Motivated by reading William T. Vollmann's Kissing the Mask , I re-read Arthur Waley's (1889-1966) translations of nineteen Noh plays (with summaries of sixteen others). Though reading a Noh play is much like reading the libretto of an opera, it is unavoidable, probably even for the Japanese, since the classic Noh plays (and that is most of them) are written in the formal language of the fourteenth century Japanese court. When Waley wrote this book (it appeared in 1921), he asserted that this courtly language was still used to write very formal letters in Japan. Nearly a century later, and knowing the enormous upheavals in Japanese society which have intervened, I feel safe in speculating that relatively few Japanese would have learned that archaic version of Japanese in our time. In the West, the opportunities to actually see a live performance of a Noh play are rare indeed. Even in Japan, where the Noh acting troupes are partially supported by the government, Noh performances are not frequent and most definitely sinfully expensive. Except for the occasional performance for a temple or other public institution (where they are free and are serving an outside purpose), Noh performances are attended by the old and exceedingly wealthy, to a degree that goes well beyond the situation of classical music in the West, where a certain minority of the young are still drawn to the music and into the concerts. When I asked my Japanese friends about Noh performances, they snorted with disdain and said they are for very old poseurs who go there to sleep. This news saddened me at the time but did not surprise. Though, of course, Noh grew out of earlier forms of theater and performance, it attained its unique and traditional form in the fourteenth century due largely to the efforts of a father and son team, Kiyotsugu Kwanami (or Kanami) (1333-1384) and Motokiyo Zeami (or Seami or Kanze) (1363-1443/4). Zeami became the theorist of Noh, writing essays about its aesthetics, and composed many of the plays which became the models for later authors. He also wrote very concrete and practical advice for Noh actors (excerpted by Waley). Some of these essays are assiduously kept secret by the oldest troupes, which are associated with families - either you are born into the family or adopted into it if you want to be a Noh actor. Though the occasional woman was a Noh actor in the far past, all roles have been performed by men for a very long time (some of the troupes are relaxing this somewhat, but the actresses must learn to play the women's roles "with the strength of a man"). I have only ever seen videos of Noh performances and heard recordings of the performances (Noh music is strikingly unique) and have resigned myself to never seeing a live performance. You should find some of the videos online to get a flavor of the totally unique nature of Noh performance techniques. But what about Noh plays as literature? Waley explicitly writes that to explore and display precisely this aspect was the purpose of this book. Let's turn to that.The plays translated in full were written in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 6 or 7 by Zeami. As dance, long silences, slow chanting and singing are major components of Noh, the actual texts are less than 10 pages long. Distillation and constraint, yugen (that which lies beneath the surface, that which is hinted but not stated) are basic elements in these texts, as they are in most medieval Japanese art.The stories are largely based upon famous stories from ancient and medieval Japanese history, though not exclusively so. They are permeated with Buddhist attitudes, though, somewhat surprisingly to me, by Amida-school Buddhist traits, not by Zen. Of course, the fact that karma plays a large role in the plays is common to all schools of Buddhism. And there are many ghost stories. As Waley explains, the ghost stories enable the Noh author to describe, not show, violent and dramatic events; this is advantageous because to show such things would be vulgar, offensive and not yugen . Typically, there are two characters (though not always), 4 musicians, and a chorus filling roles not unlike those of the chorus in ancient Greek drama; but the chorus also chanted or sang the lines of the shite , the main character, when the actor was too involved in his dancing and gesturing to comfortably chant or sing himself. (Any sign of strain or effort would not be yugen .) The texts are mixtures of poetry and prose; often they open with a Buddhist-inspired couplet, then lapse into prose as the waki , one of the two main characters, introduces himself, the setting and then the shite . As the dramatic tension heightens, the prose usually intensifies into poetry. Viewed as literature these translations are truly admirable - graceful, charming, quite yugen (Vollmann loves them, too). Let me show you a few passages.First, the opening couplet from Kagekiyo (Zeami):Late dewdrops are our lives that only waitTill the wind blows, the wind of morning blows.A chorus from Kagekiyo :Though my eyes be darkenedYet, no word spoken,Men's thoughts I see.Listen now to the windIn the woods upon the hill:Snow is coming, snow!Oh bitterness to wakeFrom dreams of flowers unseen!And on the shore,Listen, the waves are lapping Over the rough stones to the cliff.The evening tide is in.From the title character in Atsumori (Zeami):When they were on high they afflicted the humble;When they were rich they were reckless in pride.And so for twenty years and moreThey ruled this land.But truly a generation passes like the space of a dream.[.............]Wild geese were they rather, whose ranks are brokenAs they fly to southward on their doubtful journey.
