The current nō repertory (genkō yōkyoku 現行謡曲) contains about 200 plays. The great majority of plays is performed by all five shite schools. However, plays in the full repertory may or may not be performed in each school or may be performed according to categorization and performance practices specific to the particular school.
The canon of approximately 250 classical plays, most of which date from the 14th to 16th centuries, was established during the Edo Period based on lists provided by actors to the shogunal government. Allocation into the five categories (goban date) was part of this process. Plays that were not selected for canonical status are known as bangai yōkyoku (番外謡曲).
During the Edo period, performers were responsible for the pieces in their repertory and were expected to be able to perform any of them with just a day’s notice. A full master today generally knows by heart around a hundred of the more commonly performed plays and can perform, with some notice, the entire repertory.
The chart “Nō plays with basic information” indicates the category to which a play belongs and the schools that perform it. The data below follows the Kanze shite school tradition.