About "Noh"

Editor's Note: Students attended the recent Finlandia production of At the Hawk's Well, a play by Irish poet W. B. Yeats. It is an experimental play based on a fragment of ancient Irish mythology and patterned after Japanese "Noh" drama. Students were reading about body language in class and made the following observations on the body language of the actors in the play.

By Kana Ito

“Noh” is composed of some instruments, singers, narrators, actors.

The narrators wore all black costumes. The singers and the players wore all white costumes. One actor wore white clothes, and I saw a shabby man. One actor wore brown clothes, and I saw a vigorous man. One actor wore black clothes and put wings on both hands. She played the part of a bird.

I think body language expresses the actor’s thoughts. And if the actor doesn’t say anything, we can understand what is in the actor’s mind.

I have never seen “Noh.” And I didn’t know anything about “Noh.” So this is the first time for me.

By Kazuki Nishiyama

A young man who is a hero of Ireland goes to the Hawk's well to look for the water. This young man wore a mask and had a sword. With masks, the actors can play the roles without showing expressions on their faces. The water is a legend. If people drink the water, they can live forever.

When he arrives at the Hawk's well, there are a old man who is lying on leaves and a girl who is defending the well from other human beings. The old man, who also wants to get the water, prevents the young man from getting the water. When the young man is speaking about himself, he sticks out his chest and he puts both hands on the side of his waist. However, suddenly, the girl changes into a hawk after two men heard hawk's crying. The hawk flies away and the young man runs after it.

By Toshiyuki Mita

This story has three characters: an old man, a young man and a girl. The stage has a few leaves of trees, and sometimes one can hear a hawk's chirping. Alone a girl defends the well. The well gushes out miraculous water. If people drink the water, they can get eternal life. It seems legendary.

The old man was believing the legend. Then the young man also came there. He also believed the legend. The old man feared that the young man would steal water. So the old man tried to guard the well from the young man, but the young man wouldn't listen to the old man's talk. Then the girl figure changed into a hawk.

By Kumiko Takahashi

I saw the play At The Hawk's Well Saturday night, and now I'd like to describe the guardian of the well. In the play, the guardian of the well is a woman, and she was wearing a hawk-like mask. At first, she was entirely covered by a black cloak and she said nothing at all. When the old man and the young man were talking about the water of eternal life and a cry of the hawk, suddenly she started moving and threw off her cloak.

And then, she was dancing around the young man. The dance was powerful, and she looked like a hawk. She danced as a hawk fluttering its wings. This action made the play more dramatic. I have never seen Japanese "Noh" drama, so I couldn't compare the play with "Noh" drama. But the atmosphere of the theater looked like "Noh."