Chinese Nuo and Japanese Noh

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Comparative Drama, Volume 37, Numbers 3,4, Fall/Winter 2003-04,

pp. 343-360 (Article)

DOI: 10.1353/cdr.2003.0035

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Chinese Nuo and Japanese Noh: Nuo's Role in the Origination

and Formation of Noh

MlN TlAN

Moderninterest in the Chinese ancient Nuo rite and drama did not

take a strong hold in China until the final two decades of the lastcentury; however, the Nuo rite and drama remain an aspect of Chineseculture that is hardly known to the West.While a fair amount of researchon the origins of Japanese Noh drama has been done in the West, nohistorical investigation has yet been made in a Western language on therole of Chinese Nuo into its origin and formation. This is so in spite of the historical fact that prior to the birth of Noh, the Chinese Nuo rite

had long been practiced in Japanese temples, shrines, and fields where Noh was born and developed.The general consensus now is thatgigaku,gagaku (and its dance form,

bugaku), and sarugaku (from sangaku), forerunners of Noh, were formsimported or generated from ancient Chinese Wu music (Japanese:kuregaku) and Tang music and dance (Japanese: togaku), mainly fromsanyue (miscellaneous music and plays) and daqu (grand music). In bugaku, the solo dance Ranryo-o (Chinese: Lanling Wang) is a variant of

the Lanling Wang Ru Zhen Qu (Prince Lanling in Battle) of the Sui andTang dynasties;1 bugaku's jo-ha-kyu, the core structure of Noh drama,was adapted from the music and dance structure of the daqu developedduring the Tang dynasty. The Tang daqu integrates singing, dancing,andinstrumental music and consists of three sequences: the sanxu (begin-ning random sequence facilitated by instrumental music), zhongxu(middle sequence composed primarily by singing), and po (fast exposi-tion accelerated primarily by dancing). Sanyue (sangaku or sarugaku,

the latter being a Japanese pronunciation of sanyue) forms the core of sarugaku Noh.

343



344Comparative Drama

But a more important influence upon die formation and die character of Noh is the Chinese Nuo rite. While sanyue and daqu influenced thedevelopment of Noh in terms of dramatic structure and presentation,the Nuo rite played a significant role in formulating Noh's religious andritualistic character and features. The present article introduces theChinese Nuo rite and Nuo theater to the West from a historical perspec-tive and also attempts to trace the origination and development of Japanese Noh drama2 from the Chinese Nuo rite and other sources. Iexamine the evolution of the Chinese Nuo rite3 and its influence upon,and incorporation into, the ancient Japanese religious ceremonies thatcontributed to the formation and development of Noh drama. I also com-

pare a variety of masks used both in Chinese Nuo theater and in Japaneserites of exorcism and Noh theater to identify similarities and to delin-eate possible connections between them.

The Origins and Development of Chinese Nuo

The origins of Chinese Nuo, a rite of exorcism, can be traced back to the beginnings of Chinese civilization. By the time of the Xia (c.2205-c. 1806B.C.E.), Shang (c.1783-1134 B.c.E.),and Zhou (c.1134-256 b.c.e.) dynas-ties, this collective exorcist ritual had evolved into definite forms that

were practiced to drive away evils and pestilence and to pray for prosperity, health, and stability for the people, the community, and thenation. According to Lun Yu (The Analects), Confucius once observed afolk Nuo rite with great interest and reverence: "When the men of his

village hold their Expulsion Rites, he puts on his Court dress and standson the eastern steps."4 Lu Shi Chun Qiu (The Annals of Lu Buwei) men-tions three Nuo rites practiced in the Zhou dynasty: the State Nuo, theKing's (the Son of Heaven's) Nuo, and the Grand Nuo.5 The State Nuowas performed during the third month of spring of the Chinese lunar year: "The people of the state perform the Rites of Exorcism, and at eachof the nine gates sacrificial animals are torn apart and offerings made[to drive off evil emanations], in order to complete the ethers of spring."6The performance of the King's Nuo was ordered during the second monthof autumn: "The Son of Heaven then performs the ceremonies to wardoff pestilence and avert any occurrence of plague, to assure the proper



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circulation of the autumnal ethers."7 The third month of winter saw the

Grand Nuo enacted: The king "commands his various officers to insti-tute the grand exorcism, ripping open victims on every side and sendingforth the earthen ox to carry away the cold ethers. Attacking birds arestern and swift. He then makes general sacrifices to the hills and streams,extending them to the great ministers of the Sovereigns, and to the spir-its of Heaven and Earth."8 These three-season Nuo rites are designatedin the monthly ordinances of the Zhou dynasty as recorded in Li Ji

(Records of Rites).9 As national events of vital importance to the stateand the people as a whole, they were integrated into the Zhou politicaland religious systems; hence they correspondingly involved a strict hier-archical division: The King's Nuo was owned by the king; the State Nuowas reserved exclusively for the king and his royal princes; the Grand Nuo was conducted nationally from the royal court to the countrysideand was joined by the aristocratic class and the commons as well.

