Zeami
Kwanze Seami（1925）Explanations of Nō plays: a vade mecum for spectators of Nō plays, Nōgakukai, Tokyo [EN]
- 9In the 38th year of Meiji, the Nōgaku-bungaku-kenkyūkai (Society for the study of the Nō literature) made a discovery of 16 volumes, a legacy of Kwanze Seami; one of these contains a writing called the Nōsakusho explaining the manner of composition of the Nō play, and thus it became plain that in order to compose the Nō play, it is necessary that one should be well acquainted with the principles of music and form as well as with the artistic aspect of the play.
- 9In the 38th year of Meiji, the Nōgaku-bungaku-kenkyūkai (Society for the study of the Nō literature) made a discovery of 16 volumes, a legacy of Kwanze Seami; one of these contains a writing called the Nōsakusho explaining the manner of composition of the Nō play, and thus it became plain that in order to compose the Nō play, it is necessary that one should be well acquainted with the principles of music and form as well as with the artistic aspect of the play.
- viNel XV secolo Motokio ed altri impresari lo modificarono, adattandolo presso a poco al suo aspetto attuale.
- 199Kiyotsugu was succeeded by his eldest son Motokiyo, who died in 1455, in his eighty-first year.
- 200Motokiyo’s son-in-law and successor has twenty-two assigned to him, those of the remainder which are not anonymous being distributed among a dozen or so of the subsequent holders of the office.
- 200The Yō-kyoku Tsūge editor suggests, with great probability, that although the names of Kiyotsugu, Motokiyo, and their successors are given as authors of the No, they were in reality only responsible for the music, the pantomimic dance (the “business,” as we might say), and the general management.
- 206This is one of the pieces attributed to Motokiyo, who died in 1455, but, as already suggested, he was probably only the director or manager of the theatre where it was produced.
- 41Kiyotsugu (who died in 1406) and his son Motokiyo (who died in 1455) are generally credited with this development.
- 49Nevertheless, what could be more romantic than the title and plot of the play, attributed to the Emperor Gohanazono though signed by Motokiyo ” Koi no Omoni,” “The Burden of Love ” ?
- 133Sa composition est attribuée à Motokiyo, et M. Aston l’a traduite avec un sens très exact de l’ancien théâtre japonais (1).
- 122D’autre part, à considérer la pièce en elle-mème, il paraît légitime d’en placer la composition à l’époque de la pleine maturité du talent de Motokiyo, c’est-à-dire dans les premières années du XVe siècle.
- 9Following Kiyotsugu, who died in 1406, was his son Motokiyo (one of whose plays will be found on p. 56), who lived from 1373-1455.
- 53Its author was Motokiyo, who was born in 1374 and who died in 1455.
- 75The play, which was written essentially in praise of the virtues and powers of Kannon, is attributed to Motokiyo, the author of Kagekiyo (see p. 53).
- 8Motokiyo compuso un centenar de estas obras y luego su yerno puso en escena unos veinte dramas.
- 87Esta obra se atribuye a Motokiyo, el hijo y sucesor inmediato de Kuan Ami.
- 2The most famous of the early great No performers and adapters were: Yūsaki Jibu Hata no Kiyotsugu, also called Kwanami Sо̄-on (1355-1406) ; his son Yūsaki Saemondayu Hata no Motokiyo (1373-1455); and Komparu Shikibudayu Hata no Ujinobu (1405-1468), the son-in-law of Motokiyo; also called Zenchiku.
- 1185Così nel 1406 divennero famosi Kiyotsugu e il figlio Motokujo della famosa famiglia di Yusachi, e la fortuna di questi nobili innovatori a Corte si deve non poco ai panegirici dello Shogun, cantati dal coro, ed alle opportune allegorie.
- 437Un indigène de la province d’Iga, employé à la Cour du Shogun Athikaga, eut pour fils Motoshigé qui, ayant aperçu en songe la déesse Kwanzeon, déesse de la pitié, changea son prénom de Yusaki en celui de Kwanzé.
