Abstract
Historiographical issues about the narrative of noh’s development in this period are questioned. Moving away from a traditional perspective that focuses solely on the actor/playwright Kanze Zeami, whose writings provide much of what is known about the period, a broader picture of noh in this period is drawn. A number of types of performance occasion are described and related patronage, including that of the court, religious institutions, and warrior leaders, described. Finally, using recent research, Zeami’s role within these contexts is discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Currently the map can be found in the H-8 Tolstoj Quadrangle of the SP-423 Atlas of Mercury on the Nasa site: http://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/h8.htm (accessed June 9, 2016).
- 2.
This is in fact the organization of the first major history, NGK, and of the current “standard” history, Omote Akira and Amano Fumio, Nōgaku no Rekishi (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1987).
- 3.
Fūshikaden, ZZ, 38–41. This list of troupes is discussed in Chap. 3 under the subheading “Performances at the Wakamiya festival in 1349.”
- 4.
See Chap. 3.
- 5.
Omote and Amano, “Nōgaku no Rekishi,” 21.
- 6.
Shikadō, ZZ, 118.
- 7.
For examples, see NGK, 1048–1051.
- 8.
The occasion is described in Kōyōki, entries from 1399 (Ōei 6).5.20, 25 and 26. Cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 24.
- 9.
NGK, 470.
- 10.
Yokoi Kiyoshi, referring to the early fifteenth century, writes: “For many years the Yata sarugaku troupe from Settsu had held the position of gakutō at the biennial festival at the Gokō no Miya in spring and autumn.” (Yokoi Kiyoshi, Muromachi Jidai no Ichi Kōzoku no Shōgai (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 2002), 263.)
- 11.
NGK, 1028.
- 12.
This is my abbreviated translation, based on entries from Kanmon Nikki for 1432 (Eikyō 4).3.10–15, cited in Koyama Hiroshi, Taguchi Kazuo, Hashimoto Asao eds., Kyōgen no Sekai (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1987), 5–7.
- 13.
Three of the plays are referred to by what they are about, rather than by a title (see Chap. 5 for details).
- 14.
It was regularized in the Takigi noh programme, which included, as well as performances at religious sites, noh at the residence of the Kōfukuji Superintendent. There are signs of something similar being typical at the Sanbōin at Daigoji too.
- 15.
Conlan, Thomas Donald. From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 175.
- 16.
See Usui, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 171–3 for an outline of the occasion. Records of the occasion are cited in NGK, 940–1, but Nose’s argument that Zeami was present is no longer accepted, for which see ZZ, Additional Note 172, 500–501.
- 17.
For the reader’s convenience, I try to refer to medieval people, whose names changed at various stages in life, by the one by which they are most commonly known, although, of course, this is anachronistic.
- 18.
See entry for 1410 (Ōei 17).6.29 in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 26.
- 19.
Pinnington, “Early History,” 174–5.
- 20.
Some characters are missing due to worm holes.
- 21.
Go on, ZZ, 206.
- 22.
As discussed in Chap. 3.
- 23.
Inuō’s first appearance in historical records is in 1380 (Kōryaku 2).4.13, in Kōyōki, describing a kanjin performance in the dry riverbed at Ayanokōji, (Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 19). Kan’ami died in 1384 (Shitoku 1).5.19 according to an entry in Jōrakuki, (Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 20). For Inuō’s gratitude to Kan’ami, see Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 301.
- 24.
Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 303. Yoshimitsu took the Buddhist name Dōgi at the end of 1395, after renouncing the title of shogun, so the bestowing of the character “dō” on Inuō must have been after that (Usui, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 272).
- 25.
The journey started in 1389 (Kōō 1).3.4 (Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 21). The detail of lavish gifts given to the many participants of the journey show that Yoshimitsu’s appreciation of Inuō was exceptional. For a study of the trip, see Ochiai Hiroshi, “Inuō no Jidai: ‘Rokuon’in Saikoku Gekōki’ no Kiji o Shōkai Shitsutsu,” Nōgaku Kenkyū 18, 1994, 101–144.
- 26.
See Usui, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 170–174, for an analysis of the occasion.
- 27.
The incident is slightly unclear but involved Inuō and another Ōmi actor performing overnight before one of Yoshimitsu’s vassals, Yuiki Mitsukatsu, who was under house arrest. Yoshimitsu angrily ordered the two actors to retire from the world. It is not clear when he rescinded the order in Inuō’s case. See Kōryaku, entry for 1396 (Ōei 3).8.15, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 23.