Conventionally the Nuo rites featured the legendary exorcist Fang

Xiang Shi who led the performance of the ritual. According to Zhou Li(The Zhou Rites), "Fang Xiang Shi wears a mask of bearskin with four eyes of gold, a black jacket, and a red skirt, grasping a lance and bran-dishing a shield, to conduct the seasonal Nuo rite, leading one hundredslaves into houses and tombs to chase away pestilences, ghosts, and spir-its."10 The meaning of "Fang Xiang Shi" remains subject to debate. InChinese the name of the exorcist can be divided into two parts: "FangXiang" and "Shi." While "Shi" refers to a person by his or her family or

clan name, the meaning of "Fang Xiang" is ambiguous, for historical,religious, and etymological studies have associated the term with ghosts(qi tou), things wild and fantastic (fang xiang), a god that protects thedead (fang sang), a god that leads the way (kailu shen), shamanist per-formance, a shaman with extraordinary vision (four eyes), or a courtofficial who specialized in exorcism.1 ' Despite the differing opinions con-cerning the term, Fang Xiang Shi was unquestionably the center of therites of exorcism. In the Zhou dynasty, as the Nuo rite became institu-

tionalized, Fang Xiang Shi was established as a court position held by a professional exorcist. In later dynasties, the role and significance of FangXiang Shi gradually changed and diminished as the Nuo rite becamesecularized and diversified with the addition of more animal creatures




and human gods as well as more human participants. As a result, the role

of Fang Xiang Shi was no longer enacted exclusively by a professionalexorcist but was shared with others and was often performed by festiveentertainers.

This generic form of Nuo featuring Fang Xiang Shi and his follow-ers is the core of Nuo rites which flourished further in the Han (202BC.E.-220 ce.), Sui (581-618 ce.), and Tang (618-907 ce.) dynasties.Official histories did not register Nuo rites held in the Qin dynasty (221B.CE.-206 B.C.E.). One source included in the commentaries (by a Tangscholar) in Sima Qian's Shi Ji (Records of the Grand Historian), however,indicates that there was probably the existence of Nuo rites during theQin rule. For example, Nuo ritual featuring Fang Xiang Shi was con-ducted when Confucian scholars were prosecuted and buried alive bythe Qin rulers.12 The Han Grand Nuo that was observed in order todrive away pestilence was performed at the end of the Chinese Lunar Year. In these Nuo rites, Fang Xiang Shi's mask, costumes, and weaponsremained the same as those recorded in Zhou Li. His followers, however,

were replaced by 120 youths from among the Palace Attendants of theYellow Gates (the palace eunuchs),aged ten to twelve. These youths worered scarves and black tunics, and they held hand-drums. In addition,what stands prominent in the evolution of the Han Nuo rites is the addi-tion of twelve animal creatures with fur horns.13 These peculiar and bi-zarre animal creatures with extraordinary prowess were acted by thePalace Attendants to drive away pestilence and to devour ghosts anddemons from the Forbidden Palace. In the early night, after the court

officials and the emperor arrived, the eunuch youths sang a Nuo incan-tation song that directed the twelve animal creatures to their respectivetasks of devouring individual ghosts and demon creatures. Meanwhile,FangXiang Shi danced with the twelve animal creatures. Holding torchesand jumping uproarously, they sought and drove the pestilences out of the palace gate. Outside the gate, horsemen took over the torches andthen tossed them into a river.14 In his Dongjing Fu (Rhapsody on theEastern Capital) Zhang Heng (78-139 ce.) gives a vivid description of

theHan Grand Nuo rite as it occurred in the Han Capital Luoyang.15 CaiYong (133-92 ce.) in his Du Duan (Solitary Judgments) describes themasked and costumed Fang Xiang Shi in his role as he was ordered to



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lead the performance of the seasonal Nuo rite to expel demons and pes-

tilence from the palace.16In the Nuo rite of the Northern Qi dynasty (550-77 ce.), the Han

tradition remained essentially unchanged. The number of youths wasincreased to 240. The Nuo rite conducted by Fang Xiang Shi and thetwelve animal creatures was observed by the emperor.17 The Sui Nuo ritefeatures twelve court officials (in place of the twelve animal creatures)wearing red and holding leather whips and twenty-two participants, oneof whom was Fang Xiang Shi while another was a singer dressed in fur

clothes and holding sticks,drums, and horns.18 Fang Xiang Shi remainedthe center of interest and the leader of the ceremony.

In the Tang dynasty, the twelve animal creatures were also replaced by twelve court officials wearing red and holding rope whips. In addi-tion, there was a supporting cast of players ofdrums and musical instru-ments. As in the Han Nuo rites, the youths sang a Nuo incantation thatdirected the twelve gods to their respective task of devouring individualghosts.19 The Tang Nuo rites were also documented in poems and inthe records of the music of the Tang dynasty. Sun Wei's Chun Nuo Fu(Rhapsody on Nuo in the Autumn) and Qiao Lin's Da Nuo Fu (Rhapsodyon the Grand Nuo) provide detailed descriptions of the rites, which arein accord with those described in the Tang historical records and whichattach greater significance to their power of exorcizing evils and their auspicious effects of achieving tranquility for the nation and the people.20The Nuo rites as recorded in Duan Anjie's Yuefu ZaIu (MiscellaneousRecords on Music, Dance, and Play, completed in 894 ce.) also accord

with those described in the Tang chronicles.21 One important devel-opment in the history of Nuo was the influence and assimilation of Buddhism in the Tang Nuo rites.22 It is of special significance here tonote that it was in the Tang dynasty that the Chinese Nuo rite was offi-cially brought to Japan and was conducted in the Japanese royal court,shrines, and Buddhist temples.