- 18A collection of two hundred was published about the year 1500, most of them composed by Se-ami, son of Uizaki Iro, buffoon to the Shogun Ashikaga.
- 18The son of Se-ami, Oto-ami, founded the now-existing house of Kanzi, which is in fact the true and original family of No dancers.
- 200Of the two hundred and thirty-five No contained in the latest and most complete collection (the Yō-kyoku Tsūge), no fewer than ninety-three are assigned to Se-ami Motokiyo, the second of the line of official managers ; his father, Kwan-ami Kiyotsugu, being credited with fifteen.
- 200Of the two hundred and thirty-five No contained in the latest and most complete collection (the Yō-kyoku Tsūge), no fewer than ninety-three are assigned to Se-ami Motokiyo, the second of the line of official managers ; his father, Kwan-ami Kiyotsugu, being credited with fifteen.
- xThe first No were compiled from these sources in the days of the Ashikaga Shogun Yoshimitsu (1367-1408) by the actor-composers Kwan-ami Kivotsugu, his son Se-ami Motokiyo, his son-in-law Komparu Ujinobu, and others.
- 1-22The stage, which has remained unaltered in everyrespect since the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the early dramatists Seami and Otoami acted at Kiyauto before the then Shiyauguñ,* Yoshimasa, is a square wooden room open on all sides but one, and supported on pillars, the side of the square being about eighteen English feet.
- 30This man, as well as his son Seami, compiled several dramas based upon historical incidents of the Kamakura epoch, though the two writers carefully refrained from seeking materials in the events of their own time.
- 251The descendants of these celebrated No dancers and writers called themselves “Kwanze” from generation to generation, a name formed by combining the two first syllables of Kwanami and Seami.
- 122Il fut composé par le second des Kwanze, Seami Motokiyo 世阿弥元清 (1375-1435); celui-ci le cite dans un de ses opuscules écrits vers I435.
- 6The stage, which has remained unaltered in every respect since the beginning of the fifteenth century, when the early dramatists Seami and Otoami acted at Kyoto before the then Shogun, Yoshimasa, is a square wooden room open on all sides but one, and supported on pillars, the side of the square being about eighteen English feet.
- 63Even when some of their names, Seami and Otoami for instance, are given, it is said by an authority that they are, in fact, only responsible for the music, the dance, and the general stage management.
- XXThe 14th century Noh-writer, Seami, insists that pivot-words should be used sparingly and with discretion.
- XXIINoh owes its present form to the genius of two men. Kwanami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384 A.D.) and his son Seami Motokiyo (1363-1444 A.D.)
- XXIIIt is probable that when he first saw Kwanami he also became acquainted with the son Seami, then a boy of twelve.
- XXIIOf Seami we know far more than of his father Kwanami.
- XXIIFor Seami left behind him a considerable number of treatises and autobiographicalfragments.
- XXIIThey establish, among other things, the fact that Seami wrote both words and music for most of the plays in which he performed. It had before been supposed that the texts were supplied by the Zent priests.
- XXIIIt is obvious that Seami was deeply imbued with the teachings of Zen, in which cult his patron Yoshimitsu may have been his master.
- xxiiFor other information brought to light by the discovery of Seami’s Works see Appendix II.
- xxiiI will give a few specimens of Seami’s advice to his pupils:
- XXXIIt was in the language of Zen that poetry and painting were discussed; and it was in a style tinged with Zen that Seami wrote of his own art.
- 3The late Dr. Tо̄go Yoshida, a well-known historian in Japan described the Nо̄ play somewhat as follows: “About five hundred years ago, with Seami, the founder of the Kwanze school of the Nо̄ play as the central figure, other Nо̄ actors and scholars working in co-operation collected the very cream of our literature and fine arts and from them completed the Nо̄ music and dance.
- 9In the 38th year of Meiji, the Nōgaku-bungaku-kenkyūkai (Society for the study of the Nō literature) made a discovery of 16 volumes, a legacy of Kwanze Seami; one of these contains a writing called the Nōsakusho explaining the manner of composition of the Nō play, and thus it became plain that in order to compose the Nō play, it is necessary that one should be well acquainted with the principles of music and form as well as with the artistic aspect of the play.
