“Nogaku is the world’s oldest performing art and the first Japanese traditional performing art to be designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is an internationally acclaimed artistic culture that our nation proudly presents to the world.”
【 What is Kyogen?】
“Kyogen is a comic theater of the common people that was born 650 years ago. It has a particularly deep relationship with Noh, and together, Noh and Kyogen are collectively referred to as ‘Nogaku.’ While Noh deals with classical themes (aristocratic society) and is a dance-and-song tragedy characterized by elegant, subtle beauty (yugen), Kyogen is a spoken-word comedy that expresses the everyday lives of ordinary people through laughter.”
“As a classical theater, it possesses various established conventions. However, it was originally created for audiences with no prior background knowledge. Kyogen was performed under the premise that no one would watch if it wasn’t entertaining, meaning it is designed to be fully enjoyed even without knowing any of those rules.”
“The most direct way to enjoy Kyogen is simply to watch the stage and feel whatever comes to you. The essence of laughter, refined over a long history of 650 years, never feels outdated; it remains a fresh and enjoyable ‘art of laughter’ even today.”
狂言の内容と登場人物 (Content and Characters)
- “The content can be classified into three categories:”
- 🌟 The laughter of celebration (Shugen no Warai): Reflected in the saying, “Fortune comes to a smiling gate.”
- 🎭 The laughter of satire (Fushi no Warai): Humorously pointing out the weaknesses that every human possesses.
- 🌸 The laughter of harmony and joy (Waraku no Warai): Containing not just mere slapstick, but true enjoyment within a smile.
- “The number of characters is small, usually between two and five. Each character possesses an entertaining side, such as a feudal lord (daimyo) with only a single servant, a servant who is sharper than his master but can never stand up to him, a priest or mountain ascetic (yamabushi) who pretends to know everything, a sharp-tongued wife who henpecks her husband, thieves, and swindlers. A collection of people with such flaws is exactly what the world is made of; because it beautifully captures our human weaknesses and comical nature, audiences immediately feel a sense of familiarity.”
演技の特徴 (Characteristics of Acting)
- “The acting in Kyogen is characterized by being bright, strong, and stripped of any waste. Unlike conventional plays, it does not require large-scale stage sets or curtains, allowing it to be easily performed on any stage. It requires almost no props; a single fan can represent a bow or, when opened, become a sake cup.”
- “The dialogue is based on the medieval colloquial language, which is the mother tongue of modern Japanese. The costumes also faithfully replicate the attire of that era, giving the impression of a ‘moving picture scroll of Muromachi commoners’ lives.’ It possesses all the elements to be loved by anyone today.”
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