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Past
Thematic
Noh, Japanese Traditional Performing Art
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Location
Thematic Exhibition Gallery
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Date
Oct-06-2015 ~ Nov-22-2015
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The Art and Story of Noh Examined through the Collection of the National Museum of Korea
Noh, the Essence of Japanese Culture
Noh is a masque performance established in the late 14th century and is a type of musical in which the actors sing and dance to a very slow melody. This art form boasts more than six hundred years of history and has left its mark on almost every aspect of Japanese culture. This exhibition will provide a venue for visitors to explore the noh masks and the costumes that were actually used on stage, as well as the paintings that depict noh performances, thereby allowing visitors to grasp the significance of noh in Japanese art.
Noh Story—the Varieties of Yōkyoku
Yōkyoku, the screenplay of a noh musical, consists of poetic lines that are quoted from classics that also contain corresponding musical notes, which renders it a musical score of some sort. Yōkyoku is classified into two categories according to the status of the main character – supernatural noh (mugen noh) and present noh (genzai noh).
1. Mugen noh (夢幻能), Connecting the Two Worlds
Zeami (世阿弥, 1363?-1443?), an actor and a yōkyoku songwriter who played an active role in the noh art during the late 14th century, completed the system of noh under the patronage of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満, 1358-1408), the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, the most powerful ruler to that point. He often featured the spirit of the dead as his main character, forming a unique structure in which the spirit has a conversation with a supporting character that exists in this world, thus creating the dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere of supernatural noh, mugen noh.
2. Genzai noh (現在能), Blossoming as Samurai’s Culture
Many great samurais who are well-known to us were all enthusiastic fans of the noh musical art, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1537-1598), the man who put an end to the chaos of Sengoku period and unified Japan in the late 16th century, and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543-1616), the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The shogunate, or the political group of samurais, often presented noh performance after an official event, and as a result, the performances often dealt with the saga of samurais, which satisfied the taste and demand of the main audiences of the performance, the samurais. Unlike supernatural noh, the noh that dealt with the story of the living, namely samurais, were called present noh, Genzai noh.
Noh Art, Stage Settings and Props
1. Stage, the Height of Stylized Conciseness
The stage of noh is very simple. The backdrop consists of only a single pine tree in which god dwells. This has not changed over the course of six centuries. The actors have to lead the performance on stage with their acting alone, yet when a variety of realistic masks and splendid robes are added to the scene, audience members become fully immersed in the story.
2. Masks, Bearing Emotions and Will
On the noh stage, besides the role of a living male, actors who play the role of women, spirits, and gods all wear masks. Over a long period of time, subtle changes in the level of disheveled hair or placement of the eyebrows have contributed to the subdivision of mask types in order to express a variety of characters with varying age and status.
3. Costumes, Embroidering the Stage with Splendor
Noh costumes that appeared on the stage under the sponsorship of samurais were heavily affected by the actual clothing that samurais wore. Some of the costumes used on the present noh are a result of historical investigation into the attire of ancient noblemen. Since noh costume has been developed in connection with the clothing of the ruling class, they are extremely splendid, adding vivid color and vigor to the performance.
Noh and Japanese Art
The scenes that have unfolded on the noh stage for more than 600 years are highly familiar to Japanese people. Accordingly, noh performance led to the emergence of paintings featuring themes from noh scenes, and on occasion gave birth to new patterns and icons. For example, the celebrated scene of Stone Bridge (Shakkyō), in which a lion performs a gorgeous dance against the backdrop of peonies in full bloom, gave birth to the combined icon of the peony and lion, which has been used in a variety of art genres.
Not Just a History, but a Living and Breathing Culture of the Present
Nohgaku was designated and put under protection by UNESCO in 2001 as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. However, the noh stage is definitely not an artifact of the past but rather a culture that exists and is alive in the present time. Even at this moment somewhere in Japan, a noh musical may be being performed. We hope you discover the other aspect of Japanese culture that has been unfamiliar to most Koreans.
Noh, the Essence of Japanese Culture
Noh is a masque performance established in the late 14th century and is a type of musical in which the actors sing and dance to a very slow melody. This art form boasts more than six hundred years of history and has left its mark on almost every aspect of Japanese culture. This exhibition will provide a venue for visitors to explore the noh masks and the costumes that were actually used on stage, as well as the paintings that depict noh performances, thereby allowing visitors to grasp the significance of noh in Japanese art.
Noh Story—the Varieties of Yōkyoku
Yōkyoku, the screenplay of a noh musical, consists of poetic lines that are quoted from classics that also contain corresponding musical notes, which renders it a musical score of some sort. Yōkyoku is classified into two categories according to the status of the main character – supernatural noh (mugen noh) and present noh (genzai noh).
1. Mugen noh (夢幻能), Connecting the Two Worlds
Zeami (世阿弥, 1363?-1443?), an actor and a yōkyoku songwriter who played an active role in the noh art during the late 14th century, completed the system of noh under the patronage of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満, 1358-1408), the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, the most powerful ruler to that point. He often featured the spirit of the dead as his main character, forming a unique structure in which the spirit has a conversation with a supporting character that exists in this world, thus creating the dreamlike and mysterious atmosphere of supernatural noh, mugen noh.
2. Genzai noh (現在能), Blossoming as Samurai’s Culture
Many great samurais who are well-known to us were all enthusiastic fans of the noh musical art, including Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1537-1598), the man who put an end to the chaos of Sengoku period and unified Japan in the late 16th century, and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1543-1616), the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The shogunate, or the political group of samurais, often presented noh performance after an official event, and as a result, the performances often dealt with the saga of samurais, which satisfied the taste and demand of the main audiences of the performance, the samurais. Unlike supernatural noh, the noh that dealt with the story of the living, namely samurais, were called present noh, Genzai noh.
Noh Art, Stage Settings and Props
1. Stage, the Height of Stylized Conciseness
The stage of noh is very simple. The backdrop consists of only a single pine tree in which god dwells. This has not changed over the course of six centuries. The actors have to lead the performance on stage with their acting alone, yet when a variety of realistic masks and splendid robes are added to the scene, audience members become fully immersed in the story.
2. Masks, Bearing Emotions and Will
On the noh stage, besides the role of a living male, actors who play the role of women, spirits, and gods all wear masks. Over a long period of time, subtle changes in the level of disheveled hair or placement of the eyebrows have contributed to the subdivision of mask types in order to express a variety of characters with varying age and status.
3. Costumes, Embroidering the Stage with Splendor
Noh costumes that appeared on the stage under the sponsorship of samurais were heavily affected by the actual clothing that samurais wore. Some of the costumes used on the present noh are a result of historical investigation into the attire of ancient noblemen. Since noh costume has been developed in connection with the clothing of the ruling class, they are extremely splendid, adding vivid color and vigor to the performance.
Noh and Japanese Art
The scenes that have unfolded on the noh stage for more than 600 years are highly familiar to Japanese people. Accordingly, noh performance led to the emergence of paintings featuring themes from noh scenes, and on occasion gave birth to new patterns and icons. For example, the celebrated scene of Stone Bridge (Shakkyō), in which a lion performs a gorgeous dance against the backdrop of peonies in full bloom, gave birth to the combined icon of the peony and lion, which has been used in a variety of art genres.
Not Just a History, but a Living and Breathing Culture of the Present
Nohgaku was designated and put under protection by UNESCO in 2001 as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. However, the noh stage is definitely not an artifact of the past but rather a culture that exists and is alive in the present time. Even at this moment somewhere in Japan, a noh musical may be being performed. We hope you discover the other aspect of Japanese culture that has been unfamiliar to most Koreans.