- 9In the book rolled Sarugaku-dangi (one of the 16 volumes left by Seami), some plays are distinctly ascribed to Seami.
- 9-10These considerations broke down the prevailing opinion and supported the affirmation that the Nō play could not have been composed by those who knew nothing about the acting aspect of the play, and thus it became a certainty that Nō plays were composed by the hands of a number of Nō actors with Seami as the central figure.
- 23The Nō play that is in existence at present was brought to perfection by Seami Motokiyo the second head of the Kwanze family.
- 23Konparu Zenchiku being his son-in-law, Seami actually is connected with the genealogy of the Konparu family so that it may be reasonably stated that Seami is the actual founder of the Nō play as we find it now.
- 1Au XVe siècle japonais, Seami, le grand acteur de la grande époque des Nô, disait que l’on doit les comprendre par les yeux, les oreilles et le coeur.
- 9In the book called Sarugaku-dangi (one of the 16 volumes left by Seami), some plays are distinctly ascribed to Seami.
- 87Kwanami Kiyotsugu and his son, Seami, were members of the Kwanze family, and by them Sarugaku was brought to its perfection.
- 87-88Seami (A.D. 1363-1444) considered it a Noh or art, under the name Sarugaku no Noh (申楽の能).
- 88Seami’s Sixteen Booklets (Seami Jurokubu Shu) throw much light upon his contribution to Sarugaku no Noh ; and by inference, though not from direct statement in this, we may judge that he definitely rejected all lighter elements in early Sarugaku which his father had in a degree favoured through the influence of Itchu, his teacher, himself a noted player of Dengaku.
- 88In spite of Seami’s serious-mindedness, however, he did much, through the inclusion of more human elements, to free Sarugaku no Noh from the crushing domination of the Buddhist priesthood, which sought to use it almost exclusively for purposes of religious propaganda;
- 88As this style of entertainment developed in his hands, Seami began to drop the extended title and to call it simply Noh, the entertainment par excellence.
- 89Although Seami’s name is associated more closely with the Shugen Noh, neither school confined itself to the production of any one type, practically all types coming to be used in the presentation of a complete Noh performance;
- 89However, whether emphasis were placed upon the sense of mystery and art or upon the skill in mimic action, Seami was insistent that the emphasis must be given from inner conviction and with depth of feeling.
- 135A Genzai Mono Noh by Seami (1363-1444), based upon historic characters and events of the early tenth century.
- 148A Genzai Mono Noh, by Seami (1363-1444).
- viiiLes deux plus célèbres compositeurs de Nô furent Kouan-Ami Kiyotsougou (1355-1406) et son fils Seami Motokiyo (1373-1455).
- xiiPuisque nous ne pouvons ici produire que des textes, faisons appel, comme dit Seami Motokiyo, au «coeur» du lecteur, à sa sensibilité, à sa sympathie éclairée: il comprendra que les règles classiques de représentation des Nô donnent à l’ambiance où ils se jouent un charme spécial, une sérénité religieuse propice au rappel des légendes du passé qui reviennent, hésitantes & discrètes, comme des fées suaves & un peu oubliées, comme des fantômes, un instant, un instant seulement, et devant un auditoire choisi.
- 11I have boon much indebted to the works of Mr. T. Nogami, Mr. A. Nose, Mr. N. Ikenouchi, and of course the writings of Seami, and to other Japanese writers of the Nо̄, and to much helpful information from Mr. Iwao Kongo, the head of the Kongo School of Nо̄ in Kyoto.
- 16Sarugaku was brought to perfection by Kiyotsugu and Seami, and became the Nо̄ as it is known to-day.
- 17Of these Seami was the greatest.
- 17It was natural that Seami should become imbued with the Zen teachings, that many of his friends should be Zen priests, and that, therefore, he should turn to them for suggestions in the compositions and renderings of his Nо̄ plays.
- 23In Seami’s time, Yūgen was used to represent refined taste in general.
