Reflections and Directions

This chapter reviews the strict separation that exists in Japan between professional and amateur Noh performers and how this boundary translates overseas through the collaborative works of Theatre Nohgaku and professional Noh performers. It demonstrates how the traditions of musical style and usage reign over contemporary Noh composition and performance practice. It also talks about Nohkan music in contemporary Noh dramas that does not deviate from traditional forms, content, and usage in any remarkable way. The chapter exhibits the Nohkan music performer's imagination and inspiration within the confines of prescribed patterns, which indicates that the Noh structure still affords a degree of artistic license and innovation. It reviews contemporary Noh plays, both in Japanese and in other languages, that cover varied subject matters.

The Nohkan and Oral Transmission

This chapter discusses the three primary functions of the nohkan in a Noh play and focuses on comprehending the role of shōga and the importance and history of oral transmission. It offers an analysis of Issō Yukihiro singing the shōga of the ryo-chū-kan keishiki of the [Chū no Mai] using Western staff notation, followed by his performance of the ryo-chū-kan keishiki. It also talks about Issō Yukihiro as a professional nohgaku-shi and a nohkan performer, who has been actively promoting the nohkan by collaborating with musicians that play Western music and Japanese music. The chapter analyses how the nohkan failed to reach a level of popularity within or outside Japan due to the lack of comprehensive study on the nohkan and the challenges of oral transmission using shōga. It includes transcriptions of nohkan melodies in Western staff notation, which has become a universal method of notating music.

The Nohkan’s Part in Atsumori as Planned, Prepared, and Performed

This chapter presents transcriptions of Issō Yukihiro's “theoretical” nohkan entrance and compares it with a specific shōdan from a live performance of Atsumori with Yukihiro on the nohkan. It demonstrates an individual interpretation of a Noh play, taking into account the different schools of instruments, singing styles, and written texts of chant books used by the main actors and chorus. It also illustrates the structure of Noh plays among the traditional plays in terms of overall organization of the dan and the shōdan. The chapter examines the flexibility in the nohkan melodic patterns that allows variations and individual interpretation within the prescribed structure. It considers a particular performance by Yukihiro that apply William P. Malm's three functions of the nohkan.

Introduction

This chapter investigates flute performance as a space for exploring the relationship between tradition and innovation and traces the characteristics of the nohkan and its music. It examines the musical structure and nohkan melodic patterns of five traditional Noh plays. It also assesses the degree to which Issō School nohkan players maintain the continuity of their musical tradition in three contemporary Noh plays inspired by the twentieth-century Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The chapter reviews three contemporary works draw upon Yeats's At the Hawk's Well, which was influenced by Noh drama. The chapter argues that traditions of musical style and usage remain vastly influential in shaping contemporary Noh composition and performance practice, and that the freedom within fixed patterns can be understood through a firm foundation in Noh tradition.

The Continuity of Tradition Today

This chapter assesses the degree of continuity of the nohkan that is illustrated in three contemporary Noh play adaptations of William Butler Yeats's At the Hawk's Well by nohkan performers of the Issō School. It looks at interviews conducted with nohkan performers and a composer. It also highlights the nohkan's traditional role in contemporary and English-language Noh that allows variations and embellishments by performers, which demonstrate musical continuity in the context of experimentation. The chapter discusses a number of shinsaku Noh that have been successful and performed more frequently. It describes the performance of Yokomichi Mario's Taka no Izumi and Takahime, including the English-language Noh production of At the Hawk's Well by Theatre Nohgaku.

History and Construction of the Nohkan

This chapter examines the development and construction techniques of the nohkan and includes interviews with the nohkan makers. It explains nohkan, also known as fue (flute), as a transverse flute made from a type of bamboo known as Pleioblastus simonii. The chapter discusses how the nohkan is traditionally played in the Noh theater, Kabuki, and some shrine festivals, and is recently seen on concert stages as part of both traditional and non-traditional ensembles. It also describes the nohkan as a unique instrument in both construction and sound that uses a nodo, a thin bamboo tube that disrupts the instrument's natural acoustics. The chapter highlights the performance techniques of the nohkan, which include the creation of shakuhachi-like white noise. It looks at several theories that surround the history and construction of the nohkan in Japan.

The Role and Melodic Patterns of the Nohkan in Relation to Structural Principles

This chapter provides a preliminary explanation of the shōdan, which gives an accessible description of the mugen Noh structure and the three categories of shōdan. It surveys past research on nohkan entrances and melodic patterns through the shōdan structure and. It also highlights five selected traditional Noh plays from Zeami's mugen Noh repertoire: Takasago, Atsumori, Izutsu, Kinuta, and Tōru. The chapter analyzes the nohkan senritsu-kei and their use in these Noh plays, as well as the role of the performer in adding embellishments and other performing techniques to support the chant while enhancing the mood of the play. It explores the role of the performer in adding embellishments and other performing techniques to support the chant while enhancing the mood of the play.