Japanese vs Medieval Theater

    The roots of Japanese and Medieval theater were significantly different; both the Skaldic form of theater and Bugaku attempt to honor and reenact the stories of warriors and heroes. However, the way they go about in portraying these themes is significantly different. Japanese forms of theater such as Bugaku implement slow and graceful movement to convey its messages while on the other hand a Skaldic play incorporates a poet as the narrator to a violent and heroic storyline. Additionally, Skaldic performances lacked Christian influence, as they were mainly an aristocratic art. Medieval forms of theater such as the Tegernsee Passion Play of 1180 also carry heavy political themes of church versus state while Japanese forms of theater such as Noh focus primarily on depicting ghosts, spirits, and other mystic themes not relating to religion. Medieval theater of Europe eventually came to a decline mainly due to the repercussions of religious/political influence, in this case the effect of the Protestant Reformation. On the contrary, theater in Japan seldom suffered from this sort of backlash due to its long time history as being free of religion.

Above is a picture of a typical Bugaku mask. Japanese theater heavily implemented the usage of masks and cosmetics.





Medieval Theater...