During the Song dynasty, Nuo rites began to merge with the Songsanyue, zaju (miscellaneous drama), and nanxi (Southern drama), in thisway gradually becoming secularized and theatricalized — hence theemergence of the nuoxi (Nuo theater). Seen from records in MengYuanlao's Dongjing Meng Hua Lu (Record of Dreams and Glories from




the Eastern Capital, the Northern Song dynasty), compiled in 1147 ce.,

and Wu Zimu's Meng Liang Lu (Record of Dreams of Things Past), acollection of customs and manners in the capital of the Southern Songdynasty, compiled in 1274 ce.), Nuo rites in the Song dynasty under-went significant changes. Fang Xiang Shi and the twelve animal creatureswere replaced by a group of humanized gods such as Jiangjun, Menshen,Panguan, Zhong Kui, acted by players of the Jiaofang (imperial musichouse). Fang Xiang Shi was replaced by such roles as Kai Shan, Jiangjun,and Zhong Kui in later Nuo performances.23

The Mongolian rulers during the Yuan dynasty abolished the tradi-tional Nuo rites from the court, and no records were found about their

practice in the official histories of the time. Instead, the Yuan courtadoptedthe rite of exorcism from theTibetan Buddhism.Although therewas possibly a short revival of the Nuo rite in the late Yuan dynasty, thetradition of the court Nuo was virtually broken.24 In the Ming dynasty,however, appeals and arguments were made to the court to restore thecourt Nuo tradition.25 Yet despite a short restoration, it never regainedits grand scope, prestige, and power. Fittingly, the Qing dynasty witnessedits eventual demise at court and its complete transformation, while thefolk Nuo flourished in the countryside and developed into various dra-matic and theatrical forms under die influence of different local and

regional theatrical forms.26

Nuo's Influence on the Formation

and Development of Japanese Noh

According to ancient Japanese records, the official Nuo rite (tsuina inJapanese) had its inception in the early eighth century, a time when offi-cial and cultural exchanges between Japan and the Tang dynasty reachedtheir peak and when Japan, fascinated with all things Chinese, wasimporting and assimilating Chinese political, religious, and culturalsystems. It is possible that Chinese Nuo rite may have been brought toJapan as early as the late Jomon era (ending c.300 b.c.e.) along with Chi-

nese rice cultivation since it was an integral part of communal activitiesof ancient Chinese agricultural society. Archaeological evidence has re-vealed that as early as some 2,500 or even 3,500 years ago, the people of



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Japan had learned to grow rice. Japanese and Chinese specialists in gen-

eral agree that rice cultivation was brought to Japan directly from China,and not indirectly from Korea, since it is now known that this agricul-tural practice came to Korea considerably later than to Japan. The cul-ture of rice cultivation was tied to many Japanese folk arts, and it isconceivable that the Nuo rite brought by Chinese immigrants was practiced among Japanese agricultural communities to expel diseaseand to bring a rich harvest, health, stability, and renewal to the com-munities.27

The early Japanese tsuina rite retained the essential conventions of Chinese Nuo rites. Kuji kongen (Sources for the Public Affairs and Rites),compiled in Chinese, records that in 705 ce., the tsuina ceremony wasestablished to drive away epidemic disease and pestilence. The ritual fea-tured Fang Xiang Shi (Japanese: Hososhi), an ont (ghost) who wore aterrifying mask with four golden eyes, held spears and shields, and wasfollowed by twenty youths clad in dark-blue clothes.28 Shoku Nihongi(Continued History of Japan), compiled in Chinese, mentions that in

706 ce. a tsuina ceremony featuring the sacrifice of clay figures of cattlewas held in the wake of numerous deaths caused by an epidemic.29 Ac-cording to Dairishiki (Rites of the Imperial Palace) compiled by FujiwaraFuyutsugu (775-826 ce.) in the early Heian period (794-1 185 ce.), thetsuina rite was celebrated in the royal court at the grand last day (omisoka)of the year (31 December). Prior to the ceremony, royal participants weregiven peachwood bows and reed arrows. In-yô Shi (master of Ying andYang) presided over the rite; the central figure, however, was Hososhi(Fang Xiang Shi), who wore red clothes and a mask with four eyes of gold, held a lance and a shield, and was followed by twentyvirginyouths.After the In-yô Shi read an incantation at the end of the rite, Hososhi,murmuring in the sound of "na" ("Nuo"), struck at his shield with hislance three times while his attendants sang in unison. Led by Hososhi,the whole group chased evil ghosts away from the four gates in the four directions of the palace, and at last, led by court officials, the group, beat-

ing drums, drove the evil ghosts into the countryside.30 Hokuzansho byFujiwara Kinto (966-1041 ce.) also records similar tsuina rites as per-formed in the imperial court of the Heian period.31

The tsuina ritual activities were assimilated by two Buddhist New




Year temple festivals,shushoe and shunigatsue, which began in the eighth

century.32 These activities were conducted by jushi and hozushi, whoseritual was characterized by brisk galloping movements (jushi-hashiri).Such tsuina activities featuring Ryûten (Dragon God), Bishamon, and

jushi-hashiri at the shushoecontinued in the following centuries. Chûyûkiand Chôshûki, compiled in Chinese, record such activities as they oc-curred in the 1 130s.33 According to Kanchûki, in 1279 ce., at the end of the shushoe, which also featured sarugaku, the tsuina rite was conducted.In this ritual enactment, jushi play the roles of Ryûten and Bishamon,

chasing and striking at ghosts.34 These rituals were later joined by per-formers of sangaku (or sarugaku), who imitated the jushi-hashiri andintroduced sangaku skills to the religious rites.35 Thus the Chinese Nuorite as assimilated into the shushoe-shunigatsue ceremony was combinedwith sarugaku in the jushi-sarugaku, performances incorporating7«s/»"srites of exorcism.

The presence of jushi, and thereupon the integration of the Chinese Nuo rite, in sarugaku was documented in Shin Sarugaku Ki (An Accountof the New Sarugaku), written in Chinese by Akihira Fujiwara in 1028ce. Fujiwara mentioned twenty-eight piecesof sarugaku,the first of whichwas jushi.36 Sarugaku Noh retained the role of noronji (jushi) as attested

by the Sarugaku Noh Za company of the noronji group in about thelate thirteenth century.37 All these indicate that the influence of Chi-nese Nuo persisted as sarugaku Noh was enriched and evolved into anew phase of development and perfection that culminated in the achieve-ments of Zeami.

