Noh theatre

Japanese drama

Also known as: No theatre, sarugaku-no-nō

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 9, 2024 • Article History

Noh theatre robe

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Category: Arts & Culture

Noh also spelled:: No

Key People:: Mishima Yukio; Ernest F. Fenollosa; Robert Wilson; Zeami; Kan’ami

Related Topics:: hayashi; Kanze school; kyōgen; monomane; kami mono

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Noh theatre, traditional Japanese theatrical form and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the world. Noh—its name derived from nō, meaning “talent” or “skill”—is unlike Western narrative drama. Rather than being actors or “representers” in the Western sense, Noh performers are simply storytellers who use their visual appearances and their movements to suggest the essence of their tale rather than to enact it. Little “happens” in a Noh drama, and the total effect is less that of a present action than of a simile or metaphor made visual. The educated spectators know the story’s plot very well, so ...(100 of 1052 words)

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