This is an interesting book historically and for its insight into Buddhist worship in medieval Japan, which makes up for the dryness of the plays themselves.Most of the plays in this anthology were written by Kwanami Kiyotsugu and his son Seami Motokiyo, who were both priests of Amida Buddhism (the older and more traditional form of the two types of Buddhism most practised in in Japan, distinct from Zen). THey date from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries.---Here are a few random quotes for flavour:"Sometimes from discord salvation springs."- Kwanami, 'Sotoba Komachi'"...where can I hide, I that have no more refuge than the dewThat finds no leaf to lie on?Should you, oh flower delicately tended,Call me your father, then would the World know youA beggar's daughter. Oh think not ill of me That I did let you pass!"- Seami, 'Kagekiyo'"I am old: I have forgotten -- things unforgettable!My thoughts are tangled: I am ashamed.But little longer shall this world,This sorrowful world, torment me."- Seami, 'Kagekiyo'Yama (lord of Hell): "Hell is not far away:All that your eyes look out on in the worldIs the Fiend's home." - Enami No Sayemon, 'Ukai'---A few of the plays grabbed me on an emotional level, but most most of these plays are overly emotionally restrained and excessively didactic. Japanese thought is quite remote from that of European Humanism. The language is pretty, but they are little more than elaborate morality plays. Ghosts feature prominently, and their melancholy utterances give the plays most of what pathos they possess. However, these are always soliloquies are usually tied neatly into Buddhist teachings, which detracts from their effect; especially as the Amidist teachings seem quite shallow to me. For example one ghost mourns his wretched state, the sadness of the world, his bitter death; a priest mutters a few incantations to the Buddha, and the spectre is whisked off to Paradise! There were some interesting surprises, though. Two plays dealt with human sacrifice as something proper that should be accepted. That caused my eyebrows to raise. I'm fairly sure human sacrifice was being used allegorically in the play and it wasn't practised in Japanese Buddhism (wouldn't it be news if it was otherwise?) Nevertheless, the necessity of accepting one's sacrifice to an ancient tradition was an interesting thing to note in terms of the Japanese mind, especially considering these plays are not directly connected to Bushido and Zen. The mental conditioning that inflicted Kamikaze on the world has been going on a long time.It's an old book, out of copyright. The whole text is available here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/npj/i...Not especially appealing in and of itself, but worth dipping into if you are interested in understanding the Japanese.
What do You think about The Nō Plays Of Japan (2012)?
Reading this 20-play book, “The No Plays of Japan” translated by Arthur Waley was, I think, like finding a literary treasure, for instance, some written by Seami, “an actor-author of the fourteenth century” (p. 5) and other classical No playwrights. Indeed, the famous No plays have primarily been performed for audience to watch and hear; therefore, enjoying them by reading is contentedly secondary. Moreover, his ‘Preface’ (pp. 5-59) is a must we should read for more understanding on this unique Japanese genre.However, reading “Five Modern No Plays” (Vintage, 2009) by Yukio Mishima to gain inspiring familiarity and sound background would be a good idea. In the meantime, comparatively speaking, his first page of ‘Kantan’ would be presented as follows:KANTANCHARACTERS: JiroKiku(Dream Personages):tThe BeautyDancersGentlemenPrivate SecretaryCelebrated PhysicianDoctorsFemale Employee(Before the curtain.)Kiku(Her voice is heard from offstage.) It’s so wonderful you’ve come. Jiro(also offstage) It’s been ten years, hasn’t it, Kiku?KikuYou’ve grown so big. … Oh, I’ll carry it.JiroNo, I’ve got it. That’s all right.KikuPlease let me have it. I can manage. It’s only a suitcase. (Kiku enters with a suitcase. She is a woman of about forty. She is followed by Jiro, a young man of eighteen, in a double-breasted suit.)… (pp. 79-81)The following extract is from “The No Plays of Japan”:KANTANPersonsHostess.Rosei.Envoy.Two Litter Bearers.Boy Dancer.Two Courtiers.Chorus.Hostess.I who now stand before you am a woman of the village of Kantan in China. A long while ago I gave lodging to one who practiced the arts of wizardry; and as payment he left here a famous pillow, called the Pillow of Kantan. He who sleeps on this pillow sees in a moment’s dream the past or future spread out before him, and so awakes illumined. If it should chance that any worshipful travelers arrive to-day, pray send for me.(She takes the pillow and lays it on the covered “dais” which represents at first the bed and afterwards the palace.)Rosei (enters).Lost on the journey of life, shall I learn at lastThat I trod but a path of dreams?My name is Rosei, and I have come from the land of Shoku. Though born to a man’s estate, I have not sought Buddha’s Way, but have drifted from dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk.They tell me that on the Hill of the Flying Sheep in the land of So there lives a mighty sage; and now I am hastening to visit him that he may tell by what rule I should conduct my life.… (p. 195)
—umberto
