Noh

Noh is the classical masked theatre of Japan, codified in the fourteenth century by *Kan'ami* and *Zeami*, in which chant, dance and instrumental accompaniment unfold at a deliberately measured pace. Its music, called nohgaku, pairs the utai chant of the actors and the jiutai chorus with a hayashi ensemble of nohkan flute and three drums whose players punctuate patterns with cries. Melody moves within a narrow range over long silences, the principle of ma, while texts draw on classical literature, legend and Buddhist teaching. Five schools preserve a repertoire of roughly 240 plays.