THE RELEVANCE OF NŌ PERFORMANCES IN THE MODERN WORLD - AND WHAT THEY CAN TELL US ABOUT HUMANITIES RESEARCH.

Considered by most scholars to be the oldest continually performed theatre form, the Japanese Noh theatre was a synthesis of various elements and it had a profound spiritual basis in the two religions that formed the Japanese world-view: Buddhism and the original Shamanism of Japanese archipelago. However, the Noh theatre would have remained classically refined yet frozen, had it not opened up to collaboration with foreign cultures, and incorporated new themes and become a fully internationalized type of performance during the 20^th century. Our essay is an attempt to illustrate the transformation of this theatre in the twentieth century and examine its relevance for the modern world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]