Noh Theatre

Timeline

1. 1370–1430Kyoto·Yamato · KinkiKan'ami Kiyotsugu fused sarugaku with aristocratic bugaku, and Zeami Motokiyo wrote Fūshikaden and other works expounding yūgen aesthetics and actor technique; the embryo of nō's five schools formed, receiving protection from shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and others.
2. 1610–1620Edo·various domains · JapanTokugawa Ieyasu and the second and third shoguns incorporated nō into warrior etiquette; from the 1610s it was performed regularly at Edo Castle, Nijō Castle, and the residences of major daimyō; the Kanze school and others received fief grants, and nō expanded from court art to a symbol of shogunal orthodox culture.
3. 1600–1700All Japan · JapanThe Kanze, Hōshō, Kongō, Kōngō, and Kita schools had clearly divided roles; about 240 plays and conventions for masks, costumes, and hayashi (accompaniment) were fixed; joint performance with kyōgen became the standard nō format, widely staged at castles, shrines, and warrior residences.
4. 1868Japan · JapanFrom the Meiji era onward nō received state cultural-policy support and overseas introduction; in 1957 it was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property of Japan, and in 2001 UNESCO listed it among the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity; the five schools continue to this day.