Stories and characters

Nō theatre as we know it today is the result of a series of developments that took place over an extended period. The first major codification occurred with Kan’ami and his son Zeami between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The two combined features and elements from already existing performative forms, creating a theatrical form that was new yet at the same time traditional, with elements and themes recognizable to audiences and which – precisely because of the subjects it presented – soon became the preferred form of theatre among the most educated classes.

In this historical period, this stage form was called sarugaku, but in the sixteenth century the term “nō” came to refer specifically to the dramatic works within the sarugaku repertoire.

A second phase of codification took place with the rise of the Tokugawa house to the position of shōgun and the beginning of the Edo period. This ruling family reorganized Japan not only from a territorial and hierarchical perspective, but also introduced a set of regulations that affected daily life and theatre, leading to the establishment and construction of dedicated spaces for the performance of this art form. Before then, nō (or sarugaku) had been performed on platforms within temples or in open spaces. When, in the seventeenth century, the stage space became codified, traces of its origins remained. In fact, the stage we find today in purpose-built theatres is the same as that found in temples; from the Meiji period (1868–1912) onward, it was simply placed within enclosed spaces with seating for the audience.

Nō theatre stages stories drawn from, or inspired by, Japanese literature, foremost among them the Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike, 14th century) and the Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji, 11th century). Examples include Ataka, Funa Benkei, and Atsumori – derived from the Heike monogatari – as well as Aoi no ue, Yūgao, and Nonomiya – from the Genji monogatari. There are also adaptations of dances and performances that already existed in Zeami’s time, as well as stories drawing on figures from folklore and the Buddhist milieu, such as Dōjōji with the serpent demon, Hagoromo with the celestial maiden, or Kokaji with the deity Inari. In addition, there are stories inspired by Chinese characters and narratives, such as Makura jidō, Shōjō, or Yōkihi, as well as legendary figures from Japanese tradition, such as Tomoe Gozen, protagonist of the play Tomoe, or Ariwara no Narihira, one of the Six Immortal Poets (rokkasen 六歌仙) in Kakitsubata.

In short, nō brings Japanese tradition and culture to the stage, and it is perhaps for this reason that it continues to be so highly appreciated today, both by the Japanese themselves and by international enthusiasts of the field.

The following sections introduce a selection of these stories and characters. The descriptions provided are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather focus exclusively on the distinctive features of the objects analyzed, in order to contextualize their meaning and function within the Japanese theatrical tradition.

Nō categories

Based on characteristics related to the characters or the theme of the story, nō dramas can be divided into three main categories and five subcategories:

Three main categories:

1. Genzai nō (現在能): “present nō”, this category includes all plays featuring human characters, with themes connected to the real world.
2. Mugen nō (夢幻能): “dream” or “illusory nō”, this category includes plays that take the form of dreams or visions experienced by the waki (the secondary actor). In these dramas, the shite (the main actor) is a deity, a ghost, a spirit, or more generally a supernatural being.
3. Ryōgakari nō (両掛能): less common; these are plays that, due to their characteristics, combine elements of the first two groups, genzai nō and mugen nō.

There are also five subcategories, which mainly refer to the types of characters:

1. Ichibanme (first group): Kami nō or Waki nō, that is, plays in which the shite is a deity, or in which particular emphasis is placed on the waki.
2. Nibanme (second group): Shūramono or Ashuramono, namely dramas that depict a warrior who, after a life of battle, enters the world of the Asura, the warrior demons of Buddhist cosmology.
3. Sanbanme (third group): Kazura mono or Onna mono, meaning “wig plays” and “woman plays.” These are dramas in which the shite plays a high-ranking woman or celestial maiden—figures embodying elegance and beauty.
4. Yonbanme (fourth group): includes plays focused on human experience, staging stories of living men and women, with all their suffering and struggles, such as Sumidagawa, the story of a mother driven mad by the loss of her abducted child.
5. Gobanme (fifth group): Kiri nō, that is, plays featuring demons, dragons, and supernatural creatures of the underworld.

There are also other, less common categories, such as Shūgen nō, celebratory plays; Honwaki nō, also focused on deities and with a strong celebratory character; and Shūshin mono, plays depicting human (non-supernatural) figures who have died but still maintain a connection with the world of the living.

An interesting aspect, one that clearly reflects the complexity of this theatrical form, is that some nō plays display characteristics that allow them to belong to more than one category.