Noh was called "sarugaku" or "sarugaku-no-Noh" from the Heian and Kamakura eras through the Edo era. These names are associated with the origin of Noh, "sangaku" being a performance art introduced from China during the Nara era.

In the Nara era, two performance arts came from China. "Sangaku," a public entertainment, included comical performances and parodies, acrobatic performances, jugglery, and magic. "Gagaku," solemn music and dance, became a ceremonial performance art, which was performed in the imperial court and aristocrats' residences. Sangaku, on the other hand, spread among the commoners as the entertainment performed at temples and shrines.

Years later, the tradition of sangaku came to be transformed and was passed down as "sarugaku." It is said that sarugaku indicates a play performed by monkeys. This name shows us that Noh plays were developed from jugglery and acrobatic performance.

Sarugaku-no-Noh and Dengaku-no-Noh

It is uncertain when the word "Noh" emerged. However, it seemed to have been used to describe a performance art since ancient times. During the Nanboku-cho era and Muromachi era, Noh was divided into two categories, "sarugaku-no-Noh" and "dengaku-no-Noh." Sarugaku-no-Noh (humorous mime) was a performance art focused on how skillfully the actor played the character, while dengaku-no-Noh aimed to express subtleness and profundity through its dance. Therefore, the performance of dengaku-no-Noh was more symbolic rather than imitating and copying the actual character. Dengaku-no-Noh was accepted among aristocrats and was popular in Kyoto; however, sarugaku-no-Noh did not become popular in Kyoto but rather gained its popularity in the peripheral regions of Kyoto, such as Ohmi, Tamba, and Ise.

Yamato-yoza and Tachiai-Noh

During the Nanboku-cho and Muromachi eras, both sarugaku and dengaku organized performance groups (za), "sarugaku-no-za" and "dengaku-no-za." They formed performance art consortia led by the master of each performance group. Particularly influential in Yamato where sarugaku was popular, were the Yamato Yoza (four performance groups in the Yamato region), which included Yuizaki-za, Sakato-za, Tobi-za, and Enmai-za. These four groups became the foundations of the Kanze school, Kongoh school, Hosho school, and Komparu school, respectively, and continue until the present.

It is said that each group ardently desired to go to Kyoto and perform. In order to realize this dream, they had to participate in and win a performance competition, "tachiai-Noh." If they won, they could expect to gain considerably favorable treatment. They fiercely fought to receive recognition for their performance. At the peril of the existence and development of the group, the masters of the groups exercised broad artistic wisdom. For example, Zeami compiled "Fūshi kaden" the theory of Noh art, perhaps in order to hand down the artistry he had acquired to his successors.

Photo from National Noh Theatre

Emergence of Zeami and Thereafter

Within Yamato-yoza, Kannami, the founder of Yuizaki-za, created a new performance art by adding kusemai (storytelling with dance) and singing with dance to sarugaku, which had been a performance of parody. The Noh dramas "Sotoba Komachi" and "Jinen Koji" are representative works of Kannami and famous even today.

Zeami, a son of Kannami, succeeded and perfected his father's work. Zeami gained support from the shogunate and the imperial court, including the third shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, and an aristocrat, Yoshimoto Nijo. While incorporating the characteristics of performance of competing Noh performers, he established the duplex style of "Mugen Noh (dreamy Noh drama)" based on his subtle and profound aesthetics. He created more than fifty Noh dramas, including his representative work, "Izutsu (the Well Head)." These dramas are still performed with Zeami's original lyrics.

After the Zeami's death, his nephew Onnami and his son-in-law Konparu Zenchiku developed Noh art. However, the prosperity ebbed away following the devastation of Kyoto during the Ohnin War. It was Hideyoshi Toyotomi who cast light on Noh performances again. It is recorded that Hideyoshi not only watched but also learned and performed Noh dramas.

After Hideyoshi, the Tokugawa Shogunate also protected Noh art. Hidetada Tokugawa, the second shogun, designated Noh and Kyogen as the official ceremonial performance art and gave accreditation to Yamato Sarugaku Yoza and the Kita school. Owing to this accreditation, the social status of Noh performance was established. Still, Noh was quite popular among ordinary people. With recognition as the official performance art by the government, Noh became more sophisticated from an artistic perspective, yet it did not have the power to exercise the imagination and inventiveness that Noh art had in the medieval era.

Noh art was on the brink of collapse when the Tokugawa Shogunate fell apart in the 19th century. However, in the Meiji era, it gained new support from company syndicates and government elites and renewed its vitality as a performance art enjoyed by ordinary people. Introduction of the grand master system, the practice of categorizing Noh and kyogen together as "Noh-gaku," and the establishment of the stage style in Noh theaters were all achieved after the Meiji era. Today, utai (Noh chant) and shimai (informal Noh dance without music and mask), which are parts of Noh art, are also accepted as hobbies for ordinary people under the grand master system, and Noh is growing in popularity.

What is Noh? | Forms and elements

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