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Remembering that Zen depends on self-reliance, one begins to understand the importance of training for a Noh actor. In training, the main characters (the shite), the guide character (the waki), the chorus, and the musicians practice independently. On the day of the performance the group has a walk through, but the first time it all comes together is the actual performance (George, 1999). The shite learns the art of control and release of each movement (George, 1999). Just as Zen taught the samurai the practice of concentrated energy, a Noh actor must know how to control and release each movement at just the right pace (George, 1999). In practicing this control and release, the actor and the samurai must achieve the state of “no-mind” (George, 1999). No-mindedness “is a state of mind which is no more troubled with the questions of death or of immortality” (Suzuki, 1970). The no-mind concerns itself with nothing, not even the action in which it is presently engaged. The simplicity of the Noh stage points to the Zen influence as well. Minimal set and props leave the audience with room to imagine. A rainbow curtain of sorts hangs from the doorway of the entrance to the bridge, which leads to the main stage (George, 1999). The curtain, gateway/entrance, and bridge symbolize a transfer from the human realm to the realm of the divine. Three live pine trees in diminishing size line the bridge of the transition; the largest tree sits closest to the stage to exaggerate the distance from the stage to the curtained entrance (George, 1999). This method of exaggeration may originate from Zen landscape paintings where the creation of artificial depth helps the viewer see the true nature of the painting and in this case the stage (George, 1999). The live pines, in addition to lining the bridge, lead the eye to the large painted pine on the back wall, characteristic of every Noh stage.
Zen sees the duality of the world and so too must the audience see the duality of the masked shite for while he is the actor, he is also the character. As Mori (1997) attests, the mask helps the audience see this duality in that the audience is constantly aware of both the actor and the character. The definitive goal is to create the aesthetic world of the shite for the audience (Mori, 1997). Once the shite is on the stage, the play commences. Both the performers and the audience are now prepared for the meditative aspects of the production, searching for the hana or satori, the enlightened moments of the performance.
Leann Findley.
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