The Japanese dramatic art of Noh has a rich six-hundred-year history and
has had a huge influence on Japanese culture and such Western artists as
Ezra Pound and William Butler Yeats. The actor and playwright Zeami
(1363-1443) is the most celebrated figure in the history of Noh, with
his numerous outstanding plays and his treatises outlining his theories
on the art. These treatises were originally secret teachings that were
later coveted by the highest ranks of the samurai class and first became
available to the general public only in the twentieth century.
William Scott Wilson, acclaimed translator of samurai and Asian
classics, has translated the Fushikaden, the best known of these
treatises, which provides practical instruction for actors, gives
valuable teachings on the aesthetics and spiritual culture of Japan, and
offers a philosophical outlook on life. Along with the Fushikaden,
Wilson includes a comprehensive introduction describing the historical
background and philosophy of Noh, as well as a new translation of one of
Zeami's most moving plays, Atsumori.
