Noh and Kyogen Rare Materials Digital Collections

Noh Treatises

The history of noh’s treatises goes back as far as the 15th century; Zeami (1363?-1443) was the first person to have left writings on various teachings to his sons, ranging from practical methods of acting, singing, training, and playwriting, to more conceptual, abstract observations of how noh plays should be performed. Konparu Zenchiku (1405-70?), Zeami’s son-in-law and head of the Konparu troupe, inherited a few of Zeami’s treatises, but instead of practical tips, he wrote treatises discussing religious and spiritual conceptualizations of noh. The writing of treatises spread not only among actors but also among musicians in later years. The transmission of treatises meant the succession of lineage, and generations of noh performers have copied and transmitted the materials they received from their masters, including verbatim records. Since lessons were open to non-professionals, the receivers of knowledge were not limited to professional performers, but also included privileged amateurs such as daimyō (provincial warlords) and those with connections to the daimyo. Such people could also access these materials, resulting in the authors, copiers, and former owners of many of the extant treatises today.

  • image:NK02144
    Title:
    Figure Drawings of the Two Arts and the Three Modes
    Title (jp):
    Nikyoku santai ningyōzu  二曲三体人形図
    Description:
    Completed in 1421 (Ōei 28), this treatise discusses in detail the two arts (singing and dancing) and three modes (Aged, Woman’s, and Martial) that Zeami claims as the important prototype for noh acting. What is unique about this treatise is that it includes drawings of nine figures, such as child, demon (oni), or heavenly maiden (tennyo), in addition to the basic three (old man, woman, and warrior). Dance style and epigraphs appropriate to each figure are written together to indicate the ideal posture or state of mind of the actor.

    This handwritten manuscript by Konparu Zenchiku is karitoji-bon (literary “temporal bound”) of 26.7 x 20.7cm, with the title “Nikki hitokata kuden” (diary: oral transmission on acting figures) on its cover. The last few lines of the Figure Drawings are lost, while bound together are the fragments from the “Separate Pages of Oral Instructions” from the seventh section of Transmitting the Flower through Effects and Attitudes (usually called kaden dainana besshi kuden) and Sazen nikki.
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:KZ36_1
    Title:
    A Secret Transmission Regarding the Okina Deity
    Title (jp):
    Meishukushū  明宿集
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Hosei University Kōzan Collection
    Volume:
    1
  • image:KZ35_3
    Title:
    A Course to Attain the Flower, Hosokawa ten-treatises collection
    Title (jp):
    Hosokawa jūbu densho Shikadō  細川十部伝書　至花道
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Hosei University Kōzan Collection
    Volume:
    1
  • image:KZ35_4
    Title:
    Five Sorts of Singing, vol. 2, Hosokawa ten-treatises collection
    Title (jp):
    Hosokawa jūbu densho Goon (ge)  細川十部伝書　五音(下)
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Hosei University Kōzan Collection
    Volume:
    1
  • image:KZ35_5
    Title:
    Discussions on Sarugaku by Zeami in His Sixties, Hosokawa ten-treatises collection
    Title (jp):
    Hosokawa jūbu densho Zeshi rokujū igo sarugaku dangi  細川十部伝書　世子六十以後申楽談儀
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Hosei University Kōzan Collection
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL137
    Title:
    Discussions on Sarugaku by Zeami in His Sixties, former Kurokawa Harumura collection
    Title (jp):
    Kurokawa Harumura kyūzō Zeshi rokujū igo sarugaku dangi  黒川春村旧蔵「世子六十以後申楽談儀」
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2145
    Title:
    Transmitting the Flower Through Effects and Attitudes, Hachizaemon manuscript
    Title (jp):
    Fūshi kaden (Hachizaemonbon)  風姿花伝(八左衛門本)
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2146
    Title:
    A Course to Attain the Flower, Hachizaemon manuscript
    Title (jp):
    Shikadō (Hachizaemonbon)  至花道(八左衛門本)
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2147
    Title:
    Pick Up the Jewel and Take the Flower in Hand
    Title (jp):
    Shūgyoku tokka  拾玉得花
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2148
    Title:
    An Account of the Six Spheres and Single Dewdrop
    Title (jp):
    Rokurin ichiro no ki  六輪一露之記
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2149
    Title:
    Abstract for Attaining the Way
    Title (jp):
    Shidōyōshō  至道要抄
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2150
    Title:
    The Essence of Singing and Dance
    Title (jp):
    Kabu zuinōki  歌舞髄脳記
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2151
    Title:
    Three Turns Around the Five Sorts of Singing
    Title (jp):
    Goon sangyoku shū  五音三曲集
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:NL2152
    Title:
    Technical Specifications for the Five Sorts of Singing
    Title (jp):
    Goon no shidai  五音之次第
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    1
  • image:HK
    Title:
    8-Volume Kadensho, movable type
    Title (jp):
    Kokatsuji-ban Hachijōbon Kadensho  古活字版『八帖本花伝書』
    Description:
    ––
    Collection name:
    Noh Theatre Research Institute
    Volume:
    8
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