Basic posture (kamae), and walk (hakobi) are the two basic elements that lie at the core of all noh movements. Kamae is maintained throughout the whole performance, regardless of whether the character is standing, sitting, or moving. Similarly, hakobi refers to walking, an action performed by sliding the feet on the floor surface. Sliding step (suri-ashi) is the way actors walk on stage at all times, including entrances and exits. Kamae and hakobi may appear unnatural or bizarre to the inexperienced onlooker. Yet, as with other aspects of noh performance, they have both aesthetic and practical reasons to be. Costume dictates whole-body movement: walking from area to area of the stage, raising, lowering, circling the arms. The fan extends and modulates the arm movements. Focus on the hands is rare, on the fingers even rarer.
Nō scholar Yokomichi Mario has outlined four properties that characterize noh movement:
- All noh movements arise from the basic stance, kamae, and return to that stance.
- The basis of motion is the gliding walk, hakobi.
- The working units of noh movement are combinations of arm and foot actions.
- Emphasis is on flow.
Kamae 構エ
Kamae literally means ‘posture’, but also contains the meaning of ‘being ready to act’. This posture requires slightly bent knees, straight back, arms open to form an oval, chin pulled in, and weight slightly forward. Kamae is the starting point and the ending point of all movement sequences. The low center of gravity allows for a stable posture that can be maintained over long passages during which the actor may just stand and chant, but is required to keep still. Bent knees help keeping the feet on the floor during hakobi and prevent unintentional tottering. In addition, open arms create a support for the costume: as most costumes have large sleeves, keeping one or both arms open allows the gorgeously decorated sleeves to be displayed. Finally, pulling the chin in brings the mask close to the rest of the body, creating an overall compact figure.
Hakobi 運ビ
The verb hakobu, here in the form of noun, hakobi, means ‘to carry’. The actor slides one foot forward along the floor, briefly lifts the front of the foot, and shifts the weight onto the forward foot, so the back foot can slide forward. The upper body is thus kept at a constant height, which creates a sense of the figure gliding through space. A twist of the feet, together with the turn of the torso, shifts the view of the mask, and engages, or disengages, the character in direct address with another character. The stillness of the stance and the fluidity of movement keep the mask at the angle the actor has set. The sliding step also has practical implications, as the mask severely restricts peripheral vision. The actor slides the feet to maintain contact with the floor, and is also able to feel the slight gap between the wooden boards of the floor, helping to navigate the different areas of the stage. Kamae and hakobi are performed slightly differently depending on the shite or waki school.
Styles 役柄による構エと運ビ
The extent to which the feet are apart, the knees bent, and and arms at rest are away from the body depends on the character type. The role of a woman may require keeping the arms closer to the torso, with the right hand placed on the hip, thus creating a smaller upper-body shape. Feet are kept together, the toes set forward, and the steps are smaller. Performing the character of a powerful deity requires holding the arms farther from the torso, thus filling the costume and enlarging the overall body shape. The knees are more bent, the toes are turned out. At the beginning and end of certain movements, the actor switches to han-mi (lit. ‘half body’), a type of stance to be found in martial arts, in which the right or left half of the body is forward, creating an impression of strength.
Zeami’s depictions (copied by Zenchiku) of (left) the feminine mode (nyotai) and (right) the martial mode (guntai). Nikyoku santai ningyōzu (Figure Drawings of the Two Arts and Three Modes). 15th Century. Hosei University Noh Research Center. See the digitized manuscript here.
Contributor: Monica Bethe and Diego Pellecchia