- 28.
It seems likely that this occasion coincides with Zeami’s memory of performing in a competition with Enami (the gakutō of Kiyotaki no Miya) before Yoshimitsu, recounted in Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 272.
- 29.
See entries from Kōyōki for 1399 (Ōei 6).4.29, 5.20, 5.25, and 5.26, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 24.
- 30.
In 1423, Yoshimochi passed on the position of shogun to his young son, Yoshikazu, who died a couple of years later. However, Yoshimochi, as his father had done when he appointed his son as the nominal shogun, kept power in his own hands throughout his son’s lifetime.
- 31.
Itō Kiyoshi, Ashikaga Yoshimochi (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kôbunkan, 2008), 219–217.
- 32.
Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 263.
- 33.
Itō Kiyoshi, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 212–216.
- 34.
From 1412 to 1421 there are frequent notices of such three-day kanjin dengaku in Kyoto each year in the third or fourth month, and it seems likely that they were also put on in years for which records are not extant (Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 26–32).
- 35.
See the records listed in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, for 1412–1426, which have been widely discussed in, for example, NGK, 1051–6, and also Itō Kiyoshi, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 212–213.
- 36.
See Mansai Jugō Nikki entry for 1427 (Ōei 34).1.12, in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 39 and discussed in NGK 1033; and entry for Shōchō 1(1428).6.10 in Kennaiki, in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 41.
- 37.
Kanze Motoshige, Zeami’s nephew, took the name On’ami in about 1458, when his son took over as Kanze tayū. I use the name On’ami throughout to avoid confusion.
- 38.
As discussed in Chap. 3.
- 39.
Yokoi, Muromachi Jidai no Ichi Kōzoku, 263–267.
- 40.
A temple record shows the Enami performing at the Kiyotaki no Miya festival sarugaku in 1344 (Kōei 3).4.17 (Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 15). Note that apart from the gojū no tō (pagoda) the entire region of the Kiyotaki no Miya was later destroyed along with Sanbōin, the residence of the abbot of Daigoji, in the Ōnin war later in the fifteenth century.
- 41.
For these records, see the dates 4.17 and 4.18 each year in Mansai Jugō Nikki (cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 28–37).
- 42.
The term nyūdō, literally signifying the taking of Buddhist orders, had come to mean the retirement of the holder of an office, usually at the age of 59 or 60 years. It is often misleadingly translated as “lay monk.”
- 43.
Retirement in sarugaku troupes had a special significance as it coincided with the transformation from noh actor to troupe elder (osa). Elders were not supposed to perform in ordinary noh plays, but they could now take on roles in okina sarugaku. For the changing roles of elders in Yamato sarugaku troupes, see Omote Akira’s series of three articles: “Yamato sarugaku no osa no seikaku to hensen,” jō, chū and ge, in Nōgaku Kenkyū, 2–4, 1976–1978.
- 44.
See NGK, 1029–30.
- 45.
An entry in Ryūgen Sōjō Ki (Ōei 31.4.18) identifies the new gakutō as “Kanze Saburō,” which was a name shared by Zeami and On’ami. Mansai’s entry (Ōei 31.4.17) says “Kanze Tayū,” (Tayū means an active performer of noh plays). Both Mansai and Ryūgen consistently refer to Zeami in this period as Kanze Nyūdō (nyūdō indicating his retirement from noh performance). Hence it seems likely that the new gakutō was On’ami. Nose’s reasons for claiming that it was Zeami can be seen in NGK, 719–721.
- 46.
See Kanmon nikki 1438 (Eikyō 10).3.10, cited in NGK, 1033.
- 47.
The extraordinary process by which Gien was chosen by a lottery is described in Donald Keene, Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion: The Creation of the Soul of Japan (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), 15–17. For a more detailed study of the events, see Imatani Akira, Kujibiki Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 2003).
- 48.
Mansai Jugō Nikki, 1427 (Ōei 34).4.23, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 40.
- 49.
See entries for those dates in Mansai Jugō Nikki, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 41.
- 50.
The event was reported in several records of the time: see 1429 (Eikyō 1).5.3, Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 42.
- 51.
See records for 1429 (Eikyō 1).5.12/13 in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 42. These events have been discussed in several scholarly works.
