Paper short abstract:

Noh theatre has to adapt to the needs of modern society in order to raise the interest of young people with no knowledge of premodern literature or noh. This presentation argues that using new digital technologies might be a contemporary solution to prevent the decline of interest in noh theatre.

Paper long abstract:

Intertextuality is probably the most prominent characteristic of noh plays written by Zeami. They often draw their topics from classical literature and use expressions alluding to Waka poetry. This entwinement of literature with poetry is one reason why noh until today is considered as one of the most sophisticated theatre traditions in the world. At the same time educational institutions from primary to higher education in Japan constantly reduce the amount of classes on premodern literature. Most people have no connection to traditional culture in their daily lives, a fact that is even more true for the younger generations.

Noh obviously has to adapt to the needs of modern society in order to raise the interest of young people with almost no knowledge of premodern literature and who are most likely not enthusiastic about noh theatre. Until the twentieth century, preparing for a performance, reading libretti and even conducting research on noh theatre was almost exclusively limited to the study of various kinds of written materials. With the rapid evolution of digital technologies in the twenty-first century everyone can easily photograph, record and assemble data. The number of books and journals richly enhancing their written content with photos and illustrations of a nō performance increased significantly with the implementation of new printing techniques. Using the technological advancements, it is now even possible to create three-dimensional digital images and movies of a noh stage, where all sides of the stage can be seen simultaneously. This in itself is already interesting to look at but it becomes even more compelling when it is applied to images and especially recordings of a performance where the actual lines, modern translations and explanations are also added. The result can be used for the study of noh theatre and noh libretti. By introducing these new possibilities, I argue that being able to not just read a text but to actually see how it is performed on stage might be a contemporary solution to prevent the decline of interest not just in noh theatre but also in premodern literature in general.