(a)

One year, in Japan, Nakamura took me to see a performance of a Noh play. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 After watching it, I fell in love with Noh dramas, and later, I watched a lot more after another.

The so-called Noh opera is a unique theatrical genre that only exists in Japan, somewhat similar to the Chinese Yuan opera, or later Peking Opera, and is also an iconic symbol of national culture.

Because he is not a professional opera researcher, he has not studied its origin too deeply.

At first, it must have been some Japanese folk entertainment rap, such as sanxian and Taoism, but gradually there were stories and cultural people joining. Cultural people have made it more elegant, more standardized, more profound, and more solemn.

Around the 14th century, Noh gradually developed into a full-fledged theatrical variety, which may have been slightly later than the birth of Genko. But I think it's at least the same height of development as Yuanqu, if not surpassed.

In fact, I think it's a lot more than Yuanqu.

The so-called exceedance, in fact, mainly refers to one of the points: when watching Genga, I often feel that the actor is wearing a mask to perform (face painting, facial makeup type of character), and when watching Noh drama, I often feel that the actor does not even have facial skin! They are usually performing with the flesh and nerves on their bare faces, with an unusual hideousness, which makes people feel shocked when they see it, and then they are grabbed by horror in the chest!

- But you won't turn around and run away.

Because, as long as you think about it, you will know that the truth behind the skin happens to be this bloody hideous ugliness.

We are not used to that bloody nudity, but we can't deny that it is hidden in our smooth and soft expressions.

Noh opera is not necessarily more beautiful or mellow than Genqu, but it is more realistic and brave than Genqu, which is very distinct. At least, it seems to me that way.

(b)

Noh is unique in some ways and is different from all the other theatrical genres in the world.

In a large number of Noh dramas, the protagonists are not humans, but various non-human creatures or non-living things, which fully embodies the idea of animism in Shinto.

The protagonist may be a thrush, a flower, a gust of wind through a mountain, a mountain, a river, or a cold stone lying down in front of a door.

There are also many Noh dramas in which the protagonist is a human being, but he is not a normal human being. For example, human emotions, out-of-body spirits, a relationship, crazy thoughts, and post-death projections.

I've never been exposed to a drama that focuses on these things so extensively. I was pleasantly surprised that it could use a human relationship as the protagonist of the narrative! On this website, where you and I can't understand the three people, Noh drama is far beyond the reader's intellectual range.

The so-called normal humans who are all over the street are of course also present in Noh dramas, but in many scenes, they appear as supporting characters.

They are often involved as a foil or echo or background or effect for the protagonist's performance.

So, Noh is very peculiar. It is "inhuman".

Ever since I watched Noh dramas, I have learned that the concept of "alienation of man" did not come about after industrialization. It has been around since very old times.

Noh drama is a kind of drama that profoundly interprets and shows the "alienation of man".

But despite the "inhuman" representation and interpretation, the position of Noh is still human.

Those "inhuman" protagonists are still performing our basic positions and pursuits as human beings.

That's what makes it most appealing.

(c)

The first Noh drama that Nakamura took me to watch was the first one I forgot its name.

Because of the language and because the lines of this Noh play are relatively archaic, there are many places where medieval waka is directly used, and even though Nakamura is translating it in a nutshell, I didn't fully understand it.

However, the plot made a deep impression on me.

The plot is roughly like this:

A wandering monk passed through the countryside and met an innocent and beautiful country girl while resting, so the two sides began to talk during the lonely journey.

The monk asked the girl question after question, and the girl quietly answered one question after another.

As the question deepened, the girl's answer became closer to the truth.

An eerie atmosphere began to grow.

Suddenly, the girl's answer included the personal pronoun (the majority of readers of this site who suffer from personal pronoun congenital disorder, the moment has come!) It's starting to shift. She abruptly shifts from a third-person narration to a first-person narration. (Readers of this website are full of grief!) ）

At that moment, a frightening metallic percussion music suddenly sounded lonely and abruptly, like a corrupted palm suddenly blindfolding you from behind.

In the midst of your extreme panic, just when your hair stood on end in fright, the beautiful girl's figure disappeared, and in its place was a hideous, blood-drenched Yaksha!

It turned out that the so-called innocent girl was actually just a changing human skin, and what the monk was facing was actually the resentful spirit of a dead girl.

This girl is caught between two men and her own desires, and finally has a tragic death. Her resentment turned into this evil spirit that resembled a Naksha.

This is really a surprising thing, it turns out that in the depths of the soul of this seemingly innocent and innocent sunshine girl hidden in her heart, there is such an evil spirit that is deeply trapped in the suffering of adultery.

In the second half of the play, the evil soul of the girl reveals the true nature of the naked soul, and it shows the despair and anguish of a soul when it is burned by the blazing fire of lust and jealousy with its ever-accelerating dancing and body twisting expressions on stage.

Countless troubles and poisonous thoughts crawl and roll on the stage in the deep darkness, as if manipulated by the devil.

In the second half, my eyes didn't blink, and I felt like my heart couldn't beat.

I can't tell the difference between being on stage and off stage.

I felt that the uncanny and eerie dance of the evil spirit on the stage was the vent of my own soul.

What is shown on the stage is my own dark and painful heart under the torture of desire.

That's when I fell in love with Noh.

Just when that "person" in the full sense of the word didn't appear at all.

(iv)

Noh dramas are not necessarily more mature and refined than Gengaku. But it often goes deeper than Yuanqu in terms of soul cutting and observation.

That's what I like more about it than I like Yuanqu.

I like the kind of bone anatomy that goes straight into the bone.

But that's just for me. There is no need for resonance and echoing. Also, I have no intention of debating these things with people.

(5)

Kaohsiung is especially unable to appreciate Noh dramas.

Once, he said to me, "How strange are you two to appreciate such a miserable and gloomy thing, full of dilapidated hideousness?" My Great Chinese civilization is upright and upright, and this thing is not touched at all. How depressed your hearts are, you can still spend money again and again to see it! ”

He said: "Just look at this sheet-like costume, look at this withered branch-like props, how can there be the gorgeous and dignified of our Peking Opera!" ”

Nakamura shrugged and said, "Brother Xiong, everyone has a dark side in their hearts. You have it too. ”

Kaohsiung stared at him and said, "Do I have it?" ”

Nakamura smiled: "The more you pretend on the outside, the greater the shadow area on the inside." ”

Kaohsiung glared at him.

I looked into Kaohsiung's searchlight-like eyes and said, "There is darkness to be light, and there is simplicity to be luxurious." ”

Kaohsiung looked back at me and said, "You are from the left and right, and you don't refuse to come!" (I was also a ticket holder of Peking Opera at the time)"

I said, "Isn't it good to be eclectic and inclusive?" ”

Kaohsiung said: "I don't like to quarrel with people who learn Chinese. Tired! ”

Nakamura then stood by the side, covering his mouth and smiling.