SOURCE: "Zeami on Performance," in Theatre Research International, n.s. Vol. VIII, No. 3, Autumn, 1983, pp. 190-206.

In the essay below, Tatsuro explores Zeami's insistence that performances of Nō must consider such factors as the time, the location, and the audience in order to be successful. According to Zeami, the critic observes, a "good performer … is not only sustained by his inborn talent and incessant training but also is the one whose instinctive judgement and creativity harmonize with the mood and atmosphere at the very moment of each performance. "

Since the survival of Noh theatre at the time of Zeami (1363-1443) and Kanami depended entirely upon the support of its audience, which consisted mainly of laymen, warriors and nobles, it was essential that each presentation had its own unique beauty and power enabling each performance to become an unrepeatable idiosyncratic event. In particular, Zeami demands that each performance will...