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Essay On Aoi No Ue

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Research Investigation

Research question:
To what extent do traditional Noh masks express the personality of the lead characters such as Lady Aoi, Hikaru and Jasko in the play Aoi No Ue?

Introduction

The NOH theatre
Noh theatre is derived form Japanese language as a word for skill or talent, so the full translation on English is a talented theatre . Noh is a Japanese form of theatrical art that has been transferred through the generations and it also has been marked as one of the oldest theatre arts in Japan , and even the world. Unesco has designated the Noh theatre as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage” . Noh is an art form, which has some elements of drama, music and dancing. While NOH theatre is compared to western opera, the differences can be quite immense. Due to the use of masks in Noh plays, one can call Noh theatre a “mask theatre” .

Aoi no Ue
Aoi no Ue is a famous Noh play, and the meaning of the phrase Aoi no Ue is Lady Aoi. She is a formal wife of Hikaru Genji and the lady Aoi is a daughter of the Sadaijin who is a minister in Japan. Lady Aoi has been possessed by a demon and after this the daughter of a minister got seriously ill. Although her …show more content…

The name of the mask is Koomote-1. The word Ko represents cuteness, youth and beauty. Omote means face. The mask represents a very young woman. It is one of the well-known female masks in the NOH theatre company. The nurse character is not as important for the play as her mask is for the NOH theatre, as it is one of the most demanded in the Noh theatre. However the audience needs to see the pretty nurse, as the stage direction in the dialogue between Hikaru and the nurse, when she speaks about the patient dreams in the hospital we may see that she is young and beautiful too. “Pause. Silence of the young nurse comes in inexplicable

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