- 52.
Mansai Jugō Nikki, 1429 (Eikyō 1).1.11, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 41–2.
- 53.
Mansai Jugō Nikki, 1430 (Eikyō 2).4.17, cited in Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 44.
- 54.
Yoshinori presided over a reign of terror. He had people killed for the slightest offense. Donald Keene gives several examples. See Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion, 17.
- 55.
As recorded in Kanmon Nikki, 1439 (Eikyō 9).2.8, Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 44.
- 56.
There is a possible reference to On’ami in section 151 of Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 296. (See translation in De Poorter, Zeami’s Talks, 118: “Recently, when somebody (Saburō) was performing the Noh play Kane before the shogun.” The “somebody” (hito) probably reflects what Zeami said, and the “Saburō” was probably inserted by Motoyoshi to identify him as his cousin On’ami. The remainder of the section is a criticism of Saburō’s performance on the occasion. See also De Poorter’s note 1 to this section, 217.)
- 57.
For Zeami’s attitudes towards the Konparu troupe, see Pinnington (1997, 224–5).
- 58.
It must be mentioned that the Konparu, primary competitors of the Kanze, also preserved Zeami’s writings, through the partially illicit copying of them by Zenchiku, and in the modern era these have played their part in establishing Zeami’s reputation.
- 59.
De Poorter, Zeami’s Talks, 128.
- 60.
Via his son, Motoyoshi, who recorded therein what he had heard from his father.
- 61.
For example, in Tsurezuregusa (see sections 53 and 54, in Donald Keene, trans., Essays in Idleness: The Tsurezuregusa of Kenkô (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), 46–48). For the setsuwa genre, see Margaret Childs, “Chigo Monogatari: Love Stories or Buddhist Sermons?” Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 35/2 (Summer, 1980), 127–151.
- 62.
See the study of the reality and representation of chigo in Paul Atkins, “Chigo in the Medieval Japanese Imagination.” Journal of Asian Studies vol. 67, no. 3 (August) 2008, 947–970.
- 63.
For Yoshimitsu and young boys, see Usui, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 222.
- 64.
Atkins, “Chigo in the Medieval Imagination,” 1.
- 65.
Described in the aristocratic diary of Go-oshikōji Kintada, Gogumaiki (entry for 1377 (Eiwa 3).8.11, Suzuki, Nōgakushi Nenpyō, 19). The passage is quoted in full in Kobayashi Shizuo. Zeami (Tokyo: Hinoki Shoten, 1958) 19–20, and translated with discussion in Hare, Zeami’s Style, 16–7.
- 66.
De Poorter, Zeami’s Talks, 129.
- 67.
For a thorough discussion of the relationship, see Ogawa Takeo, “Yoshimoto to Zeami,” in Zeami, Chūsei no geijutsu to bunka, vol. 3, (October 2005/10), 186–205. Hare translates most of the letter in Zeami’s Style, 17–18.
- 68.
Matsuoka Shinpei, “Zeami to Tōdaiji Keiben,” Zeami, Chūsei no geijutsu to bunka, vol. 1, (January 2002), 199–213, 199.
- 69.
For Yoshimoto’s influence on Zeami’s ideas, see Chap. 2 of Goff, Noh Drama and the Tale of Genji, 30–44. Of course, we have no knowledge of whether Inuō or Zōami, for example, gained similar education through their closeness to their respective shoguns.
- 70.
See Itō Kiyoshi, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 195–217.
- 71.
In Shikadō, ZZ, 118.
- 72.
In 20 or more places in Sarugaku Dangi, Zeami describes the remarks of Yoshimitsu and other important members of elite society.
- 73.
For example, the Kanze were close to the Enami, as indicated by the series of Kanze appearances at the Kiyotaki no Miya festival at Daigoji, mentioned earlier.
- 74.
As Zeami himself reported to his son (Sarugaku Dangi, ZZ, 285).
- 75.
The informant about this was a pupil of Kiyō, who also noted how small in stature Zeami was (Morisue Yoshiaki, Chūsei Geinōshi Ronkō: Sarugaku no Nō no Hatten to Chūsei Shakai (Tokyo: Tōkyōdō Shuppan, 1971), 313–324).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pinnington, N.J. (2019). Noh in Zeami’s Lifetime. In: A New History of Medieval Japanese Theatre. Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06140-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06140-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-06139-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-06140-1
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)