The Japanese No (or Noh) drama stands in stark contrast to both
the Sanskrit and the Chinese. No plays are very short, virtually
plotless, and tragic in mood. Performances of No plays are
highly stylized, and they move at an extremely slow pace, often
stretching a text of two or three hundred lines into an hour-
long stage play. Such performances integrate singing, speech,
instrumental music (three drums and a flute), dancing, and mime
into a unity in which no single element dominates. Wooden masks
are used by the principal character, women characters, and old
people. The No drama was developed in the 14th cent., bringing
together elements from the earlier sarugaku [monkey music] and
dengaku [rustic music]. Its invention is attributed to Kanami
Kiyotsugu (1333–84), while his son Zeami Motokiyo (1363–1443)
brought the No to its peak of refinement. Zeami was also a
playwright who produced such classics of the No drama as The
Well-Curb and The Lady Aoi. There may have been thousands of No
plays written, but only