Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

From Representation to Apotheosis: Nō's Modern Myth of Okina

From Representation to Apotheosis: Nō's Modern Myth of Okina Modern discussions of ritual and the origins of the six-hundred-year-old Japanese <i>nō</i> theatre have focused on the enigmatic Okina dance—one of the "three rites," <i>shikisanban</i>, enacted today by performers at the New Year&apos;s and other ceremonial occasions. For modern <i>nō</i> actors, Okina is the heart of <i>nō</i>: a living prototype of the ritual theatre <i>nō</i> once supposedly embodied but somehow lost. Yet Okina&apos;s very rituality differentiates it from <i>nō</i>. Hence Okina is cited both as an archetype of <i>nō</i>&apos;s past and as a salient point of contrast for defining <i>nō</i>&apos;s artistry today.</p><p>This article declares this relationship between Okina and <i>nō</i> to be a modern formulation resulting from three factors: a change in religiosity in the early twentieth century, the role of scholars and performers of that era in reclaiming Okina&apos;s centrality to <i>nō</i>, and assumptions in the fields of anthropology and folklore studies about the origin of theatre in ritual. The modern conceptualization of Okina functions as an invented tradition engendering authority for <i>nō</i> professionals, particularly the hereditary elite, who compete to lay claim to its mystery, sanctity, and power. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Theatre Journal University of Hawai'I Press

From Representation to Apotheosis: Nō&apos;s Modern Myth of Okina

Rath, Eric C., --
Asian Theatre Journal , Volume 17 (2) – Sep 1, 2001
Download PDF
16 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-hawai-i-press/from-representation-to-apotheosis-n-apos-s-modern-myth-of-okina-u5QLvqnejS
Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-2109

Abstract

Modern discussions of ritual and the origins of the six-hundred-year-old Japanese <i>nō</i> theatre have focused on the enigmatic Okina dance—one of the "three rites," <i>shikisanban</i>, enacted today by performers at the New Year&apos;s and other ceremonial occasions. For modern <i>nō</i> actors, Okina is the heart of <i>nō</i>: a living prototype of the ritual theatre <i>nō</i> once supposedly embodied but somehow lost. Yet Okina&apos;s very rituality differentiates it from <i>nō</i>. Hence Okina is cited both as an archetype of <i>nō</i>&apos;s past and as a salient point of contrast for defining <i>nō</i>&apos;s artistry today.</p><p>This article declares this relationship between Okina and <i>nō</i> to be a modern formulation resulting from three factors: a change in religiosity in the early twentieth century, the role of scholars and performers of that era in reclaiming Okina&apos;s centrality to <i>nō</i>, and assumptions in the fields of anthropology and folklore studies about the origin of theatre in ritual. The modern conceptualization of Okina functions as an invented tradition engendering authority for <i>nō</i> professionals, particularly the hereditary elite, who compete to lay claim to its mystery, sanctity, and power.

Journal

Asian Theatre Journal – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Sep 1, 2001

There are no references for this article.