- 31Seami symbolises these as skin, flesh, and bones.
- 33Seami calls it the actor’s flower, and he says that if the flower be lacking in the actor’s impersonation there will be no beauty.
- 35Besides Yūgen and Yūkyo, Seami considered Ran-i, the expression of maturity in the Nо̄.
- 35Seami symbolised Yūgen with the maple-tree and Ran-i with an old cedar which stands straight.
- 2-3This new art of Seami’s was greatly welcomed by the people of the time, and talented exponents of the art came after him in great numbers and added many masterpieces to the Noh repertoire.
- 9They have all been derived from the same school, but some men of rare originality who came after Seami made slightly different versions from the strict original of the Noh and established different schools for themselves.
- 11“Hagoromo” was composed by Seami, the founder of the Noh and its theme was taken from: a legend which is called the Swan Maiden Legend and is widely spread all over the world.
- 47Il bonzo e attore Quanami prima e suo figlio Seami poi, ai quali si deve l’invenzione del « nô », furono entrambi assai protetti dallo « sciogun » Ioscimitsu Ascicaga, che può considerarsi come il primo patrono del « nô » e dovette perciò sopportare le gelosie e le critiche della sua corte, avversa a principio a quei due attori e alle loro rappresentazioni.
- 458Facciamo un po’ di storia: questo teatro Nô, nella forma con cui è arrivato fino a noi, è una creazione letteraria non più antica del XV secolo quando Seami lo costrinse in schemi ed architetture ben definite, costruendolo su antiche danze sacre e profane, aristocratiche e popolari che in esso confluirono, portandovi ciascuna la sua musica, le sue leggende ed i suoi miti; dal Dengacu al Sarugacu, dal Ghigacu al Bugacu.
- 7The Noh in this finished form owes its origin chiefly to the genius of two men, Kannami (1333-1384), an actor and text-writer with a rare sense of dramatlc values, and his even more famous son, Séami (1363-1444), a producer and actor of exceptional talent whose texts, which have never been surpassed for their dramatic excellence, have to thls day dommated the repertoire of the various “schools” of Noh.
- 8Kannami and Séami, as well as the other actors and producers of their day, had to work principally for an audience whose esthetic standards were those of Zen.
- 10Séami, in a treatise on Noh, not for publication, but for the use of his disciples, laid down the rule that the actor’s chief aim should be mono-mané (imitating things), but he did not mean by it the grosser forms of mimicry.
- 15Foremost among the text-writers, as already noted above, was Séami and his father, Kannami.
- 16When in the 14th century the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu elevated Kannami and Séami to a high social position and patronized their art, he established a precedent which was observed in a much more systematized and effective manner during the entire history of Tokugawa rule.
- 122Il fut composé par le second des Kwanze, Seami Motokiyo 世阿弥元清 (1375-1435); celui-ci le cite dans un de ses opuscules écrits vers I435.
- XXIKwanami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384 A.D.) and his son Seami Motokiyo (1363-1444 A.D.)
- viiiLes deux plus célèbres compositeurs de Nô furent Kouan-Ami Kiyotsougou (1355-1406) et son fils Seami Motokiyo (1373-1455).
- 2About the end of the 14th century, there.appeared an author-actor of rare genius called Seami Motokiyo (1363-1444 A.D.)
- 2About the end of the 14th century, there appeared an author-actor of rare genius called Seami Motokiyo.
- 84Suivant une autre théorie, le nom de Kwansé aurait été formé par la réunion des deux premières syllabes des noms de Kwanami et de Seiami, pére et frère de Motoshighé.
- 84Suivant une autre théorie, le nom de Kwansé aurait été formé par la réunion des deux premières syllabes des noms de Kwanami et de Seiami, pére et frère de Motoshighé.
- 84Il eut pour successeurs son fils aîné Seiami Motokiyo, Motoshighé.
- 1Verso la seconda metà del Medioevo, esso poi ebbe la forma più perfetta, grazie al genio di due autori, attori e registi : Kannami e il figlio suo Zeami.