One Noh mask presents various face expressions

Noh is one of the Japanese traditional performing dramatic arts with more than 500 years history. Noh stage sized 5.5meters square, where positioned are main actor, sub actor, instruments players and chanters. Main actor wears wooden mask on his face and presents various expressions by his movement and actions. The lyrics use old Japanese, so it is sometimes very difficult even for us to understand. The theme of most of the Noh stories are pessimistic side of human life. Recently some Noh stages with large number of audience seats have been constructed as auxiliary facilities in a large shopping complex to attract more people, which means Noh is a symbol of high-valued Japanese culture.

Japanese performing arts Noh stage