There are more than 200 Noh plays currently performed in Japan. We are adding new performances all the time.

This Web site provides a wide variety of information on Japanese Noh plays, including Noh chant Story Paper, slide shows of Noh stages, reading materials introducing every detail of Noh plays, and a Noh masks database.

Aoi-no-ue (Lady Aoi), the formal wife of Hikaru Genji and a daughter of the Sadaijin (the Senior Minister of State) family, has been possessed by a phantom and seriously ill.

Noh too went through a kind of transformation with the development of the iemoto system, the merging of noh and kyōgen into nohgaku, and the building of indoor noh stages. Recently, with the development of people practicing utai (vocal) and …

The complete noh stage is comprised of the hon-butai (main playing area), hashigakari (bridgeway), ato-za (seating section for musicians and stage attendants) and the jiutai-za (seating section for the chorus). The main playing area is 5.4m per side.

Noh is a theatrical art form that has been handed down through generations and been labeled one of the worlds oldest performing arts. It has also been designated an “Intangible Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO.

In between each noh a separate kyōgen play would be performed. A typical gobandate would start in the morning with an invigorating god noh followed by the brave tales of a warrior noh.

This Noh play is composed of calm, yet extremely frightening scenes that describe the tragic death of a fisherman who broke a fishing ban. His suffering after death, due to karmic retribution, is described in finely honed expressions of chanting and music that dramatically change the pace, as well as in the well-controlled movements of performers.

Taking into account the status of a certain noh, the noh performer will carefully choose a noh mask, known also as a noh-men or omote. In most cases, the exact mask is not predetermined, but depending on which noh is being done, the shite has a variety to choose from.

Although she tries to catch and eat them, when Yūkei and the others pray with all their strength, the ogre is completely weakened and vanishes within the night storm. This Noh drama is one of the three female ogre stories, together with “Dōjō-ji (Dōjō-ji Temple)” and “Aoi no Ue (Lady Aoi).”