4. What is Banraku?
• Bunraku is the traditional puppet theatre of
Japan, a high-level stage art of which Japan
can be very proud. Bunraku was originally the
name of the theatre in which this puppet
drama was performed, but gradually it came
to be used as the name of the art itself and is
today used as the official name of the puppet
theatre.
5. What is Noh & Kyogen?
• Noh is a kind of symbolic drama colored with the graceful
aesthetic effect of quiet elegance that is expressed through
the word yugen . Its subjects are taken from history or
classical literature, and it is structured around song and
dance. Its most obvious characteristic is that the main actor
performs while wearing a mask of exceptional beauty. Its
themes are more concerned with human destiny that with
events, and it developed into a highly stylized and refined
performing art that takes place upon a very simple stage.
The play known as The Well-Curb is often used as typical of
the vision-like Noh plays of its dramatic world. When
audiences experience Noh, they are touched with a feeling
different from that evoked by other theatrical forms.
6. What is Noh & Kyogen?
• Kyogen is a kind of spoken drama that is based
upon laughter and comedy. In contrast to Noh,
it uses the everyday life of the common
people in feudal society or folk tales as its
subject, and realistically depicts a kind of
"Everyman" figure. This dynamic art-whose
typical main character is a servant named Taro
Kaja-evokes a gentle and entertaining humor.
