Zeami Motokiyo An Art Form - 1401 Words

Zeami Motokiyo was a Japanese actor, playwright, and theorist of the Noh theatre. Today, he is widely acclaimed as one of the most innovative thinkers in the history of the stage. According to Shelley Fenno Quinn and her book Developing Zeami, Noh theatre is â€Å"an art form that depicts the life of the emotions in a synthesis of dramatic, musical, and choreographed elements† (1). While known for his acting and plays, Zeami is also known for his use of images in nature as a continuous metaphor. For example, the hana or flower is both an aesthetic principle and the soul of the actor of the character or play. It is also beyond that, a spiritual quest. This metaphor is used to evoke a sense of the spiritual and special qualities found in Noh theatre. According to Quinn’s book, â€Å"an actor who possesses the flower is one who has cultivated both the sensibility and the technical virility to read his audience to adjust his performance accordingly† (3). While the fl ower is used to symbolize the soul which every actor should take on, it also important to realize the physical and psychological cross-bordering. In Noh theatre, the physical and psychological cross-bordering is important and allows the audience’s emotional involvement. Although Zeami mainly focused on the actor and the flower, I believe the flower can also relate to the audience. Through this aesthetic movement, the audience can also be perceived as a flower. In the medieval Noh theatre, the word â€Å"body† goes beyond theShow MoreRelatedZeami Motokiyo : An Art Form1643 Words   |  7 Pages Zeami Motokiyo was a Japanese actor, playwright, and theorist of the Noh theatre. Today, he is widely acclaimed as one of the most innovative thinkers in the history of the stage. According to Shelley Fenno Quinn and her book Developing Zeami, Noh theatre is â€Å"an art form that depicts the life of the emotions in a synthesis of dramatic, musical, and choreographed elementsâ €  (1). While known for his acting and plays, Zeami is also known for his use of images in nature as a continuous metaphor. ForRead MoreModern World s Longest Lasting Forms Of Theatre1577 Words   |  7 Pagessitting in your seat, patiently for a play to begin. The lights have not been dimmed and nor will they be. Everyone is quite and takes in the set. The play you are about to watch is a Noh play, so unique to Japan and one of the world’s longest lasting forms of theatre. It could even be said that this type of theatre is an important link between the classic plays of Greece and the poetic drama of modern Europe. Noh plays on performed on a square platform supported on pillars, covered with a temple-like