kw3

Among the Noh plays you have read, select one that appeals to you the most and discuss why you are drawn to it above all the other works. You may wish to refer to the video illustrations of the excerpts of the plays that we saw in class, as well as the scripts to compose your answer.

====My favorite Noh experience was that of the Part 3 play Zeami’s “Izutsu,” or “The Well-Cradle.” It tells the tale of Ki no Aritsune, wife of Ariwara no Narhira, and her pining over the loss of his love. In the piece the ghost of Ki no Aritsune depicts the tale of her life and the stages of the love between herself and Ariwara no Narhira. She shows the time of their childhood in which they measured their heights by the well-cradle and how their loved blossomed into marriage. The story takes a heart-wrenching turn as Ki no Aritsune depicts losing this love and the isolation that has driven her into anguish. In watching this performance, the most powerful moment was the central dance in which the Shite actor performs the dance in which Ki no Aritsune dons the nōshi, or imperial kimono, of Ariwa no Narhira (the-noh.com). The well is suggested by a small square railing with a stalk of plume grass attached to the corner. This minimalistic staging heightens the isolation portrayed in this play (the-noh.com). The intensity of the emotion portrayed in the moment where Ki no Aritsune looks into the well and sees the reflection of Ariwa no Narhira upon her own is a striking moment. In Noh performance there is a distance created between the Shite and the audience by the mask (the Waka-Onna in this particular play), the language barrier, and the voluminous costume. This very moment of Ki no Aritsune peering into the well displays that through the artful, technical precision the overwhelmingly emotional moment can still be clearly communicated. ====