Now it is known that sarugaku, one of the forerunners of Noh, andthe rites of exorcism at the shushoe-shunigatsue ceremony were importeddirectly or indirectly (via Korea38) from China. At the same time, thegeneral consensus is that Noh grew out of sarugaku and that it hence-forth developed independently into a theater of masks. Suwa Haruo,however, has forcefully questioned the validity of this view.39 First of all, a closer look at the sharp contrast between Noh with its strongreligious character and sarugaku as primarily comical and farcical throwsthat general consensus into question. Thus Suwa contends that it is"a misunderstanding" that Noh originated directly from sarugaku.According to Suwa, Noh as a religious art did not grow directly from the



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comical and farcical sarugaku. Players of sarugaku performed religiousrites such as tsuina that had been transformed into Nuo drama as a re-

sult of the influence of folk religious rituals and dramas that used masks.Consequendy, Suwa continued, the art of sarugaku was transformed anddeveloped its religious character and its use of masks as a result of itsassimilation and integration of those religious rituals and dramas fromthe Chinese mainland. Hence the origination of Noh from sarugaku asthe art of sarugaku underwent such a transformation.40 Suwa calls at-tention to another crucial link in the development of Noh in the era of

Zeami: the transformation of tsuina's exorcism of evil ghosts to mugen-noh's prayers for happiness and for tranquility for the souls of the dead.Suwa argues that this transformation was by no means a native accom-

plishment that materialized independently in Japan. According to Suwa,the transformation occurred in accord with the rites of exorcism taking

place on the Chinese mainland.41 Matsuoka Shinpei's studies reveal thatthe change from the tsuina rites (as they occurred at the shushoe and

shunigatsue at the medieval Buddhist temples) to mugen-noh betweenthe late Kamakura period (1185-1392 ce.) and the early Muromachi period (1392-1573 ce.) was attributable to the didactic performances performed by sarugaku players at the Buddhist ceremonial and memo-rial services. These performances provided auspicious prayers for thesouls of the dead which were also characteristic of the mugen-noh for-mulated in the time of Zeami.42 Such being the case, Suwa asked thequestion as to whether such performances were native to Japan or re-

sultedfrom foreign influences— Chinese influences, in particular.43 Suwamaintained that in ancient Japan there was no conception of the soul of the dead and that all spirits in nature, physically invisible to man, wereregarded as ghosts. The idea of the soul of the deceased person as aghost was perhaps conceived under influence from China, Suwa ar-gued. Indeed, he continued, in the origination of mugen-noh, Buddhismand the Chinese idea of the ghost played a significant role.44 Suwa notedthat during the Song and Yuan periods (tenth to the fourteenth centuries),

which correspond to the period from the Heian to the Kamakura, Chi-nese rites of exorcism underwent a significant change characterized bytheir incorporation of the theme of praying for happiness and salvationfor the souls of the dead. This change was evidenced in the emergence of




the Mulian drama,45 a combination of Nuo tradition, Buddhism, and

folk religious beliefs and stories.46 The Mulian drama and Yulan Penwere also popular in medieval Japan,47 and there was a temporal conti-nuity between the Chinese Song-Yuan Mulian drama and the medievalJapanese Mulian drama. The Mulian stories influenced those Japanesedidactic and prayer performances that were instrumental in the forma-tion of the mugen-noh. According to Suwa, in Japan the premedievalexorcism gradually developed into the mugen-noh of prayers for the soulsof the dead. This evolution, Suwa continued, corresponded with the

development of Chinese Nuo rites into Nuo drama characterized by di-dacticism and prayers for the deceased. This correspondence was notcoincidental; rather, it was the result of Chinese influence. Suwa arguedthat no sufficient evidence proves the possibility that such stories and

performances originated solely in Japan.48The similarities between Nuo and Noh figure prominently both the-

matically and structurally. Thematically, they are both rites of exorcisticnature. The theme of exorcism in Nuo rites persists in later Nuoxi, and

exorcism is likewise a dominant motif in Noh drama with its emphasison prayers for giving rest to the souls of the dead. Structurally, they areframed by a pattern of invitation directed to the gods, human communi-cation with and sacrificial services to them, and the incantation or

tranquillization of ghosts. This similarity is pronounced clearly in the performance of Okina sarugaku, an important preperformance ritual of Noh drama. Although rarely performed today with the regular Noh plays,it is of particular significance in the early history of Noh drama. As an

incantational ceremony preceding a formal Noh program, Okina fea-tures an old man who put on a mask on stage to become the god. Thiscongratulatory and celebratory piece is a ceremonial prayer for a richharvest and the longevity of human life as well as for the prosperity and

protection of the community and the state.Okina was performed as early as the ninth century in the folk kagura

(god's music) among the common people during their agricultural ac-tivities and festivals.49 As observed above, Chinese Nuo rites seem to

have been assimilated some three thousand years ago into the culture of Japanese agriculture with the naturalization of rice cultivation brought

by Chinese immigrants. At the same time, kagura as part of the religious



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and recreational activities enjoyed by the agricultural communities drewon ceremonies, including Nuo rites, from the Chinese mainland. Indeed,Suwa has argued that the medieval transformation of kagura with itsincorporation of the theme of exorcism was influenced by Chinese Nuorites.50 Thus the Okina folk performance may have been colored by the

Nuo rites.

