The Transmission of the Flower (Fushikaden)
Overview
A treatise on Noh that Zeami compiled from the teachings of his father Kan'ami. "Training Through the Years" sets out practice for each age from seven to past fifty; after chapters on imitation, questions and answers, and the origins of Noh, the "Separate Secret Teaching" reveals the secret of stirring fresh wonder, the "flower," in the hearts of the audience. It was originally a secret text passed down only within the family, and became widely known only in the twentieth century.
Background
Kan'ami and his son Zeami belonged to a Yamato sarugaku troupe that performed at the festivals of Kofukuji and Kasuga Taisha in Nara. Around 1374 the young shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu saw them perform at Imakumano in Kyoto and took them up, and Zeami became Yoshimitsu's favorite. Zeami's work was to refine sarugaku into a polished art before discerning audiences of shoguns and nobles.
Highlights
- The flower of the momentThe charm of a boy and the flower of youth are not the true flower. Few books have written so concretely about age and art.Read “Training Through the Years” →
- Hidden, it is the flower"Know the hidden flower. When hidden, it is the flower; unhidden, it cannot be the flower." The importance of surprising the audience.Read “Training Through the Years” →
- Reading the audienceChange how you perform according to the mood of that day's house, the hour and the feeling of the place. Practical wisdom that applies to today's stage and presentations too.