III
NO: THE JAPANESE PLAY OF SILENCE
I
The word dignity, applied to the dramatic art, may mystify you, though it may not necessarily mislead you, because it is often mistaken for the pessimism which is apology at best. In emphasising the independence of the Japanese No drama, I have in mind the special audience it created with the patience of centuries. When I say that it has no need to wait on its audience, I have in my mind the fact that it was that very audience which originated and perfected it as we see it to-day on the stage of Kanze, or Hosho, or Umewaka, or Yamashina, or Kudan, of Tokyo. It is not too much to say that the audience, not more than three hundred in number for each performance—is that not a large enough audience?—are all of them No actors themselves. It is beautiful to see them, like fully flowed water blessed by sunlight, in the appreciation which
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