Okina was also related to jushi (shushi). There was shushi Okina inthe performances which formed part of the shunigatsue ceremonies,

and it was later performed by sarugaku players. According to the notedJapanese Noh scholar Nose Asaji, Okina sarugaku was based on the artof jushi and was initially performed by jushi players. With the rise of sarugaku, however, the influence and presence of jushi subsided — hencethe emergence of Okina sarugaku in the place of jushi sarugaku.51 Nose'sfindings suggest an uninterrupted lineage between Okina sarugaku andthe tsuina rituals practiced by the jushi players at the shushoe-shunigatsueceremony. This can be seen in the Okina preperformance rituals and in

their rubrics with their striking similarity to Chinese Nuo rites.When Okina is performed, a small altar is set up in the mirror room behind the harshigakari (bridgeway to the stage). On this altar rice andrice-wine are offered. There are also a box containing the masks andOkina's hat and fan. The participants drink some rice wine and execute aritual purification for the success of the performance. It is a rule that

before the event the actor who plays Okina lives away from his family inorder to maintain his purity as well as the sacred nature of the event. In

Chinese Nuo drama, a preperformance ritual is also conducted. An in-door altar is set up to invite the gods. On the altar are placed the masksof the gods and the sculptures of Nuo Father and Nuo Mother, who areworshipped by the participants. The mask worn by the Nuo Father isstrikingly similar to the Okina mask. As in the Okina performance, the

Nuo ministers change their costumes in an interior greenroom, and theytoo are supposed to live separately from their wives before the event. Tosecure the success of the performance, Nuo performers must wash their

hands, drink and spray rice wine, and burn paper money and firecrack-ers. Okina reminds the audience of the "Country Teacher" who opensand administers the ritual ceremony in the Nuo Hall Performance of theTujia community in Guizhou province,52 and it is also similar tothe"Miao




Teacher" who presides over the opening ritual in the Miao Nuo perfor-

mances in Hunan province.As a matter of fact, the use of masks is one of the defining com-

ponents of Nuo and tsuina rites. It is also characteristic of Nuoxi (Nuotheater) and Noh performances. The tsuina masks (the mask system of orti) figured prominently in early Noh performances. Indeed, early Nohdrama was dominated by the ghost plays (kiri-Noh) featuring ghosts,demons, spirits, and other supernatural beings. The Nuo mask and thetsuina mask share the same function in Chinese and Japanese rites of

exorcism. In both cases the mask externalizes and personifies human beings' desire and fear of the Other, either godly or ghostly, in their pur-suit of communal prosperity, spiritual renewal, and auspicious protec-tion from adverse natural and supernatural forces. The act of putting onthe mask completes the dissolution of the Self and its identification withthe godly or ghostly Other. The mask with all its manifestation of sacredand magic power was treated with utter reverence from its creation toits sanctification in a ritual enactment. In the Nuo and tsuina rites and

in early Noh and Nuoxi history, the making of the mask was, first of all,a sacred religious act of devotion rather than an artistic creation forthe sake of aesthetic beauty and appreciation, as would be the case withlater practices of Noh and Nuoxi in their more secular and refined forms.

The use of Chinese masks originated very early in Chinese civiliza-tion, and in fact their presence in Nuo rites can be traced back directly tothe mask worn by Fang Xiang Shi. Historical and literary records andarchaeological discoveries have helped clarify the components and fea-

tures of Fang Xiang Shi's mask.53 From its very beginning and during itsearly history, Fang Xiang Shi's mask was marked by its ugly appearance,its fearsomeness, and its severe features. As noted above, this mask was

also called qi tou— the head of a ghost, identified by its extreme ugli-ness.54 These features of the mask can be found in the masks worn byZhong Kui, the legendary exorcist, and in the ghost masks used in laterfolk Nuo rites and Nuo theater.

The o«i masks used in Noh drama were designed to emphasize their

ugly and fearsome features.Writing about thedemon roles in Noh drama,a performance specialty of the Yamato School, Zeami maintained that"[t]he essence of such roles lies in forcefulness and frightfulness."55



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Masks in

Noh drama were influenced by those usedin

gigaku, bugaku,and, particularly, the masks used in the tsuina rites as practiced in theshushoe and shunigatsue. The gigaku masks Gokô (King of Go) of theseventh century, now in Tokyo National Museum, and Gojo (Maiden of Go) of the eighth century, now in Shôsôin Temple, Nara, are portrayalsof die Chinese Wu (Japanese: Go) people. The mask of Gojo looks simi-lar to one of the most well-known and exquisite Noh masks, Ko-omote(small face), the superb expression of pure femininity used in such Noh

plays as Matsukaze, Yuya, and Izutsu. Other gigaku masks such as Chidôof the seventh century, now in Tokyo National Museum, and Konron of the eighth century, now in Tôdaiji Temple, Nara, are strikingly similar tothose ghost and demon masks in Noh and Nuo dramas in their ugly andfrightful features. So too are the bugaku masks, such as Ranryô-Ô andBatô. The Gyôdô masks present ghost and demon roles such as Oni, Shishi(Lion), and Koshikaki (Kandatsuba), the latter featuring four eyes as inthe case of the Fang Xiang Shi mask. Among all pre-Noh masks, how-ever, the tsuina masks used in the tsuina ceremonies are antecedents to

the demon and ghost masks of Noh drama. Various surviving tsuina andoni masks treasured in Japanese temples, shrines, and museums demon-strate their great popularity.56

Suwa has attempted to trace the link between those simple tsuinarituals and the full-fledged Noh drama, both of which are performancesof masks. He proposes an indirect influence of the masks used in Chi-nese folk rituals and performances such as Nuo drama as those masks

were transported to Japan and were incorporated into Japanese medi-eval folk masks from which Noh masks developed. Suwa has studiedand compared many Chinese and Japanese folk masks and has discov-ered strong similarity among them. He concludes that the masks of Nohdrama were influenced by the masks from the Chinese mainland andthat Chinese folk rituals and performances possibly transplanted alongwith Chinese masks prepared for the birth of Noh drama.57

Finally, there are more than twenty karagoto-mono (Chinese pieces)

in the current Noh repertoire that derive from Chinese sources or dealwidi Chinese subjects.58 In such karagoto pieces as Shoki (Chinese: ZhongKui) and Kotei (The Emperor), featuring the Chinese legendary exorcistZhong Kui, the masks for the exorcist in these Noh plays have features




similar to those on the mask for Zhong Kui in some of the Chinese Nuo

plays. In Kotei, Zhong Kui appears first as an old man (in the leading roleof Shite) before the Emperor Gen-so (Xuan Zong), who is keeping a vigilfor his beloved Yokihi (Yang Guifei). He revealed himself as the ghost of Shoki, who committed suicide when he failed in an official examination.

