The Nō Plays of Japan
by Arthur Waley
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About This Book
Part prose, part verse, the visually stunning No plays of Japan deal with such subjects as insanity, obsession and historical characters, and frequently have as their focal points demons, gods, and beautiful women. Among the 19 works and 15 summaries included here are Ukai (The Cormorant-Fisher), Hatsuyuki (Early Snow), as well as a farcical interlude, or kyogen, titled The Bird-Catcher in Hell. A unique introduction for Western theater-goers to classic Japanese drama.Plays included:Atsumori by Seami Motokiyo (1363-1444)Ikuya by Zembō Motoyasu (1453-1532)Tsunemasa by SeamiKumasaka by Zenchiku ...
Chapters (291)
- THE NŌ PLAYS OF JAPAN
- CONTENTS
- ILLUSTRATIONS
- KEY TO PLAN I
- KEY TO PLAN II
- INTRODUCTION
- (1) THE NŌ STAGE.
- (2) THE PERFORMERS.
- (a) The Actors.
- (b) The Chorus.
- (c) The Musicians.
- COSTUME.
- PROPERTIES.
- DANCING AND ACTING.
- THE PLAYS.
- ORIGINS.
- YŪGEN
- PATRONS
- IMITATION (Monomane).
- APPARITIONS
- CHILD PLAYS
- RESTRAINT
- NOTE ON BUDDHISM
- ATSUMORI, IKUTA, AND TSUNEMASA.
- ATSUMORI
- IKUTA
- TSUNEMASA
- CHAPTER II
- KUMASAKA
- EBOSHI-ORI
- BENKEI ON THE BRIDGE (HASHI-BENKEI)
- CHAPTER III
- KAGEKIYO
- HACHI NO KI
- NOTE ON KOMACHI.
- SOTOBA KOMACHI
- CHAPTER IV
- Note on Ukai.
- UKAI (THE CORMORANT-FISHER)
- AYA NO TSUZUMI (THE DAMASK DRUM)
- Note on Aoi No Uye.
- AOI NO UYE (PRINCESS HOLLYHOCK)
- CHAPTER V
- Note on Kantan.
- KANTAN
- THE HŌKA PRIESTS (HŌKAZŌ)
- Note on Hagoromo.
- HAGOROMO
- CHAPTER VI
- Note on Tanikō and Ikeniye.
- TANIKŌ (THE VALLEY-HURLING)
- IKENIYE (THE POOL-SACRIFICE)
- HATSUYUKI (EARLY SNOW)
- HAKU RAKUTEN
- INTRODUCTION
- ACT II.
- CHAPTER VII SUMMARIES
- HANAKATAMI (THE FLOWER BASKET)
- OMINAMESHI
- MATSUKAZE
- SHUNKWAN
- AMA (THE FISHER-GIRL)
- TAKE NO YUKI (SNOW ON THE BAMBOOS)
- TORI-OI
- YUYA
- TANGO-MONOGURUI
- IKKAKU SENNIN (THE ONE-HORNED RISHI)
- YAMAUBA (THE DAME OF THE MOUNTAINS)
- HOTOKE NO HARA
- MARI (THE FOOTBALL)
- TŌRU
- MAI-GURUMA[213] (THE DANCE WAGGONS)
- CHAPTER VIII KYŌGEN
- THE BIRD-CATCHER IN HELL[215] (ESASHI JŪŌ)
- SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY
- EUROPEAN
- JAPANESE
- APPENDIX I
- MODERN NŌ LETTERS FROM JAPAN
- APPENDIX II
- FOOTNOTES
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