Ohtsuki Noh Teatre Global

Welcome to the World of Noh

With a history that extends back to the 1300s, noh is one of the oldest active theatre traditions in the world. A comprehensive art form, noh entertains and inspires audiences with performances passed on in an uninterrupted line of transmission stretching back about seven hundred years. You are invited to enjoy these profoundly human dramas, which transcend time and space and expand the human imagination.

What Is Noh?

Noh is a theatrical performance that combines song, dance, and instrumental music.

Noh is a masked drama built around a structure that combines chant (utai) and instrumental music (hayashi) with movement based on stylized kinetic units (kata).

Noh depicts the world of human sentiment—thoughts, feelings, strong emotions, and desires. Yet, it does not narrate this world solely from the human perspective, conveying the story from the perspective of plants and all other beings as well. It tells of the joys and sufferings of flowers and trees, as well as of deities and Buddhas, animals and ghosts, rocks and even mountains.

Deep emotions and passions are expressed through the appearance of ghosts and spirits. A multi-dimensional world unfolds as these beings appear in the dreams of those they encounter.

Noh depicts the universal human condition that remains constant and unchanged through time. Innumerable human passions are expressed in symbolic movement in this art form.

Note: In 2001, noh became Japan’s first designated UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

What Is Kyogen?

Noh and kyogen share the same origins and the same roots.

While noh tells of the strong emotions and passions of human beings, kyogen expands on their humorous side, expressing their foibles and antics in the form of comedy. Noh is a drama of poetry; kyogen is a Theatre of dialogue.

Kyogen portrays the human condition from the vantage point of humor. It invites the audience into the world of laughter.