Here, following the Chinese legend, the play tells the story of how ZhongKui was graciously treated and in return served as a protector of theemperor. He comes to the rescue of Yokihi by driving away the demonthat has plagued the Lady with illness. In the end Shoki promises theemperor that he will act as a protective deity and vanishes again. In Shoki,the leading character tells a traveler his own story, including the manyfeats and wonders he has done as a legendary exorcist.

To sum up, in addition to sanyue, Chinese Nuo played a significantrole in the early formation of Japanese Noh drama. The early practice of tsuina rites in Japanese royal courts and among the people and its later integration with sanyue (sarugaku) and their reciprocal assimilation andtransformation, which occurred in Japanese Buddhist rites (the shushoeand the shunigatsue), contributed to the formulation of Noh's ritual andreligious character and performance structure. In addition, the possibleincorporation of Chinese folk rituals and performances such as Nuodrama and Mulian drama was also instrumental in the transformation

of tsuina rituals into Noh drama. Given the common shamanic and

exorcistic roots, Chinese Nuo and Japanese Noh, however, developedalong different paths. Professional endeavors of generations and royal

patronage helped Noh to develop and secularize into a genuine andexquisite artistic form while retaining its original ritual and religiouscharacter. In contrast, Chinese Xiang-Nuo (folk Nuo), after the declineand demise of Gong Nuo (court Nuo), has never developed into a highartistic form and has never risen to the level of professional perfectionthat Japanese Noh drama has achieved, although it gave birth to variousrudimentary dramatic and theatrical forms.

University of Iowa



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NOTES

1 The real origin for Ranryo-o is still subject to debate. Different theories hold that it either came from China in the Tang dynasty or originated in India. See Xiao Bing, Nuo Zha zhi Feng:Changjiang Liuyu Zongjiao Xiju Wenhua (The Style of Nuo and Zha: the Culture of ReligiousTheater in the Yangtze Valley) (Nanjing: jiangsu Renmin Chubanshe, 1992), 850-57.

2 For an excellent summary of theories concerning the origins of Noh drama, see BenitoOrtolani, "Shamanism in the Origins of the No Theatre," Asian Theatre Journal 1, no. 2 (1984):166-90.

I For works on Nuo and Nuo theater, see Qu Liuyi and Qian Fu, Zhongguo Nuo WenhuaTonglun (A General Study of China's Nuo Culture) (Taipei: Taiwan Xuesheng Shuju, 2003); Yang

Qixiao, ed., Zhongguo Nuoxi Nuo Wenhua Ziliao Huibian (Sources on Chinese Nuo Theater and Nuo Culture) (Taipei: Caituan Faren Shi Hezheng Minsu Wenhua Jijinhui, 1993); Xiao Bing, Nuo Zha zhi Feng: Changjiang Liuyu Zongjiao Xiju Wenhua; Guo Jing, Qm Gui, Zhu Yi, ChouShen (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H. K.), 1993); Tanaka lssei, Chûgoku Fukei Engeki Kenkyû(Shamanistic Theater in China) (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1993); Matsuoka Shinpei,ed., Oni to Geind: Higashi Ajia no Engeki Keisei (Ghost and Performance Arts: the Formation of East Asian Theaters) (Tokyo: Shinwasha, 2000); Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China: NewYear and OtherAnnual Observances During the Han Dynasty 206 b.c.-a.D. 220 (Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 1975), 75-138; Marcel Granet, Danses et legends de la Chine ancienne, 2 vols.(Paris: Librairie Felix Alean, 1926), 1:298-337; Chen Rui-lin, "Chinese Nuo and Nuo Mask,"Journal of Popular Culture 27, no. 2 (Fall 1993): 25-37; Kang Baocheng, Nuoxi Yishu Yuanliu(The Origins and Currents of Nuo Theater) (Guangchou: Guangdong Gaodeng Jiaoyu Chubanshe,

1999).

* He Yan (d. 249), ed., Lun Yu Zhu Shu (Analects with Annotations and Commentaries), inShisanJingZhuShu (Zhengli Ben),ed.Shisan Jing Zhu Shu Zhengli Weiyuan Hui,26 vols. (Beijing:Beijing Daxue Chubanshe, 2000), 23:152; Confucius, The Analects, trans. Arthur Waley (NewYork: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), 141. Originally published: London: G.Allen & Unwin, 1938.

5 Lu Buwei, Liishi Chunqiu: Lilshi Chunqiu Jiao Shi, ed. Chen Qiyou, 2 vols. (Shanghai:Xuelin Chubanshe, 1984), 1:122,422,615.

6 Lu Buwei, The Annals, trans. John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel (Stanford: Stanford Uni-versity Press, 2000), 98.

7 Ibid., 191.

• Ibid., 258.

' Zheng Xuan (127-200 ce.), ed., Li Ji Zheng Yi (Li Ji with Annotations and Commentar-ies), vols. 12-15, in Shisan JingZhu Shu (Zhengli Ben), 13:571, 615, 653; see also Li Chi: Book of Rites, trans. James Legge (New York: University Books, 1967), 266, 288, 307.

10 Zheng Xuan ( 127-200 ce.), ed., Zhou Li Zhu Shu (Zhou Li with Annotations and Com-mentaries), vols. 7-9, in Shisan JingZhu Shu (Zhengli Ben), 9:971.

"See Xiao Bing, 155-88; Qu Liuyi and Qian Fu, 395-96.

