On the Art of the No Drama

Fülszöveg

"Zeami's treatises on the art of No rank among the finest of all writings on the theatre. Though-specifi^:^ cally devoted to the drama of a particular pläce^and' time—Japan in the early fifteenth century—they contribute to an understanding of the dramatic arts of thé world. The texts make absorbing reading, but they I are difficult in the original, even for specialists. Wql are fortunate that two authorities on the Japanese.the-1 atre, a Japanese and an American, have combined; forces to translate and present Zeami's most signifiy cant works."
—DonaXáKttns, Columbia University
This annotated translation is the first systematic rendering into any Western language of the nine major treatises on the art of the Japanese No theater by ! Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443). Zeami, who trans-' formed the No from a country entertainment into a| vehicle for profound theatrical and philosophical ex- ; perience, was a brilliant actor himself, and his trea- i tises touch on every aspect of the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

"Zeami's treatises on the art of No rank among the finest of all writings on the theatre. Though-specifi^:^ cally devoted to the drama of a particular pläce^and' time—Japan in the early fifteenth century—they contribute to an understanding of the dramatic arts of thé world. The texts make absorbing reading, but they I are difficult in the original, even for specialists. Wql are fortunate that two authorities on the Japanese.the-1 atre, a Japanese and an American, have combined; forces to translate and present Zeami's most signifiy cant works."
—DonaXáKttns, Columbia University
This annotated translation is the first systematic rendering into any Western language of the nine major treatises on the art of the Japanese No theater by ! Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443). Zeami, who trans-' formed the No from a country entertainment into a| vehicle for profound theatrical and philosophical ex- ; perience, was a brilliant actor himself, and his trea- i tises touch on every aspect of the theater of his time. His theories, mixing philosophical and practical in- ' sights, often seem strikingly contemporary.
Since their discovery early in this century, these secret treatises have been considered among the most valuable and representative documents in the history of Japanese aesthetics. They discuss subjects from [ the art of the playwright to the reciprocal nature of the relationship between performer and audience.
J. Thomas Rimer is Professor of Japanese Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. His works in-^ elude Toward a Modern Japanese Theatre: Kishida, Kunio; Mori Ôgai (Twayne Series); and his transía-; ; tion of two plays by Yamazaki Masakazu, Mask and Sword (Columbia). Yamazaki Masakazu is Professor of Theatre Studies at Osaka University in Japan and a well-known playwright whose collected works have been published by Chuokoron publishers in Tokyo and translated into various languages.
Princeton Library of Asian Translations
Cover photograph: a scene from Yügao by Zeami.- Vissza