noh
Austere Japanese theater
Noh is a classical form of Japanese theater characterized by stylized movement, elaborate masks and costumes, and a spare aesthetic.
Performances combine dance, music, and poetic chanting to dramatize stories drawn from legend and literature.
The form dates to the 14th century and remains highly formalized: We attended a noh performance in Kyoto.
Also spelled no.
Raised performance platform
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- shiteBritish vulgar term
- chorusSingers performing together
- curtainFabric hung for privacy
entrance · kata · movement · slowness · minimalism · stylized · austere · solemn
Ceremonial set of actions
- shintoJapan's native religion
- kaguraJapanese sacred shrine dance
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
- shrineSacred devotional place
ancestors · spirits · supernatural · dreamlike · otherworldly · meditation · afterlife · redemption
Cut to create form
- woodenMade from timber
- lacquerGlossy protective coating
- expressionlessShowing no feeling
- transformativeCausing major change
supernatural · demon · spirit · woman · elder · artisan · craftsman · hinoki
Raised-pattern luxury fabric
- silkFine woven insect fiber
- layeredHaving multiple levels
- fanAdmirer or air mover
- wigArtificial head covering
headdress · elaborate · symbolic · ornate · embroidered · gold · ceremonial
Japanese folkloric ogre
Place of instruction
- KongoBantu language family member
- transmissionSending of information
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
shogunate · patronage · classical · intangible · heritage · UNESCO
stage
Raised performance platform
curtain · entrance · kata · movement · slowness · minimalism · stylized · austere · solemn · refinement
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
- shintoJapan's native religion
- kaguraJapanese sacred shrine dance
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
shrine · ancestors · spirits · supernatural · dreamlike · otherworldly · meditation · afterlife · redemption · suffering
carved
Cut to create form
- woodenMade from timber
- lacquerGlossy protective coating
- expressionlessShowing no feeling
transformative · supernatural · demon · spirit · woman · elder · artisan · craftsman · hinoki · ceremonial
brocade
Raised-pattern luxury fabric
wig · headdress · elaborate · symbolic · ornate · embroidered · gold · ceremonial
oni
Japanese folkloric ogre
school
Place of instruction
- KongoBantu language family member
- transmissionSending of information
- lineageDescent from progenitors
preservation · shogunate · patronage · classical · intangible · heritage · UNESCO
- Hogakukoto, shamisen, taiko, biwa, gagaku
- dramaTV drama, acting, television drama, drama school, playwright
- JapanTokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Mount Fuji, Hokkaido
- Japanese culturesamurai, kabuki, sumo, origami, tea ceremony
- performancestalent show, dance routine, ballet, comedy act, variety show
- Edo Japanshogun, samurai, shogunate, daimyo, Tokugawa
nohkabuki
Ritualistic performance for show
vaudeville · burlesque · spectacle · circus · melodrama
nohnaturalism
Worldview excluding the supernatural
realism · method acting · popular entertainment · commercial theater · improvisation
- noh maskJapanese theatrical face covering
- noh theaterTraditional Japanese masked drama