IISee Qu Liuyi and Qian Fu, 415.

" For studies of these twelve animal creatures, see Xiao Bing, 488-565; Derk Bodde, 85-111.




"Sima Biao, Li Yi Zhi (History of Rites), in Hou Han Shu (History of Later Han Dynasty),

12 vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1965, 1973), 1

1:3127-28. For a complete English translation,see J. J. M. de Groot, The Religious System of China, 6 vols. (Leiden, 1892-1910), 6:975.

"Zhang Heng, Dongjing Fu (Rhapsody on the Eastern Capital), in Zhao Ming Wenxuan(Literary Works Selected by the Zhao Ming Prince, Xiao Tong), comp. Xiao Tong (50 1 -53 1 ), ed.Zhang Baoquan, 6 vols. (Taipei: Liming Wenhua Shiye Gongsi, 1995), 1:108; English translationin de Groot, The Religious System of China, 6:978, and see also Bodde, Festivals in ClassicalChina, 84-85.

16 Cai Yong, Cai Zhong Lang Ji (Collected Works of Cai Yong), in Wenyuange Siku Quanshu(The Complete Collection of Four Branches of Books, Wenyuange Edition), 1501 vols. (Taipei:Taiwan Shangwu Yinshuguan, 1983), 1063:145-46; English translation in de Groot, The Reli-gious System of China, 977-78.

" Wei Zheng et al., Li Yi Zhi (History of Rites), in Sui Shu (History of the Sui Dynasty), 6vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1973), 1:168-69.

"Ibid., 1:169.

" Ouyang Xiu et al., Li Yue Zhi (History of Rites and Music), in Xin Tang Shu (New Historyof the Tang Dynasty), 20 vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1975), 2:392-93.

20Sun Wei, "Chun Nuo Fu," in Wenyuan Yinghua (A Collection of Best Literary Works),ed. Li Fang (925-996), vols. 1 333-42, in Wenyuange Siku Quanshu, 1333:237; Qiao Lin,"Da NuoFu," Ibid., 1333:243.

21Duan Anjie, Yue Fu Za Lu, in Zhongguo Gudian Xiqu Lunzhu Jicheng (Collection of Clas-sical Works on Chinese Xiqu), ed. Zhongguo Xiqu Yanjiuyuan, 10 vols. (Beijing: Zhongguo XijuChubanshe, 1959), 1:43-44.

22This new development is evident in the late Tang Nuo songs discovered in the Dunhuangmanuscripts. For studies of these Nou songs, see Danielle Eliasberg.'Quelques Aspects du GrandExorcisme No [Nuo] à Touen-Houang," Contributions aux études de Touen-houang, vol. Ill, sousIa direction de Michel Soymié (Paris: Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient, 1984), 237-253; HuangZheng, "Dunhuang Yuanwen Erlang Wei Jikao" (A Study of Dunhuang Prayer Texts of ErlangWei),JiuzhouXuekan 5:4 (May, 1993): 51-110.

25 Meng Yuanlao, Dongjing Meng Hua Lu, in Biji Xiaoshuo Daguan, ser. 9, 5 (Taipei: XinxingShuju, 1975), 3377; Wu Zimu, Meng Liang Lu, in Biji Xiaoshuo Daguan, ser. 21,2 (Taipei: XinxingShuju, 1987), 1000.

" See Ma Guojun,"Yuan Nuo yu Yuan Zaju" (Yuan Nuo and Yuan Drama), Xiju (Drama) 1(1994): 24-26.

25See Zhongguo Nuoxi Nuo Wenhua Ziliao Huibian, 126-27.

26For a study of the history and development of Nuo theater, see Kang Baocheng, NuoxiYishu Yuanliu.

27See An Zhimin, "Changjiang xiayou shiqian wenhua dui haidong de yingxiang" (The

influence of prehistoric culture of the Changjiang lower reaches on Japan), Kaogu (Archaeology)5 (1984): 439-38; Lin He, Nuo Shi: Zhongguo Nuo Wenhua Gailun (History of Nuo: An Intro-duction to Chinese Nuo Culture) (Taipei: Dongda Tushu Gongsi, 1994), 280-83; Suwa Haruo,Zhong Ri Han Minjian Jishi YiIi de Bijiao Yanjiu (A Comparative Study of Folk Rites in China,Japan, and Korea), trans. Huang Qiang and Van Hanao (Taipei: Shi Hezheng Jijinghui, 1997),105-28.



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21 Ichijo Kanera, /Cu/i kongen, in Kujikongenguko, with commentaries by Hayami Fusatsune,in Shintei Zoho Kojitsu Sosho 5 (Tokyo: Meiji Tosho Shuppan, 1955), 300-01.

29 Kuroita Katsumi, ed., Shoku Nihongi, in Shintei Zoho Kokushi Taikei, 66 vols. (Tokyo:Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1929-1967), 2:27.

50 Fujiwara Fuyutsugu, Dairishiki, in Dairi gishiki; Dairi gishikigigiben; Dairishiki; Gishiki;Hokuzansho, in Shintei Zoho Kojitsu Sosho 31 (Tokyo: Meiji Tosho Shuppan, 1954), 53-54.

" Fujiwara Kinto, Hokuzansho, 10 vols., in Dairi gishiki; Dairi gishiki gigiben; Dairishiki;Gishiki; Hokuzansho, in Shintei Zoho Kojitsu Sosho 31, 2:318, 9:528.

32 Nose Asaji, Nogaku Genryu Ko (Studies in the Sources and Currents of Noh) (Tokyo,

1941), 119-30; Hama Kazue, Mfton geino no genryu: sangaku ko (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1968),253-55.

" Nose Asaji, Nogaku Genryu Ko, 120-22.

