Noh History

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The history of Noh begins even before the name is official. During 612 A.D. a dance from China became popular in Japan. Gigaku, the oldest recorded form of Japanese stage performance, incorporating music, dance, and masks, birthed Noh in Japanese culture (Keene, 1990. Next, Japan saw a more “stately court dance” (Keene, 1990, p. 29) in bugaku. Two different types of bugaku excelled in Japan; one originated in China with Indian music and the other from Korea and Central Asia (Keene, 1990). The music from these dances, in particular, influenced the music of Noh, especially the jo, ha, and kyū musical segments of increasingly rapid tempo (Keene, 1990). This form of dance fell out of popularity by the end of the 12^th century. After bugaku came sangaku. Sangaku integrated magic, acrobatics, juggling, animal shows, and dancing (Keene, 1990). These plays were structured around humorous themes which included plots and dialogue (Keene, 1990). By the 13^th century, dengaku came into prevalence. Dengaku, meaning field music, was the original name of the songs and dances performed by Japanese people in the country during harvest celebrations (Keene, 1990).
	Ennen, next in the evolution of Noh, began simply as the songs and dances following an ennen prayer in 1100 A.D. Ennen performance probably had the greatest influence on what is now known as Noh. It provided “a model of how songs, quotations from religious and secular literature, and a vocabulary including words of Chinese as well as Japanese origins might impart to the texts a dignity and beauty not found in older forms of drama” (Keene, 1990, p. 30). Noh evolved from ancient Chinese dancing, to dramas including music, dance, and plot.
During the time of dengaku, another form of entertainment, suragaku also gained popularity. Suragaku, dengaku, and ennen all flourished and enveloped one another at approximately the same time. Differentiating between the three art forms became difficult (Keene, 1990). As the Muromachi Period of Japan (1336-1568) began to influence art as well as culture, Noh finally came into being. At this time, the shogun Yoshimitsu attended his first Noh performance. Yoshimitsu, so enamored by the performance as well as the actors, became a patron to Noh, specifically the father son duo of Kannami and Zeami (Keene, 1990). The shogun’s passion for Noh allowed Kannami and Zeami the opportunity to perform for distinguished audiences, not just farmers (Keene, 1990). Zeami also became a companion to Yoshimitsu, a status not previously held by actors. After Kannami’s death in 1384, Zeami took control of the troupe and the writing of Noh plays. In addition to scripts, Zeami became the foremost writer of Noh training. His treatises continue to influence actors and their training today.