The Noh Theater. Principles and Perspectives. by Kunio Komparu; Audience and Actors.

A
Study of Their Interaction in the Japanese Traditional Theatre. by Jacob Raz
Review by: Leon Zolbrod
Pacific Affairs, Vol. 58, No. 3 (Autumn, 1985), pp. 534-535
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2759271 .
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 PacificAffairs
THE NOH THEATER. Principlesand Perspectives.By Kunio
Komparu.New Yorkand Tokyo:JohnWeatherhill.
1983. xxiv,376 pp.
US$32.50.
AUDIENCE AND ACTORS. A Study of theirInteractionin the
Japanese TraditionalTheatre. ByJacobRaz. Leiden:E.J.Brill.1983.
xiv,307 pp. GId. 80.00, paper.

EVER SINCE the(then)Duke of Edinburghsaw fiveNoh playson

his visit to Japan 1869, Japanese theatre has aroused interestin the
English-speaking world.Manybooks and articleshave appeared,and
fromtimetotimeNohand Kabukitroupeshaveperformed inlargecities
throughout Europe and NorthAmerica.Never,however,has a more
completeand analytical bookon Noh comeoutin English.It is a revised
and expandedtranslation ofa 1980Japanesepublication (No e noizanai
[InvitationtoNoh],publishedbyTankosha)whichspecializesinJapanese
and aesthetics.
art,leisureactivities, Forthemostpartlucidand readable,
TheNoh Theatre interprets and codifiesthe elementsthatmake Noh a
marvelously compositetheatricalexperience.
Part 1 treatsNoh ritual,aesthetics,dramaturgy, cosmology,and
kinesthetics.
Part2 describesthesixfundamental artistic
elements ofNoh
dance,music,literature, folkloreand history,fineart,and architecture.
Part3 beginswithan elaborationof thesesix elements,analyzingthem
in a dynamicwaywiththehelp of figures, graphs,and metaphorsthat
characterizehow the separateelementscoalesceto producea unified
aestheticeffect.The book concludeswiththreeappendices:the first
outlinestheachievements ofZeami(1363-1443),whotransformed a type
ofpopularentertainment intotheworld'smostrefineddramaticart;the
second listsplaysin the currentNoh repertory;the thirdgives the
principaltheatresinJapanand providestipson whattheatre-goers might
look forat a play.Since publicationof thebook,one new facility that
deservesspecialmentionhas opened-the NationalNoh Theatre.On
September15, 1983,an idea bornwitha proposalby Count Iwakura
Tomomi in the early 1870s was finallyrealizedin the formof this
institution.
Despitetheoveralllucidity and cogencyof thebook,somewordsof
cautionand qualification are necessary.Readerswhoare notspecialists
or practitioners
themselves shouldkeepinmindthattheoriginaltextwas
writtenforJapaneseaudience.The author'sanalysiswillat timestax
readerswithoutan appetitefortechnicalinformation. Ultimately, per-
hapsunderstanding Noh canonlycomewithyearsofexperienceand the
directinstructionof a master.
Somewhatdisappointing and yeta unique contribution to the sec-
ondaryliterature on traditionalJapanesetheatre, AudienceandActors is
more of a summaryand historicalsurveyof Noh and Kabukithana
monographon interaction betweenaudience and actor. Too much
descriptivematerialclogs the text.Discussionof connectionsbetween
religiousritualand theperforming arts,theroleof patronage,and the
534

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 Book Reviews
place of theaudiencein thedevelopment of theaesthetics of theatreis
eitherthinor lackingin focus.
Nevertheless, the book deservespatientattentionby scholarsand
advancedstudents.Readersinterested in any aspectof Asian theatre,
publicperformance, or folkritualwillfindthe textusefulforcross-
culturalreference.The treatment of connections betweenriceculture
and thetraditional performing arts(pp. 16-20) and thatof "theinvited
visitorand theuninvited visitor"(pp. 25-33) touchcloseto theheartof
a theoryof theatreand performing artthatwouldlinkcertainpractices
throughout theSouthand East Asia,as faras Korea and themaritime
provincesofSiberia,as wellas Japan.Whereverthetigerprowledor the
habitatofthemonkeyextended,ifnotbeyond,theleavenofshamanistic
ritualand theeconomicbenefits ofricecultivation ora comparablemeans
of livelihoodled to complexdevelopments in whatis nowknownas the
performing arts.
Chapters6 and 7 (pp. 214-70) standoutas beingof particular value
forunderstanding recentchangesin therelationship betweenactorand
audienceinJapan.This reviewerwouldhave preferredto see a recast
versionof the general discussionon the Japanese audience at the
beginningof the volume,placinggreateremphasison whatmightbe
termedthesociology ofthetraditional Japanesetheatre.The appendices
(pp. 271-92), whichreporton surveysofJapaneseattitudestowardthe
traditionalarts as well as audience responseto traditionalformsof
theatre,compriseyetanotherstrongarea in thebook.
The indextoAudience andActors is so poorthatone is remindedhow
eighty yearsago B.H. Chamberlain wrotetoLafcadioHearn,saying,"Get
whomyouliketo writeyourbook,butmakeyourownindex."The low
qualityof proofreading in bothtitlesreviewedhere similarly demands
comment. BeginningwiththehowlerinAudience andActors,"Lustbutnot
least"(p. xii),thetypographical errorsare an embarrassment. Careless-
nessgeneratesmisleadinginformation and erroneousdates,suchas the
anachronistic citationin Audience andActors of 1131 A.D. fora perfor-
mance that the retiredEmperorGo-Fushimi(1288-1336) attended.
Otherblemishesincludediscrepancies betweencitations of authorsand
titlesin thetext,footnotes, and bibliography. Authors,it is said, never
finishbooks.Rather,theyabandon them.In some measurethesetwo
titles,despitetheirrespective merits,maystandas a case in point.
ofBritishColumbia,Canada
University LEON ZOLBROD

SECURITY IN SOUTHERN ASIA. By ZalmayKhalilzad,Timothy

George,
RobertLitwak,and ShahramChubin.New York:St. Martin'sPress.
1984. 191 pp.1242pp. US$37.50.
THIS VOLUMEis infacttwoentirely
separatebooks,boundtogether,
buteachwithitsownpaginationand index,whichmaymakeitunique-
althoughmaddeningtouse. The first bookis bya singleauthor,Zalmay
Khalilzad,and iscalled"Section1"and titledTheSecurity
ofSouthwest
Asia.
It is 191pages,includingitsownindex.It isfollowedby"Section2,"titled
535

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