54Fujiwara Kanenaka, Kanchuki, 3 vols., in Zoho Shiryo Taisei 34 (Kyoto: Rinsen Shoten,1975), 1:81.

55Suwa Haruo, Zhong Ri Han Minjian Jishi YUi de Bijiao Yanjiu, 187.

36 Fujiwara Akihira, SAm Sarugaku Ki (An Account of the New Sarugaku) (Tokyo: Heibonsha,1983), 3. For an outline of the work, see Inoura Yoshinobu and Toshio Kawatake, The Tradi-tional Theatre of Japan (New York: Weatherhill, 1981), 42-45.

" Ibid., 63.

11 Ancient Korean chronicles compiled in Chinese record that as early as the Koryo dy-nasty (918-1394 ce.) the Grand Nuo (Korean: Na) was conducted in the Koryo court. See KoryoSa (History of Koryo), ed. Chong In-ji, 3 vols. (Taipei: Wenshizhe Chubanshe, 1972), 2:369-70.The Grand Nuo tradition continued during the Yi dynasty (1418-50). See Choson Wangjo Sillok (Records of Korean Dynasties, compiled in Chinese), 48 vols. (Soul: Kuksa Pyonchan Wiwönhoe,1984), 5:365. The structure and composition of the rite were essentially the same as had taken

place in China. For a study of the history of Nuo in Korea, see Qian Fu, Hanguo Nuo Shi (AHistory of Nuo in Korea) (Beijing: Beijing Xueyuan Chubanshe, 2002).

" Suwa Haruo.'Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu" (A Study of the Exchanges between Ancient Japanese and Chinese Theaters and Their Comparison), in Zhong Ri WenhuaJiaoliu Shi Daxi, ed. Yan Shaodang and Nakanishi Susumu (Hangzhou: Zhejiang RenminChubanshe, 1996), 6:265.

40Suwa Haruo, Riben de Jishiyu Yineng: Quzi Yazhou de Jiaodu (Japanese Sacrificial Ritu-als and Performance Arts: Seen from an Asian Perspective), trans, by Ling Yunfeng (Changsha:Hunan Meishu Chubanshe, 2002), 1 84. Its original title is: Nihon no Matsuri to Geino: Ajia KaranoShiza (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1998).

41Suwa Haruo, "Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu," 270-71.

42For a summary of Matsuoka Shinpei's points, see Suwa Haruo, Zhong Ri Han MinjianJishi YiIi de Bijiao Yanjiu, 202-04; Riben de Jishi yu Yineng: Quzi Yazhou de Jiaodu, 158-60.43Suwa Haruo.'Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu," 274.

44Suwa Haruo, Zhong Ri Han Minjian Jishi YiIi de Bijiao Yanjiu, 202.




" Suwa Haruo.'Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu," 274.

46For Chinese Mulian drama and festivals, see Liu Zhen, Zhongguo Minjian Mulian Wenhua(Mulian Culture among the Chinese People) (Chengdu: Bashu Shushe, 1997); Mao Gengru, ed.,Mulian Ziliao Bianmu Gailiie (Sources on Mulian) (Taipei: Shi Hezheng Jijinghui, 1993); DavidJohnson, ed., Ritual opera, operatic ritual: "Mu-lien rescues his mother" in Chinese Popular Cul-ture (Berkeley: University of California, 1989); Stephen Teiser, The Ghost Festival in MedievalChina (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988); Peng Fei and Gary Seaman, Chinese Mulian

plays: Resources of Ritual and Performance (Los Angeles: Ethnographies Press, University of South-ern California, 1994); Qitao Guo,"Huizhou Mulian Operas: Conveying Confucian Ethics with'Demons and Gods'" (Ph.D. diss., University of California-Berkeley, 1994).

47For Mulian stories and performances in Japan, see Chen Fangying, Mulian Jiumu Gushizhi Yanjinji q/ Youguan Wenxue zhi Yanjiu (A Study of the Development of the Story "Mulian

Rescues His Mother" and Its Related Literature) (Taipei, Guoli Taiwan Daxue, 1983), 111-21

41 Suwa Haruo.'Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu," 277.

49 Inoura Yoshinobu and Toshio Kawatake, The Traditional Theatre of Japan, 18.

10 Suwa Haruo.'Ri Zhong gudai xiju de jiaoliu yu bijiao yanjiu," 279-84.

" Nose Asaji, Nogaku Genryu Ko, 176-83.

52 For an anthropological study of the Tujia Nuo practice, see Lan Li, "Nuo: Shamanismamong the Tujia of southwestern China" (Ph.D. diss., Queen's University of Belfast, 1998).

" Xiao Bing, Nuo Zha zhi Feng: Changjiang Liuyu Zongjiao Xiju Wenhua, 298-32 1 .

"See Zheng Xuan's commentary in Zhou Li Zhu Shu (Zhou Li with Annotations and Com-mentaries), vols. 7-9, in Shisan Jing Zhu Shu (Zhengli Ben), 9:971.

55Zeami, On the Art of No Drama: The Major Treatises, trans. J. Thomas Rimer and YamazakiMasakazu (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984), 16.

56For plates, drawings, and notes, see Noma Seiroku, Nihon kamen shi (History of JapaneseMasks) (Tokyo: Toyo Shoin, 1978), 241-50; Goto Hajime, Chusei kamen no rekishitekiminzokugakuteki kenkyu: nogakushi ni kanrenshite (A Historical and Folklore Study of MedievalMasks and Their Relations to Noh) (Tokyo: Taga Shuppan, 1987), 235-37, 321, 381-86, 395-402,570-71,592,621.

57Suwa Haruo, Riben de Jishi yu Yineng: Quzi Yazhou de Jiaodu, 1 65-69.

" For a comparative study of Noh and Chinese Literature, see Carl Gordon Sesar, "NoDrama and Chinese Literature" (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1971).

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