Blog 6 - Japanese Noh

This was a Japanese Noh performance in Senedagaya, Tokyo on the Hatomori Shrine stage. They performed on September 8th, 2007 for the Autumn Festival. This is an example of the musical ensemble that normally goes along with noh dramas. These type of ensembles are called hayashi. This hayashi had a slow tempo, as is the tradition of Japanese music. However, keeping in mind ethnocentrism, their idea of slow may be different than theirs. If they are accustomed to slow tempos, then this could possibly be a faster tempo performance, but based on our Western music culture, this is very slow. Because of this decrease in tempo, they have more temporal spaces between notes, also known as ma. The sound varies throughout the performance and therefore the ma can be more noticeable at certain times than at others. Though much Japanese music may not be considered pulsatile because of the slow tempo, this piece is pulsatile. From what I could decipher, this was a homophony with the chants as part of the harmony.

Chants are very common in Japanese music, especially in these type ensembles. These exclamations are called kakegoe in hayashis. Though three-fourths of the instruments are drums, they each play their own specific part, none of them playing the same pattern at the same time. It has more of a layered effect that strays away from synchronization.

Noh’s are known to tell stories, which is why it is considered a classical theatre of Japan, instead of plainly a type of music. This may not be factual, but supposedly in this video, the actress on stage is wearing her purple robes of her husband who passed away. After looking into the well, which is the box seen in the front, she sees her reflections and believes it to be her deceased husband. I wish I could better understand the message or story they were trying to give through this theatrical scenario.