著者

Suzumura Yusuke

出版者

法政大学大学院 国際日本学インスティテュート専攻委員会

雑誌

国際日本学論叢 = 国際日本学論叢 (ISSN:13491954)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.10, pp.86(41)-75(52), 2013-03-08

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The status of women performers in Noh has been a subject of debatebefore women's entry into the Nohgaku Kyokai (Nohgaku Performers'Association) in 1948. In 1948, just a few years after the Second World War,several women were allowed to apply for professional status as Nohperformers. Before that, women were only permitted to practice Noh as ahobby. Even after women were recognized as Noh professionals, it was notuntil 2004 that certain female Noh performers were recognized as IntangibleCultural Properties and permitted to enter the Nihon Nohgakukai(Association for Japanese Noh Plays). It means that they were notrecognised at the highest levels of professional performance of Noh, thoughsome of them were as skilled as male professionals. After that, however,there still remains a considerable negative attitude to Noh performances bywomen or women Noh players among critics or audiences. In thispresentation, we examine articles on women's Noh performance run in someJapanese general newspapers after the late 19th century to the present anddiscuss these articles quantitatively and qualitatively. In this way we will findand analyse some tendencies or characteristics in discourse aboutperformance depending on differences in sex, their skill, or their status asthe Noh performers. The paper will discuss socially-accepted ideasrepresented in these articles. This will make it clear that the logic of somenegative attitudes to Noh performances by women or women Noh players isbased on the tradition of Noh as well as their ability or technique.