Kyogen |
Written as two ideograms (kanji):
kyo, means mad (as in mad dog)
gen, means word(s).
Background
Kyogen usually refers to the farcical interludes which alternate with
Noh plays in a full-day programme. The term has other meanings however
depending on the context. Sometimes it is used in the sense of phoney or fake.
It has also become a general term for a play-text - a Kabuki kyogen for example.
|
Brief History
Nara 708~793 CE |
Sanugaku/Gagaku arts imported from China. |
Heian 794~1185 |
Sangaku becomes Sarugaku (emphasis on 'monkey-like' acrobatics). |
Kamakura 1185~1336 |
Sarugaku splits into Hongei (with an emphasis on mime, humour)
and Nohgei (dance, music). |
Muromachi 1337~1573 |
Kyogen adopts the costume and language of this period -
both are maintained until the present day. |
Momoyama 1568~1600 |
|
Edo 1603~1867 |
Noh and Kyogen (Nohgaku) fall under the protective wing of the
military class. 3 Kyogen schools are established - Okura, Sagi and Izumi. |
Meiji~present
1868~ |
With the Meiji restoration, patronage is lost.
Sagi school disappears.
Nohgaku eventually revived with federal and private assistance. |
|
Performance Categories
Noh texts are traditionally separated into 5 types:
|
|
stories of good fortune or mythology |
|
often a ghost retells his fall in battle |
|
usually the protagonist is a female character |
|
a number of these involve women driven to madness by jealously |
|
often stories featuring a demon - the action is vigorous |
|
| |
For Kyogen, the division is more arbitrary. Categories suggested by Yoshikoshi et al. include:
|
|
good fortune and mythological themes, as well as stories about rich men and farmers |
|
the protagonist is a feudal land-owner |
|
the ne'er do-well servant of the gullible Daimyo |
|
themes and variations on meeting the father of the bride |
|
|
|
|
|
itinerant holy men.
They claimed to have acquired mystical powers through acestic practices;
inevitably ridiculed when they appear in Kyogen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Themes
Scenarios are built around familiar human weaknesses
- stingy in-laws, greedy priests, argumentative tradesmen and ugly blind dates.
There are a number of variations on the wily servant/gullible master dynamic.
The following synopsis (translated from an Izumi Kyogen workshop given at the Aster Plaza)
is a typical example:
Bon Mountain A farmer has a plentiful orchard with a fine view.
His land attracts the interest of a wandering ne'er-do-well.
Feeling hungry, the man sneaks into the orchard via the hedge behind the farmhouse.
He enjoys the spoils, but is so noisy about his break-in that the farmer comes to investigate.
The thief tries unsuccessfully to hide himself up a tree.
Naturally the farmer spots him immediately; he decides to have a bit of fun at the thief's expense.
He tells himself (rather loudly) that the creature in the tree must be a dog.
The thief is forced to howl in order to keep up the rouse.
Then the farmer corrects himself - no, surely the animal is a monkey.
The thief obliges by changing to monkey sounds.
Finally the farmer decides that it must be a sea bream -
when the thief can't come up with a call to match this challenge,
the game is up and the thief flees the orchard/stage,
with the farmer in hot pursuit. |
Costumes
The designs are taken from the Muromachi period.
Details vary depending on the character portrayed. |
 |
1 = kamishimo
- stiff vest with prominent shoulders
2 = kosode
- a brightly patterned kimono
3 = kataginu
- trousers - short for servants, longer for daimyo
4 = tabi
- 'socks' designed with a separate space for the big toe.
Kyogen tabi are always yellow, as are those worn by Waki in Noh plays.
|
 |
Links
There are relatively few internet resources dedicated exclusively to Kyogen.
Information about the International Kyogen Club (sponsored by the American School in Japan)
is available at
Phillip Lipscy's page. And the
Virtual Museum
is one source for Noh and Kyogen play synopses. |
References
Shio Sakanishi (trans.) 1960. Japanese Folk-Plays: The Ink-Smeared Lady and Other Kyogen. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co.
Yoshikoshi, T., Hata, H., & Kenny, D. (1982). Kyogen. Osaka: Hoikusha Publishing Co.
Kenny, D. (1989). The Kyogen Book: An Anthology if Japanese Classical Commedies. Tokyo: The Japan Times.
|