paper, part 1

so, i'm gonna post this. DON'T STEAL IT! this paper is *MY* property.

Noh Women/ No Women: Neo-Confucianism and Its Radical

Alteration on Perceptions of Gender as Seen Through the

Sociological Lens of Traditional Japanese Theatre

   In the realm of Japanese theatre, none can be considered more deeply rooted in societal and religious tradition than that of traditional Noh. Its mysterious and elusive qualities make it the perfect subject for investigation, and have prompted innumerable books, essays and dissertations. My particular area of interest in researching Noh was molded by my personal identification as a third-wave feminist. I sought a succinct answer to the discrepancy between the historical and modern epochs with regards to the presence of women in Noh performance.

   This paper will advocate the ties of Noh theatre to Shinto and its predecessor shamanism, establishing it as implicitly Japanese, providing contextual evidence for female participation within this framework. From this foundation, it will build upon the influence of Neo-Confucian principles during the Tokugawa era and its lasting imprint on the theatrical arts. Finally, by exploring performative acts of gender it will culminate in my central thesis that the misogynist ideology and patriarchal construction of Neo-Confucianism is directly responsible for the eviction of women from the Noh stage as well as the resultant radical warping of gender performativity which continues to this day within the medium of Noh.

   Japanese Noh is a solemn and ritualistic theatrical tradition, crediting Zeami Motokiyo as its “founder”, which has been performed since the 14^th century. (Ortolani 1984, 173) Zeami drew from various pre-existing entertainments, fusing together stylized dance, music, plots and symbolic masks to form a unique and inherently Japanese school of theatre. Noh performance combines a variety of elements into a stylistic whole, with each particular element the product of generations of refinement: The hayashi, instrumentalists who set the rhythm upon which the pace of Noh is centered around; the jiutai, a chorus of six to eight chanters who serve a narrative function; and the “doers” of Noh- shite, the main role, and his counterpoint, waki. (Mori 2002, 85; Komparu 1983, 157-162)

   Noh plays are organized into five main categories based on who the central character is: a god, a warrior, a woman, a lunatic or a demon. Historically, one complete cycle would be staged- consisting of a play that represents each category- resulting in Noh being a day-long event. Performed on an aesthetically minimalistic stage, Noh relies on the movements and costumes of the actors to invoke plot specificity. The utilization of masks within Noh “...serve to create an intensified image of a role that goes beyond the description of character,” (Komparu 1983, 227) transforming both the appearance of the actor, and his consciousness to that of the role he performs.

   For the bedrock of my argument, it is essential that Noh be established as a native theatrical form, free from outside, mainland influence. The roles women played within the Shinto and shamanistic rituals prior to the influence of Neo-Confucian indoctrination, I believe, directly correlate to their initial participation within Noh.

Very little is written about women actors within the Noh tradition; however, evidence strongly suggests within the Muromachi period (1333-1573), biological females did perform on the Noh stage. (Vollmann 2010, 30) Zeami lived and developed his treatise on Noh during the height of female participation in religious and secular society, from 1363- 1443. (Zeami 1984, ix) In addition, Kan'ami, Zeami's father, with whom he developed Noh, “perfected his Noh plays after studying under a kusemai [temple and shrine chantress] named Otozuru, who in turn carried on the tradition of another famous female chanter, Hyakuman.” (Wakita 1999, 91)

   With particular significance to the Noh tradition are the positions women held within the religious sphere of Shinto. The indigenous Shinto religion, while far from perfect with regards to gender equality, is more comfortable with female power and rule than the religious and political systems imported from the mainland. (Tonomura et. all 1999, 3) For centuries, female priestesses presided over Ise shrine, where the emperor worshiped. In fact, documentation suggests that within rural villages “...until 1365 daughters of the village regularly presided over shrine association observances. Initially it was the daughter's birthright that qualified them to become chief officiators at shrine association observances,”. (Kato 1999, 122)

   On a more substantial level, female miko practitioners, shamanesses, provided direct connections to the world of the kami. Their trance communications with the divine, kamigakari, “...in which a spirit takes possession of the shaman-medium, usually the miko, and uses her tongue to communicate directly with the faithful,” (Ortolani 1984, 176) coincides directly with the basic structural devices of kagura, one of the precursors of Noh theatre.

...to be continued