Chinese Nuo and Japanese Noh: Nuo's Role in the Origination and Formation of Noh (Gigaku, Gagaku (And Its Dance Form, Bugaku), And Sarugaku (From Sangaku)‪)‬

Modern interest in the Chinese ancient Nuo rite and drama did not take a strong hold in China until the final two decades of the last century; however, the Nuo rite and drama remain an aspect of Chinese culture that is hardly known to the West. While a fair amount of research on the origins of Japanese Noh drama has been done in the West, no historical investigation has yet been made in a Western language on the role of Chinese Nuo into its origin and formation. This is so in spite of the historical fact that prior to the birth of Noh, the Chinese Nuo rite had long been practiced in Japanese temples, shrines, and fields where Noh was born and developed. The general consensus now is that gigaku, gagaku (and its dance form, bugaku), and sarugaku (from sangaku), forerunners of Noh, were forms imported or generated from ancient Chinese Wu music (Japanese: kuregaku) and Tang music and dance (Japanese: togaku), mainly from sanyue (miscellaneous music and plays) and daqu (grand music). In bugaku, the solo dance Ranryo-o (Chinese: Lanling Wang) is a variant of the Lanling Wang Ru Zhen Qu (Prince Lanling in Battle) of the Sui and Tang dynasties; (1) bugaku's jo-ha-kyu, the core structure of Noh drama, was adapted from the music and dance structure of the daqu developed during the Tang dynasty. The Tang daqu integrates singing, dancing, and instrumental music and consists of three sequences: the sanxu (beginning random sequence facilitated by instrumental music), zhongxu (middle sequence composed primarily by singing), and po (fast exposition accelerated primarily by dancing). Sanyue (sangaku or sarugaku, the latter being a Japanese pronunciation of sanyue) forms the core of sarugaku Noh.