Zeami (1363-1443), Japan's most celebrated actor and playwright, composed more than thirty of the finest plays of no drama. He also wrote a variety of texts on theater and performance that have, until now, been only partially available in English. Zeami: Performance Notes presents the full range of Zeami's critical thought on this subject, which focused on the aesthetic values of no and its antecedents, the techniques of playwriting, the place of allusion, the training of actors, the importance of patronage, and the relationship between performance and broader intellectual and critical concerns. Spanning over four decades, the texts reflect the essence of Zeami's instruction under his famous father, the actor Kannami, and the value of his long and challenging career in medieval Japanese theater. Tom Hare, who has conducted extensive studies of no academically and on stage, begins with a comprehensive introduction that discusses Zeami's critical importance in Japanese culture. He then incorporates essays on the performance of no in medieval Japan and the remarkable story of the transmission and reproduction of Zeami's manuscripts over the past six centuries. His eloquent translation is fully annotated and includes Zeami's diverse and exquisite anthology of dramatic songs, Five Sorts of Singing, presented both in English and in the original Japanese.

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroductionTransmitting the Flower Through Effects and AttitudesAn Extract from Learning the FlowerOral Instructions on SingingA Mirror to the FlowerA Course to Attain the FlowerFigure Drawings of the Two Arts and the Three ModesThe Three CoursesTechnical Specifications for Setting a MelodyA Collection of Jewels in EffectAn Effective Vision of Learning the Vocation of Fine Play in PerformanceFive Ranks Nine Ranks Six Models Pick Up a Jewel and Take the Flower in HandArticles on the Five Sorts of SingingFive Sorts of SingingLearning the ProfessionTraces of a Dream on a Single SheetThe Flower in... Yet Doubling BackTwo Letters to Master KonparuAppendix 1. Music, Dance, and Performance in SarugakuAppendix 2. On the ManuscriptsAppendix 3. Zeami's LanguagesGlossaryBibliography Index