Gender Stereotypes In Noh Theater

The art of theatre has always been a fundamental part of Japanese culture, and Noh (能, abbreviation for Nogaku) is one of the most ancient forms of theatre acting in Japan (Lee, 2008). Sub-genre Kichiku-mono, often emphasizes the theme of madness of a woman (Schoenberg & Trudeau, 2004), most definitely picked my interest with its seemingly archetypal portrayal of women. Taking the play Dojoji as a case study of Kichiku-mono, I shall argue that Noh theatre can be mistakenly condemned as disparaging towards women, while in fact it subverts gender stereotypes.
At its greatest height, Noh performances consisted exclusively of male performers (Wetmore, 2008). “During the Tokugawa Period, women performers were not allowed to train as professional Noh actresses or to act on stage in the traditional theaters.” (Patrik, 2008) Not only Noh theatre excludes female performers, it also often portrays women as “the root of all evil” (Zarilli et al., 2010). The main actor in Dojoji, or the Shite, at the beginning of the play is an elegant and beautiful young woman. She appears at a temple as shirabyōshi dancer and insists to perform as a tribute for the God. Soon after she is let in and performs at the dedication, her dance steps become increasingly chaotic and animalistic. She eventually reveals her
true form as a female snake-demon. The priests battle the demon and attempted an exorcism but are unable to defeat her, but can only chase her off.
Dojoji was written when Japan was a male-defined society where all females struggle to find a place for themselves, for they are excluded from male cultural, sexual, political and intellectual discourse (Zarilli et al., 2010). It seems intuitive to consider the role of the main actor in Dojoji as the way women then perceived in Japanese society. Through the role of shite, females are portrayed as the epitome of immoralities, who turned evil as a result of obsession or jealousy, which society fear and detest. The act of chasing away the demon, not killing it, suggests the way Japanese society preferred to treat women, by marginalizing them for they were incapable of eradicate them completely. Moreover, women are seen as the villain, one that has brought evil upon herself and was not wronged. The depiction of the anti-heroin as a snake-demon, a mythic creature, goes to show that woman remained an unresolved mystery. However, precisely by setting the context of Dojoji as a male-centric society, the main actor shite at the same time illustrates the view of materialist feminism which essentially challenges gender stereotype.
Professional Noh actors, such as the one playing the Shite are biologically male (Zarilli et al., 2010).
He dresses as a woman, who shows up at the temple and perform in men’s attire for the gods, then eventually reveals “her” true form as a female demon. The constant changes in gender deny the existence of a natural male or female essence. There is no fixed gender for the actor to adhere to thus he has to rely on the ability to carry out gender-specific external gestures that are understood and readable by the audience. As opposed to Western belief of natural predetermined gender, the Shite is an example how gender is constructed by the repetition of accepted social
practices.
According to Japanese philosophy, there is no clear-cut line separating mind and body. Instead, human nature is analyzed in terms of an amalgamation of both mental and physical dimensions (Patrik, 2008). Therefore, the essence of woman’s nature can be achieved by stylized movements. The Noh theatre defines the female body as a dynamic agent that has full freedom to transform instead of a specific, stable object, thus seek to create alienation effect within the play by allowing the main character Shite to be constantly changing his genders. Various refined masks used make Noh a uniquely suggestive art (Brandon & Banham, 1993) and the way they are worn makes clear how little Noh attempts to create an illusion of reality in the Western sense (Bethe & Brazell, 2010). The masks, such as Hannya as the female serpent, aided the alienation effect with its highly exaggerated features, distancing the audiences from the play. The audiences hence are able to observe female suppression and the stigma against them, which advertently put the issue of gender discrimination in the spot light.
In conclusion, Noh theatre, particularly sub-genre Kichiku-mono may appear discriminating and marginalizing females. However, a more thorough examination of Noh theatre is necessary to accurately access gender performance. The use of uniquely exaggerated masks as the Shite turning from a beautiful delicate woman to a serpent demon successfully underscores the stereotype against females. Moreover, the exclusive use of male performers, while seemingly exclude females, actually overthrows the belief of natural predetermined gender, for male can perform female roles simply by enacting a series of gender-specific gestures.