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Paper short abstract

This paper examines Japanese-Brazilian Noh performance through Haroldo de Campos' transcreation theory, arguing that intercultural Noh creates hybrid theatrical forms through productive cultural friction rather than mere adaptation of traditional Japanese aesthetics.

Paper long abstract

This paper examines the intercultural dialogue between Japanese Noh theater and Brazilian performance traditions through the lens of transcreation—a concept developed by Brazilian poet and translator Haroldo de Campos that moves beyond fidelity-based translation to embrace creative recreation across cultural boundaries. Drawing on performance analysis of contemporary Noh adaptations in the Japan-Brazil cultural corridor, this study demonstrates how traditional Japanese theater generates new theatrical languages when transplanted into Brazilian cultural contexts.

With the world's largest Japanese diaspora community and over a century of sustained cultural exchange, Brazil represents a unique case study for examining intercultural performance. Using Yuri Lotman's concept of the cultural semiosphere as theoretical framework, this paper analyzes how Noh's core aesthetic principles (particularly yūgen) undergo semiotic transformation when rendered through Brazilian cultural codes.

The paper focuses on the Noh adaptation Jigoku no Mon wo Tataku Otoko (地獄の門を叩く男, The Man Who Knocks on the Gates of Hell), examining how Japanese artists negotiate fundamental tensions between preserving Noh's ritualistic elements and creating culturally resonant works for audiences unfamiliar with Japanese contexts. Key questions include: How do performers embody Noh’s codified movements while incorporating local gestural vocabularies? What happens to Noh's Buddhist philosophical underpinnings—particularly concepts of hell and karmic retribution—when transposed to predominantly Catholic cultural frameworks? How do the profound linguistic differences between Japanese and Portuguese affect the delivery and reception of utai (chanted verse)?

Through close analysis of specific performance moments, directorial choices, and artist testimonies, this paper argues that transcreation—rather than adaptation—better describes the creative processes at work in Japanese-Brazilian Noh. These performances do not simply "translate" Noh for Brazilian and Japanese audiences; they create hybrid theatrical forms that exist in liminal spaces between cultures, generating new aesthetic possibilities through productive cultural friction while honoring the depth of traditional Noh practice.

This research contributes to broader conversations in theater and performance studies about intercultural performance ethics, postcolonial approaches to traditional Asian performing arts, and the role of embodied translation in contemporary performance practice.