Noh

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Noh or No (Japanese:能 Nō) is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Noh is made up of mai (dances), hayashi (music) and utai (words usually in songs). The performers use masks and dance slowly. Zeami and his father Kan'ami brought Noh to its present-day form during the Muromachi period.

[edit] Types of Noh drama

Theater pieces of Noh is classified into 5 groups.

Divine; the hero or heroine is divine like a god, heavenly people and so on. The hero or heroine makes a benediction at the end of drama.　　
Shura-mono (Warrior); the hero (rarely heroine) is a warrior, usually already dead.
Kazura-mono (Women); the heroine and often her love romance is the focus.
Zatsu-no (Miscellaneous) ; Noh that cannot be grouped into the other 4 groups.
Oni-noh (Oni; demons) ; Non-human beings, like oni, tengu, fairy, lion are the hero of this type. Mainly it is played at the end of program.

[edit] Noh players

Usually, all Noh players are men. They have been taught their skills by their fathers. When a woman or girl appears in the drama, a male actor plays her role with a woman mask.

There are three types of Noh players: shite, waki and kyogen. Shite plays the hero or the heroine. He talks, sings and dances. Waki (meaning "Side") plays the sidekick of Shite, and usually plays a traveller role in a certain place. He introduces us into the world in the drama. Kyogen appears in the middle of the drama if it has two parts, and plays the role of the local citizen. He talks to Waki and makes him notice what he hasn't noticed before their talk.