Noh

Noh (能 Nō^?), or Nogaku (能楽 Nōgaku^?)^[1]—derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent"—is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century.

Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles.

Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and consists of five Noh plays interspersed with shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. However, present-day Noh performances often consist of two Noh plays with one Kyōgen play in between.

By tradition, Noh actors and musicians only rehearse together once, a few days before the actual performance.

While the field of Noh performance is extremely codified, and regulated by the iemoto system, with an emphasis on tradition rather than innovation, some performers do compose new plays or revive historical ones that are not a part of the standard repertoire. Works blending Noh with other theatrical traditions have also been produced.

Together with the closely related kyōgen farce, Noh evolved from various popular, folk and aristocratic art forms, including Dengaku, Shirabyoshi, and Gagaku.

One of the important centres of Noh was Nagoya, which upholds its tradition in today's Nagoya Noh Theatre.

Iemoto (Japanese: 家元^?) lit. "family foundation" is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Head Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the word sōke (宗家^?) when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents.