Paper short abstract:

This presentation will take the historical perspective in order to discuss how this unique production format came into being, and how it affected the social status of noh performers.

Paper long abstract:

Just like other forms of theatre, today noh is commonly produced as a performance event attended by paying spectators. However, looking at history one can see how originally noh was a ritual artform performed at shrines and temples, not a commercial business. Noh was exclusively performed as part of the customary rituals of the samurai even after it started to be patronized by the warrior class in the Muromachi period. Public performances open to a paying audience were rare. When this patronage system was dismantled as a consequence of the Meiji restoration, actors sought economic independence in a new kind of performance system. Noh taking place every month at the actors' mansions as part of their training schedule opened to the general public. There were no substantial differences between performances 'for the actors' and those 'for the audience', except that official permission was necessary to manage what had de facto become a commercial enterprise. In addition, since it was necessary to pay taxes, many of these performances were just labelled as 'training'. This presentation will take the historical perspective in order to discuss how this unique production format came into being, and how it affected the social status of noh performers.