Japanese Theater pp. 115-125
This section concentrates on the performance practices of Noh and Kyôgen theaters; it is more detailed than really needed, but should provide a good background for class discussion of images and videos.
1. Try to get a sense of how the actors, musicians and chorus are situated on the stage.
2. What kind of instruments are used to accompany Noh?
3. For what kind of roles are masks worn? Which actors never wear masks and why? When do Kyôgen actors wear masks?
4. We'll review examples of costumes and masks in class; here pay particular attention to how costumes are used symbolically (p. 121).
5. We'll also review examples of basic props (stage and hand). Are props used realistically in Noh and Kyôgen?
The Battle of the Sexes: Kyôgen Women and Men
Kyôgen is the comic counterpart to Noh theater. Today it is performed in between Noh plays, as a kind of comic interlude. Kyôgen actors also play minor, sometimes comic roles in Noh plays (for eg., the messenger in Aoi no Ue and the priest who discovers the bodies in Adachigahara/Kurozuka are played by a kyôgen actor). The view of women presented in kyôgen is very different from anything we've seen so far.
Study Questions for Plays
1) As you read each kyôgen play, list the main characteristics of the women that appear. List examples with page numbers to back up your points.
2) List the main characteristics of the men in these plays. Again note examples to back up your points.
3) How do ordinary lower-class men and women seem to settle their differences in these plays? How is this different from what we've seen in more elite representations up to now?