. The pine-tree = Matsu : a drama, adapted from the Japanese, with an introductory causerie on the Japanese theatre. as650 One dance, the kagura, akind of hieratic pantomime, accom-panied by a slow weird music,deserves special mention, becauseit is one step nearer to the drama,and because stages were first builtfor its performance. Not all these dances were of anoble character ; some, called rika,were accompanied by rather vulgarstreet-songs ; others, the zokuyo bypopular ballads. Of these popularamusements the most favourite wasthe sarugaku or monkey mime, thename of which sufficiently d
. The pine-tree = Matsu : a drama, adapted from the Japanese, with an introductory causerie on the Japanese theatre. as650 One dance, the kagura, akind of hieratic pantomime, accom-panied by a slow weird music,deserves special mention, becauseit is one step nearer to the drama,and because stages were first builtfor its performance. Not all these dances were of anoble character ; some, called rika,were accompanied by rather vulgarstreet-songs ; others, the zokuyo bypopular ballads. Of these popularamusements the most favourite wasthe sarugaku or monkey mime, thename of which sufficiently describesits nature. Its rival was thedengaku or bucolic mime, for theperformance of which masks wereworn, and which was at one timegreatly encouraged by the legis-lators. The dengaku then assumeda splendour, a pomp, a magnificence — 37 — THE ELEMENTSOF JAPANESE DRAMA. of costume not previously knownnor imagined. Nevertheless, thesarugaku superseded the dengaku,and by degrees became the , and although having itsorigin in the popular monkeymime, the no is the aristocraticform of the oldest III. EARLY TRAGEDY ANDCOMEDY. ^jW HAVE said that the dancesm 5® were always accompaniedby song. At first thesesongs were purely lyric or descrip-tive. But gradually they becamerecitatives having generally a sacredor legendary text. On one side ofthe platform sat a singer, whoaccompanied himself on the shami-cenn and who narrated some well-known marvellous or romantic storyfrom the early times. Soon, whensuch a recitative contained a speech — 39 — EARLY TRAGEDY in direct narrative, it became thecustom for one of the dancers todeliver it. And dialogue being thethe next step, the drama wascreated. Such drama was called subjects were always noble andavoided the vulgar acts of actors must not makelove in public, nor eat or drink,nor sleep, nor die. However, onlynatural death was considered a vulgar act, but not a murder, anexecution, or, above all,
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