When I first viewed Noh, I didn’t think it would be so dramatic with the masks and stories. It is fascinating to me because the masks and stories do relate to my Alaskan Native culture. I was very impressed with the spirits they correlated into the story.
[1]
This is a video that explains Noh. It is very useful to the person who doesn’t know what Noh is or about.
Noh is the oldest existing form of theater known to date. It started in the 14th century from the Chinese performing arts and the Japanese traditional dance. [2] They pass their knowledge of their culture from father to son and this goes back for many generations. I like the way they pass on their culture because in Alaskan Native culture it is very similar.
Did you know that Noh means ability or skill in English? When the performance is occurring, you will get a very good glimpse of the actor or actress performing their character part in the story. Very impressive of how the actor/actress utilize their skills and abilities in the performance play.
There are five types of Noh performances and characters such as gods, warriors, beautiful women, various figures, and demons are always included. These characters make up the play and do emphasize the performance significantly.
[3]
These are masks that are used in performances associated with Noh. When the actor uses them, they cannot visually see what they doing because there are no eye holes for them to see out of. The stage they work on has four pillars, so the actors must be fully aware of this while performing. These masks are from the Edo Period (1600-1867) and are currently on display at the Pitt Rivers Museum in the United Kingdom.
I chose Noh to share because the stories do sort of resemble Alaskan Native culture stories. I am Alaskan Native and I heard similar stories which relate to Noh, but I have never seen it actually played out. It would be a great experience to see a Noh performance in person.
[1] http://amtf200.community.uaf.edu/2009/04/24/japanese-theatre/
gloriaprince 
The most interesting thing to me was the fact that the actors had to basically do the plays blind folded! What great amount of practice and dedication must that have taken in order to perfect the plays so that, well, someone doesn’t run right into one of the pillars. What is also very interesting to me, as I am unfamiliar to Alaska Native Culture, is what stories does Noh relate to? Also, good job relating it to the Alaska Native culture, it causes me to wonder if there is some type of connection way back in ancient times. Great write up with some interesting facts placed into it! Keep up the good work.
I have never before heard of this type and am surprised by the longevity that proceeds it. The styling is very cool and having the video up was really beneficial in figuring out the content of the play style from a unique perspective. I wonder if we owe this kind of theater thanks for other variations that are in theater today? Thank you for the post!
I really like how you used a video to explain the art you chose, rather than just posting a picture of a NOH mask. I also liked how you connected it to your own culture. I have heard of masks being used in the Japanese cultural theater but not the background or connections. Thank you for sharing! Good Job!
I agree with you that there seems to be a strong similarity between Noh and the Alaskan mask dances and performances. I enjoyed the factual information which you provided. Something that I was wondering would be, was Noh like modern theater, having titles of each play or are there any recorded writers of these traditional plays; or are they even more similar to Alaskan Native culture by not having a defined theater or original writer?
I like how you related this to the Alaskan culture. I was unaware that history was entirely verbal in the Alaskan culture. Noh seems to be very dramatic. To me it would be difficult to understand the meaning because I would be so distracted by the acting. The fact that there are no eye holes in the masks is strange to me. That makes life difficult. Very interesting though.
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Interesting, I have been involved in art and theater for a extremely long time and have never heard of this type. The first time I watched the video I lost interest. However the second time around I noticed a certain beauty and simplicity about it. Eyes are suppose to show the emotion, however the eyes are not seen in this kind of theater. Nothing is just masks, yet they are easy to understand and relate with. I absolutely loved it